There has been a recent explosion of
art and culturally aware groups in the Syracuse area. For instance, the
Arts and Culture Leadership Alliance addresses the relationship between
art and the local community. Third Thursday (Th3) promotes displays of
various artists and awareness of different kinds of art in Syracuse.
Arts Week is another event to honor the aesthetics in Syracuse. And a
multitude of cultural festivals takes place in and around the city as
well. Who says that Syracuse is a cultural wasteland?
With the CNY Arts Covenant comes
another way to encourage public interest in and support of different
art forms. The idea is to involve more than the artists who create the
work. The Arts Covenant is meant to encourage interaction between
artists and the residents of Syracuse. People who have not previously
been a part of the city’s art scene have the opportunity to get
involved and become informed by making the pledge.
Mary Stanley, a retired associate
professor of public affairs at Syracuse University, volunteers as an
organizer for the covenant. The suggestion for an arts covenant
originated in October 2008, when Stanley presented her idea at a
Cultural Blueprints meeting. That was a conference sponsored by the New
York State Council on the Arts that brought together major arts
leadership throughout the area. “In many ways it was a road show,” she
explains. “NYSCA staff from other regions in the state came here to
talk about how this region could use the arts as a form of
development.” The multitude of arts groups in Central New York is a
decided advantage.
“They are about creating a rich supply
of art in the area,” she notes. “People are always surprised by the
amount of artwork that is available in such a modest area. What’s
different about the Arts Covenant is that it’s about demand. In an
economically challenging time, the question is whether there is a
demand for all of the art in Central New York. The Arts Covenant is
about generating the demand.”
The Arts Covenant represents a promise
that individuals will make to support the arts—visual, performance and
literary. By signing on to the covenant, individuals agree to abide by
four elements over the course of a year. They must purchase three works
of art from local artists, attend at least one arts event that is held
by a cultural group that differs from their own (if they are so
affiliated), attend an arts event that is different from one that they
would normally attend and, simply, get involved. That involvement can
be anything from giving money to an arts group they have not previously
supported, volunteering, attending a museum, taking an art course or
engaging in any other activity that is supportive of the arts, such as
taking a writing course. Stanley notes that the purpose of these four
requirements is “to push the envelope and take the full plunge from
being a spectator to a co-creator of art and culture.”
Using Cultural Blueprints as a
catalyst, the covenant came together to encourage diversity throughout
the area and to broaden individuals’ artistic horizons. People are
encouraged to break outside of their comfort zone and experience new
styles and types of artistic expression. Stanley hopes a renewed
interest in different art forms will spark a concurrent motivation to
explore the different ethnic groups in Syracuse.
“The arts contribute to the
conversation of what the role of art and culture in society is and how
they support democracy,” Stanley explains. “It’s really about how the
arts reveal tensions in different localities. Indigenous cultures were
displaced in Central New York, and the art that is created here is
about societies and how they move and change in time and how the art
captures bits and pieces of that.”
Even though the local economy isn’t
necessarily ideal for Syracuse’s overabundance of artists, Stanley
believes the Arts Covenant can help overcome this obstacle. “We’re
trying to promote a new way of thinking about an object of art and the
person who makes it,” she observes. “By talking with the artist, people
will learn something about the nature of the work that went into it.
It’s not just another object, it’s someone’s work. It is something that
is one-of-a-kind and embodies a particular aesthetic vision; this is a
different experience than just buying an object. It is a more positive
way of consuming during a difficult time. It’s about making your money
matter.”
According to Stanley, the large number
of arts groups in Syracuse isn’t an issue. “People are still going to
buy gifts for weddings and graduations, so why not art? There are
always going to be those occasions regardless of the economy, so we
want to get people thinking about buying more local art. If everyone
supports the arts, we can come together as individuals in the spirit of
community.”
Stanley hopes the Arts Covenant will
make it possible to “collaborate with the different arts groups in the
area to provide beautiful and useful objects. It’s really a cultural
change that we’re going for. By thinking about the importance of the
arts in Central New York, we might be able to get the artists to remain
in this area. It’s the personal narrative, cultural context and values
of the artist that are important to consider when observing a piece of
art.”
The Arts Covenant was launched July 24
in downtown Syracuse as part of Arts Week. Individuals who attended
were asked to leave their handprint on a quilt to signify their
participation in this project. Citizens must be reminded that in a time
of hectic schedules and a troublesome economy, an appreciation of local
art may provide a well-timed diversion.
In October, the first 50 people who
fulfill their pledge will receive a T-shirt. When folks first signed up
with the covenant, they received a postcard on which to check off the
four pledges. The first 50 who hand in a postcard, get their shirt.
Everyone who participates will be acknowledged and will receive a small
piece of art made by a local artist. Stanley hopes the Arts Covenant
“will become self-perpetuating and gain widespread support. We hope
that people will use our Web site for social networking, and that those
who participated in this year’s Arts Covenant will sign up again. It
won’t happen overnight, but eventually we will have an art world that
will encourage artists to stay in the area.”
Visit the Arts Covenant Web site at www.artscovenant.com.
Mary Stanley of the CNY Arts Covenant holds the
handprints quilt on which supporters of the covenant pledged their
allegiance to local art earlier this summer: “By thinking about the
importance of the arts in Central New York, we might be able to get the
artists to remain in this area.”
