The Sphinx at Smith College

Sometimes it's okay to feel really good about Michigan. Even southeast lower Michigan.

This week, Aaron Dworkin, founder and director of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization visited Smith College. His appearance was part of Smith's annual Otelia Cromwell celebration. Cromwell was the first African American to graduate from Smith. She transferred in her junior year from Howard in 1898.

Dworkin, a University of Michigan School of Music graduate, founded the Sphinx Organization to advocate for greater representation of minority musicians in the rarefied, exclusive realm of classical music. Today, his ten-year-old organization nurtures minority classical musicians from elementary school through college and to professional careers.

Blacks and latinos are still underrepresented among orchestral membership today.

But Dworkin and his organization persevere in working to change that with programs like: Sphinx Prep at Wayne State, Harlem Quartet School Dayz, the Instrument Fund, and the annual Sphinx Competition.

Dworkin has vision, drive, and commitment to his mission. He's a Michigan treasure.

DSO Contract--A Victory for Unions and the Arts

Playing in an orchestra is a rush. You are part of something bigger than any individual participant. In the best moments, there is intuitive agreement about phrasing, dynamics, tempo and expression. Your tone contributes to an idea that could never be produced by one person, yet reaches a hall full of individual listeners. Those listeners can become party to the wonder of collective expression, transported by the sheer sonic force moving air that surrounds them. Their appreciation is measured by a quick hushed silence, a collective gasp, before applause.
Unions are probably like orchestras, for some people.

Today, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Federation of Musicians released elements of a labor agreement that reflects the times. While the agreement keeps the DSO in the top ten highest-paid U.S. orchestras, musicians did make concessions--3 unpaid weeks in the first year of the contract, 2 unpaid weeks in the second year, reduced pension options for new hires, and player contribution to health costs.

The Free Press reports that "musicians’ total minimum compensation"will increase "by 3.6% to $104,650 in the final year." While this may sound a princely sum to a city full of people facing hard times consider this: it is harder for a musician to land a seat in a world class orchestra, than it is for a college basketball player to go pro. Don't be fooled. $104,650 is a reasonable sum.

Related posts:
Music, Prosperity and Legislative Priorities
Great Arts State?
Michigan Arts Funding--From 4th to 50th

Michigan Arts Funding--from 4th to 50th

From today's Port Huron Times Herald:

"Citing a $3 billion projected budget deficit, Granholm in March issued an order freezing all grants paid by state agencies, including $7.5 million of the $10.1 million promised by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs."

"The moratorium was lifted in June, but only after the council's budget was cut by $3.6 million."

"According to the advocacy group ArtServe Michigan, the decrease means Michigan's funding for the arts has fallen from fourth in the nation in 2001 to last among all 50 states."

I am not sure what to say. This is sickening.

Yesterday, I drove to Interlochen to see the Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Band perform. It was their 60th Annual Band Camp at the world renowned arts venue. The young musicians were phenomenal, my son among them.

This is also the 100th Anniversary of Pioneer's Band program.

Previous related posts:
Great Arts State?
Music, Prosperity and Legislative Priorities

Between Jobs--Jackson Converts to a Cool City

Somewhere between our beefy manufacturing legacy and the New Economy -- between east Michigan and west Michigan -- sits the city of Jackson (pop. 36,316). If you look closely, you'll see signs of its transitional status--lots of houses for sale, lots of vacant commercial properties, a 'COOL CITY' neon sign in the Chamber of Commerce front window.

What makes Jackson a "Cool City?" It's the Armory Arts Project, an economic development effort transforming the historic 19th-century Jackson State Prison site into a live/work space for artists. It garnered the 'Cool City' designation from Governor Granholm in 2004 as part of the Cool City Pilot Program.

A generation of Jackson workers spent their lives with Goodyear Tire. From 1937 to1983, Goodyear operated a massive manufacturing facility on a 59 acre site. Colorado-based Kinder Morgan now operates a gas-powered, electric generating plant on the site. In the past year several more plants have closed, TRW and Eaton among them.

Redevelopment for economic development continues to be a focus of the Enterprise Group of Jackson, an alliance of several organizations devoted to keeping Jackson County economically viable. Jackson County has four tax-free "Renaissance Zones" and a long list of corporate/commercial properties available for development.

I spoke with Jane Robinson from the Enterprise Group about the Armory Arts Project,"We did an initial feasibility study in partnership with Art Space, a Minneapolis-based group that cultivates space for artists around the country,"Robinson said.

Robinson says the project is already having a positive impact on the downtown with new residential development and shops moving in. "Property values on the street with the Armory have risen 972%,"Robinson boasted.

"What makes this project unique in the country is our incredible historic site. There is a four-story high gallery, eight smaller galleries, workshops, a ceramics studio, and a large scale art production studio all available for the tenants at no extra cost,"Robinson said. "In future plans for the Armory, we will have a 'creative innovations center.' This will be a learning environment where manufacturing and artistic communities come together for collaboration." According to Robinson, business and marketing workshops will also be available to artist/residents.

Groundbreaking happened in November 2006 with a completion goal of January of 2008, which Robinson expects to meet. There are 62 units--some apartments, some lofts. "We kept the integrity of the buildings with the exposed brick walls and coved ceilings. 40 units are already reserved. We have attracted artists from around the country--Miami, Atlanta and Chicago, as well as from across Michigan,"Robinson shared.

This Saturday, June 16th, at 4p.m. there will be a tailgate reception and hard hat tour of the project. Robinson welcomes all creative people who might be interested to the Saturday event.

Great Arts State?

Yesterday, Governor Granholm released some arts funding that had been frozen since the shameful budget standoff in March. $3.6 million will be released. Sounds good and arts organizations are certainly grateful. But another $3.6 million will be cut from the $9.4 million fund for the arts. Arts groups are looking at a cut of about "36% overall."

The Free Press reports that,"State arts funding in Michigan has now fallen 73% from its peak of $24 million in 2000." It goes on to report," Since 2001, Michigan's national rank in per capita arts funding has dropped from 4th to 35th." 35th in per capita arts funding and this when our population is declining? Pretty damning.

How can this be happening? Michigan is home to: Interlochen Center for the Arts, founded in 1928 and the 2006 National Medal of Arts recipient; University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance; Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, training youth for more than 40 years; the Detroit Institute of Arts (fifth largest fine arts museum in the U.S.); Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Music Department--the National Grammy Signature School for 2005-2006 and one of the top 7 in the country the previous two years; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; the Ann Arbor Film Festival, oldest festival in North America that showcases independent and experimental film; MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit); Cranbrook, founded in 1904 and renowned for arts education; and the Sphinx Organization, bringing cultural diversity to classical music. And so many more extraordinary arts organizations.

Can the Great Lakes State become the Great Arts State? Not at this rate. Individuals and private funders continue to make up the difference as state funding declines. Ask any parent of a high schooler involved in arts (or sports for that matter). But there is a limit to those private resources.

The arts can thrive broadly only if they are understood as integral to the commons--a public good, which enriches all communities and citizens.

Do we need the arts to survive? No. The arts won't fill an empty belly. But we do need the arts to be fully human. The arts enliven hearts and minds and souls. We don't need to choose between food and joy. Work, art, human dignity--these are inseparable.