Assets for Artists

I must have been under a rock, because it took me 7 months to learn that my friends at Berkshire Creative posted video from the “Creative Communities Exchange” that was held at MASS MoCA last May.

Esther Robinson of Arthome joined me in delivering a 20-minute presentation about how and why we operate the Assets for Artists program. I hate looking at myself on video, but it does offer a nice glimpse behind the curtain of a program like this, if that sort of thing interests you. (You have to click over to “Part 2″ to pick up the end of the presentation.)

A bunch of other presentations from the Exchange were also recorded and uploaded to Berkshire Creative’s Youtube channel, and I strongly recommend checking those out.

Thanks to Rich Bradway for providing volunteer videographer services to Berkshire Creative, and thanks to the New England Foundation for the Arts, Berkshire Creative, and MASS MoCA for making the event possible. We got a great response to our session, which really propelled us toward some further expansion possibilities this year.

In November, we put out a call for artists to participate in the “control group” for an annual evaluation study of the Assets for Artists program. We’ve just completed the 2011 edition of that report — in time to submit to our main funder, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, before the end of the year — and we thought we might as well post it here, too.

With some help from the economic modeling tools available from the Center for Creative Community Development (tools I had a hand in developing while helping staff the Center from 2004 – 2009), the report suggests that the program is having a strong economic impact on the participants and the community overall.

Full disclosure: the report was not authored by an outside evaluator; I wrote it myself, so it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I give us an “A” for effort. Honestly, I tried to let the data mostly speak for itself, not fill the report with anecdotal impressions, and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s an early stage evaluation and the results should be viewed as preliminary findings at best. I think of it largely as a teaser for future evaluation efforts.

Anyway, I’d welcome thoughts on what this evaluation is worth and directions to take it in the future.

Yes, it’s that time of year again — time to reunite with family, remember our blessings, and write art-world news headlines that didn’t really happen.

A couple of you will remember my Top 10 “Arts Headlines You Missed in 2010.”

Since you were surely aching for more throughout all of 2011, I now offer you 10% more fake arts headlines for the same great price.

Why not be consistent, you ask, and stop at 10?

But this one goes to 11.

Nation’s Grandmothers Bring Class Action Suit Against Tchaikovsky, Citing Debilitating Mental Trauma from Prolonged and Repeated Exposure to The Nutcracker Ballet

Documentary Film So Close to Being Finished if Only Homeless Family Would Get Its Shit Together

New Arts Mentorship Program Pairs Apathetic Teens with Demoralized Artists

Occupy Wall Street Finance Committee Spends Over $5 Million of Donations and T-shirt Proceeds to Outbid Furious Goldman Sachs Executives at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction

Boardmembers of Local History Museum Are “Shocked and Dismayed” to Learn Their Part-Time Administrator Hasn’t Opened the Building to the Public in Over 3 Years

Bookstore Chain Purchases Newspaper Conglomerate, Raising Monopoly Fears Among the Extremely Aged

400-Year-Old Rembrandt Self-Portrait as a Long-Haired, Beret-Wearing Artist Somehow Confirms Viewer’s Stereotype of Elitist, French-Loving, Tax-and-Spend Democrats

Mitt Romney Vows to Enforce Immigration Laws, Will Deport ArtBasel Miami

Alice Walton’s Plan to Demolish and Replace Her Brand-New Museum with a “Super Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” Promises Wider Selection and an Even More Unbeatable Admission Price

Wooing Younger Audience, Orchestra Announces Evening of New Works by @BronxZooCobra

Bohemian Artist, Rejecting Mainstream Society, Decides to Get a Job

Here’s to making headlines in 2012.

More than 3 years into the great recession, artists are finding it harder and harder to make a living.

We know times are tough, but we do think the Assets for Artists program (now in its fourth year of operation with an innovative model to strengthen the financial capacity of working artists) is improving the odds of success for our grantees. To better understand how artists are benefitting today and how we can improve our services to them in the future, we’re recruiting Massachusetts artists in all disciplines to share some financial information that will help us evaluate the economic impact of our work.

If you’re a “low- to moderate-income” artist living anywhere in Massachusetts (and if you have NOT enrolled in the Assets for Artists matched savings program), you can contact us to determine if we have slots remaining in our “evaluation control group.” For taking the time to gather and send some financial data, we offer a $100 stipend. It should take no more than 20 minutes of your time to locate and send off the information. Participation in the study does not prevent you from possibly enrolling in the Assets for Artists matched savings program in 2012 or beyond (2012 application deadline yet to be announced). All information will be kept strictly CONFIDENTIAL and used only for evaluation purposes.

Eligibility for the study is based on household income: a 2-person household with adjusted gross income of no more than $50,000 (as documented on a federal tax return) will be eligible. The limit for larger households is an additional $5,000 per additional person, and the limit for a 1-person household is $45,000.

Massachusetts artists in any discipline who would like to discuss eligiblity for the study should contact Blair Benjamin at MASS MoCA by emailing assets4artists@gmail.com. The deadline is Monday, December 12, 2011. Only a few slots are available and will be granted first-come first-serve, so don’t wait until the last minute. Please share this information with other artists who might be eligible to help us strengthen the Assets for Artists program in the future.

ASSETS FOR ARTISTS IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF:

I’m long overdue to introduce the terrific artists all across Massachusetts who have joined the 4th round of Assets for Artists.

This year, with 35 new grantees, there are just too many to do justice to all of them with individual descriptions. You’ll have to explore their own websites (links on their names below) to enjoy their work. It’s an amazing selection of artists. They run the gamut: design; filmmaking; photography; pottery; glass; painting; sculpture; bookmaking; fiber art; storytelling; Jazz; Classical music; Americana.

I’m proud that we’ve assembled such an accomplished and committed group.

This is also a good moment to again thank the generous supporters of Assets for Artists. They include the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Citizens Bank, the City of Pittsfield, the City of Lowell, and the Cultural Organization of Lowell, as well as the federal Assets for Independence program at the Department of Health & Human Services.