Cross-Sector Partnerships in the Arts: Fendi and the Trevi Fountain

At a press conference on Monday, Fendi designers announced the fashion house will finance the restoration of two fountains in Rome, the Quattro Fontane and the iconic Fontana di Trevi, or Trevi Fountain (built between 1732 and 1762). The US$2.9 million (€2.18 million), 20-month project will be completed in phases, as explained by Fendi designers Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi. These phases will include the re-waterproofing of the main basin, the cleaning of the façade and marble statues, and restoration of the gilded inscriptions. The Trevi Fountain will remain open to tourists throughout the restoration process (fear not tourists, fear not). This announcement comes at a time when the funding for and preservation of cultural heritage sites in Italy is uncertain. Fendi, however, is not the first big-brand fashion name to take action in the preservation of Italy’s cultural heritage. Tod’s, an Italian company producing leather shoes and bags, is currently financing the restoration of the Coliseum for US$34 million (€25 million). Further north in Venice, Diesel, an Italian fashion company, is funding the restoration of the Rialto Bridge for US$6.7 million (€5 million).

Of course, these generous donations do not go without recognition. For Tod’s, the funding agreement provides the company the rights to the Coliseum’s logo for 15 years, as well as branding Coliseum tickets with the company logo. Fendi’s sponsorship of Rome’s grandest fountain will be recognized by a small plaque to be placed near the fountain for four years.

The city council and Mayor Gianni Alemanno of Rome are hopeful these interventions will continue, as the preservation of the country’s past is in peril. Alemanno said, “Without similar initiatives, we won’t be able to save the cultural memory of our country.” Though council members are supportive of the private sector’s involvement in the preservation of Italy’s cultural heritage, some conservators are wary. They fear private-public partnerships will commercialize monuments of national pride, turning sites of inherent meaning and cultural significance into fashion advertisements.

The private-public partnership between Fendi and the Trevi Fountain is just one of many examples of a paradigm shift in the cultural sector regarding what Alemanno says is, “a new system of cultural patronage.”

What a Difference an “A” Makes: Moving from STEM to STEAM

It’s a hot-topic today, complete with nifty acronyms, but the great debate about the “Two Cultures” is hardly a new one. The movement to incorporate “Art” in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program curriculum recalls the historic debate between the Sciences and the Arts (for more information on the debate, read C.P Snow's short essay, "The Two Cultures”). The irony of their supposed polarity is the fact they are completely interrelated. To say that the field of Engineering involves and is influenced by nothing more than “scientific” fundamentals is to say a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made with nothing more than peanut butter. And we all know that is just plain silly, and only half the sandwich.

“The arts can no longer be treated as frill. Arts education is essential to stimulating the creativity and innovation that will prove critical to young Americans competing in a global economy.”- U.S Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan

Ask an engineer (go ahead, I did) if they have ever turned to creative problem solving in their work, prototype building, model-making, or taken a course in design as part of their program’s curriculum. A course in design teaches an engineer the artistic and creative fundamentals they then apply to engineering-specific projects and solutions. Need a second opinion? Ask the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at any company if they have ever pulled out a dry-ease marker and taken it to the white-board to diagram the effects of a potentially risky investment or visualize projections for the next quarter. Visual studies and applications are an integral component of STEM professions.

“The idea that we must choose between science and humanities is false”- Dr. Alan Brinkley, in the article “Half a Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” Newsweek

So let's take a look at two different schools representing both “sides” of the "Two Cultures" debate. Perhaps you will agree with me that these two fields are not as mutually exclusive as some have explained them to be. In fact, it appears they are, dare I say, mutually interdependent.

One of the world's premier design schools, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), is leading the discussion with the initiative, STEM to STEAM. What follows is a description of RISD's position as published on the school's webpage:

“RISD offers endless examples of how art and design education teaches the flexible thinking, risk-taking and creative problem solving needed to solve today’s most complex and pressing challenges – from healthcare to urban revitalization to global warming.”

[embed]http://vimeo.com/48817744[/embed]

Ok. So now let’s head to one of the world's leading institutions for technology studies: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). MIT’s position on the STEM verses STEAM debate, as published online by the school, is as follows:

“In the current moment of economic uncertainty, America is once again turning to innovation as the silver bullet that will guide us forward. Yet in the eyes of many leaders, innovation seems tightly coupled with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math–the STEM subjects. We need to add "Art" to turn STEM into STEAM.

Artists and designers make information more understandable, products more desirable, and new invention possible through the project-based inquiry that has long been practiced in the art studio. By investing in art/science collaborations in research and education we can keep America at the forefront of innovation, ensuring our sustained global leadership and cultural prosperity in the 21st century.”

At this point in my academic and professional career, I simply cannot fathom how true innovation can result without art and design. Design in and of itself has become a differentiating factor for American products in the global and increasingly competitive marketplace. Incorporating art and design in the STEM program will create a new generation of creative thinkers, doers and problem solvers, capable of innovating in an interdisciplinary context and world. Be it the Opening Ceremony at the Olympics, the iPhone, or the chemist restoring frescoes in Florence, Italy, art, design, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are constantly at work together- equal weight must be given to art and design in school curricula across the country. Need I remind you that the world's greatest scientists, thinkers, and mathematicians were also poets, painters, and musicians. As Rebecca Ryan (founder of Next Generation Consulting) so brilliantly included in an October 2012 article, "Why STEM Isn't Working" in Madison Magazine, “Einstein’s theory of relativity, for example, came to him when he was participating in what he called “musical thinking.””

“Artists and scientists both ask big questions; designers and engineers both provide inspired solutions. Together they are more powerful than apart.” - RISD

I am most likely preaching to the choir, I am confident our TitA followers are already on board with the STEM to STEAM movement. I ask you to take your advocacy one step further by sending a letter to your Members in Congress or by contacting an elected official asking them to co-sponsor H.Res. 319: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that adding art and design into Federal programs that target the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields encourages innovation and economic growth in the United States.

What the upcoming election mean for the arts

What will happen to arts, arts education, and arts agencies after the coming election?  If you are registered to vote then you hold part of the answer in how you decide to cast your ballot.  The coming election could very well decide whether or not there are numerous municipal, statewide, and national agencies that help support arts infrastructure and education. Americans for the Arts collects information on elected candidates based on their voting record and stated policies.  At the top of the ticket President Barrack Obama has gotten good marks from Americans for the Arts.  He has proposed and supported increasing funding to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and has come out against cuts to arts education funding and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Mitt Romney on the other hand has pledged to cut funding to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Support for the arts, arts funding, and arts education doesn't split strictly on party lines though and it is incumbent upon us as voters to understand where our national, statewide, municiple and local elected officials stand on support the arts, education, and the creative economy.  Americans for the Arts has a handy tool that you can use to look up the positions of elected officials at all levels. 

Are Bricks and Mortar the Best Use for Money in the Arts? The Overbuild of Cultural Facilities in the United States

Recently, the University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center released the report, “Set in Stone: Building America’s New Generation of Arts Facilities, 1994-2008.”

Summary: The research examines the boom of major cultural building projects (museum, performing arts centers, and theaters) between 1998 and 2004, specifically looking at the decade between 1990 and 2000. The findings indicate during that period, “the level of investment in bricks and mortar as a percentage of total revenue and assets was disproportionate.” The full report addresses the landscape of cultural building, the investment determinants of cultural building, the feasibility of cultural building projects, and the effects on communities. The report takes into account population change, the national trend in ratio of arts organizations to cultural facilities, the relationship between the number of existing facilities in an MSA and the population, GDP, economic climate, municipal spending on physical infrastructure, spending by type of project, education rates, median household income levels, distribution of costs of projects (by region), geographic considerations, and other factors affecting the supply, demand and sustainability of cultural building projects.

[embed]http://youtu.be/KwhG7SK9csc[/embed]

Case Studies: Four case studies, presented as teaching resources, portray complex, management situations students and professionals might encounter in the real world. The cases (comprised using internal documents , construction data, and first-hand accounts from administrators, board members and/or volunteers involved in each situation) emphasize the need for managers to make strategic decisions, weighing the benefits and risks of each potential course of action. These studies provide a platform for discussion about the strategic design of projects, potentially shaping future design and management practice.

The four case studies highlight issues of  strategic decision making, project design, expansion and management at:

1) the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL

2) the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, TX

3) the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, TX

4) the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, VA

Key Findings: The report and the findings show that (taken from the report)

- Cultural institutions and arts facilities were overbuilt during the boom years

- Performing Arts Centers were the dominant form of new facilities

- The building boom affected the entire country, but was concentrated in the South, which saw enormous increases in the total number of facilities

- Building in the arts grew faster between 1998 and 2001 than or on par with building in other sectors, particularly health and education

- Rising population and higher average levels of education and income help explain why some cities built more than others

- There is no clear pattern of spillover effects (negative or positive) of specific cultural building projects on non-building local cultural organizations and the greater community

- There was far less investment in traditional theater facilities than there was in museum and performing arts centers

- The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island MSA spent more on cultural infrastructure ($1.6 billion) building than any other MSA during this period

- Research shows that for every additional cultural facility a city had, it invested between $0.11 and $0.23 more per capita per year in cultural building projects

- What influenced how much a city invested in cultural infrastructure was not the size of a city’s population, but how fast the population was increasing or decreasing

[embed]http://youtu.be/76vN7mb9n6E[/embed]

Looking Ahead: Joana Woronkowicz, co-author of the report, summarizes the lessons learned from the study and how the arts industry should proceed in making building project decisions.

• What is the motivation for the project?

• Does it align with organization’s artistic mission?

• Is there a need for the project (not a want), but a need?

• Do I have the leadership in place to take the project from the beginning to the end?

• Does the building project respond to the needs of the community?

• How can I be flexible in controlling expenses and nimble in generating income?

Turning Around Education with the Turnaround Arts Initiative

By now, you have probably read about President Obama’s Turnaround Arts Initiative in the paper, seen a segment about it on the nightly news, or heard about it on Entertainment Tonight  between cosmetic secrets of the stars at the Metropolitan Gala and celeb sightings of Blake Lively with Ryan Reynolds (Wedding plans in the works? You didn't hear it from me...). If you are still curious about the Turnaround Arts Initiative, then this post will provide you with a tidy summary of the program from a policy and arts education perspective. Unfortunately though, this post does not include details on Eva Longoria’s summer workout plan and how-to advice on beating the heat in Mila Kunis-esque summer dresses. Sorry.

“We are, as a country, engaged in a national conversation about how to fix our nation’s broken schools. We feel strongly that, while no one strategy alone is a silver bullet, art education should have a seat at the table. Turnaround Arts will test that theory, in addition to bringing effective arts education to thousands of our neediest young people and creating more access to the arts in our most underserved neighborhoods.”

The Turnaround Arts Initiative is:

• an arts education funding initiative in full swing as of April 23, 2012

• a public-private partnership designed to help narrow the achievement gap and increase student engagement through the arts (private partners include: the Ford Foundation, the Herb Alpert Foundation, Crayola, the NAMM Foundation, the Aspen Institute and Booz Allen Hamilton)

• a creation of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council (other public partners include the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Education Partnership, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies)

• testing the hypothesis put forward by the PCAH’s 2011 report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools, that “high-quality and integrated arts education can be an effective tool to strengthen school reform efforts-boosting academic achievement and increasing student motivation in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country”

• directed at the nation’s lowest-performing elementary and middle schools across the country, known as “turnaround schools” (turnaround schools are in the lowest-performing 5 percent of their state and receive School Improvement Grants through the Department of Education)

• a pilot project at this point, schools have already been selected to participate

• a two-year project, results will be evaluated at that point, program expansion will be considered, and resources will be made available from which ALL schools can benefit

What will the Turnaround Arts Initiative do and how will it be evaluated?

• Provide the selected schools with arts education services, resources and materials to “increase the likelihood of successful school turnaround, engage their community, and raise the visibility of their achievements”

• The key to the program's success is fully integrating the resources into the curriculum, making effective, impactful and rigorous arts programming part of the school’s being

• The impact and effectiveness of arts education in advancing academic achievement, student and community engagement, and overall school performance will be evaluated and reported by Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, at the close of the two-year term

Why did Entertainment Tonight cover the Turnaround Arts Initiative? Eight under performing schools across the country were selected through an application process. These schools have each been “adopted” by celebrity artists who will remain involved in the school’s curriculum reform by participating in events, performances, and classes. Below is the breakdown of each parent artist and their adopted school(s):

• Chuck Close (award-winning visual artist), Roosevelt Elementary in Bridgeport, Connecticut

• Yo-Yo Ma (award-winning cellist), Orchard Gardens School in Boston, Massachusetts

• Sarah Jessica Parker (award-winning actress), Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Portland, Oregon

• Kerry Washington (award-winning actress), Savoy Elementary in Washington, DC

• Forest Whitaker (award-winning actor), Findley Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa

• Damien Woetzel (arts leader, previous Principle Dancer with New York City Ballet), Lame Deer Jr. High School in Lame Deer, Montana and Orchard Gardens Schools in Boston, Massachusetts

• Alfre Woodard (award-winning actress), Batiste Cultural Arts Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana and Noel Community Arts School in Denver, Colorado

Is there opposition?

• Diane Ravitch, author and previous U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education under George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, says the Turnaround Arts Initiative is just a “teeny, tiny little band-aid on what is a giant, national, festering problem…And it doesn’t begin to address the needs of the schools.”

But we have to start somewhere, right? Many school systems and communities are eager to be included in the program as it offers promising opportunities and resources customized to fit the needs of each school. However, as a pilot project with strict parameters, the Turnaround Arts Initiative is currently focused on evaluating the impact and results of the program on the eight selected schools over the next two years. Meanwhile, schools and the general public can stay informed about the project, its progress, and resources made available by referring to the Turnaround Arts Initiative website, its Twitter feed, and the Arts Education Partnership’s webpage.

Stay informed about the Initiative, stay inspired by its intentions, and keep advocating for arts education funding on a local level.

A Recap of the Year We Spent Together

First, some sad news to share with everyone: this is my last post for Tech in the Arts, the quintessential blog looking at the intersection of arts and technology online. As a student here at Heinz College, it has been an honor to share with you on a weekly basis a look at different trends and topics at that very intersection, with a little bit of policy thrown in. For my final post, I wanted to take a look back at some of my favorite posts from the past year, and share with everyone what my thought process was when it came to writing about the important issues that affect the arts community on a daily basis.

Compared to the other writers here at Tech in the Arts, I have always tried to take a different approach – one that is centered on public policy, and how it impacts the arts community and arts lovers everywhere. As a Master’s student in public policy here at Carnegie Mellon, this is what I study on a daily basis and what I am passionate about, and I have been determined to include it in the overall conversation.

One of the topics I have written about frequently is the issue of funding for the arts, and the somewhat uncertain future it faces. Many cities and states, and even the federal government, are facing times of budget austerity, and cuts to the arts are happening at an alarming pace. I also wrote about the National Endowment for the Arts and its funding history, along with the new upstart on the arts funding block, Kickstarter. Arts financing in Europe has also been the target of deep cuts, and I finally looked at the debate surrounding what method of funding was the best for the arts in America. And in my very first post, I talked about how important it was (and still is!) to protect federal funding for the arts.

One of my favorite topics to write about was where arts and public policy intersected. One of my favorites to write was looking at where public policy lived through the eyes of the artists; another was a look at artistic revisions of the American Dream of buying a home. As we all know, the arts play a large role in economic development, which I wrote about, and I also took a look at how cities are thinking differently when it comes to development, often using the arts to differentiate them. Finally, I took a look at how cities are beautifying themselves through public works of art, as they face budget shortfalls and have to think creatively.

The most popular piece I wrote this year (and perhaps the most controversial, given some of the feedback and comments!) was looking at the debate over the most artistic city in America. The winner (as crowned by the Atlantic) was Santa Fe, but certainly cities everywhere can make their own legitimate cases for being the most artistic. Its topics like that are so much fun to write about; everyone has an opinion, wants to make their case for their own city, and it encourages discussion and debate.

I also enjoyed writing about an issue that doesn’t receive a lot of attention in the arts community, but is very important nonetheless, which is the issue of net neutrality. I wrote about how important the issue is, and also about how the issue is not going away anytime soon.

Finally, two of my favorite posts were about topics that don’t fit neatly within any of the above categories: My look at the Google Art Project and the White House, and also my look at the fall of Kodak and its effect on artistic inspiration.

It’s been a pleasure being a part of the fantastic and talented team here at Tech in the Arts for the past year. Thanks go out to everyone on the team for their help and support, and chiefly for the opportunity to write for all of you on a weekly basis. Thank you to everyone for reading, for being so supportive and for the kind comments and responses throughout the year.

For those so inclined, you can follow me on Twitter at @seanbowie, and can reach me by e-mail at seanmbowie@gmail.com. It’s been a pleasure everyone, thank you!