Regina Martinez and Emily Augsburger, from the Pulitzer’s Community Projects department, stand in front of The Heidelberg Project in Detroit, MI.

Two weeks ago we traveled to Detroit to attend the Rust Belt to Artist Belt III conference. The mission of the conference was “to create the foundation for a sustained dialogue that connects an entire creative supply chain; from creative practitioners such as individual artists and designers, to creative sector business owners, to advanced manufacturers and prototypers”. The mission alone piqued our interests, and once we glanced through the panel topics, we knew we had to go. The conference started two years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, a city also grappling with its post-industrial identity. The conference moved to Detroit as the city has some words to offer on the matter. As native St. Louisans, we have witnessed a similar identity struggle here. But as we learn to address the challenge and what it means to be a post-industrial city, we are provided an amazing opportunity for transformation.

Rust Belt to Artist Belt provided a framework in which we could view the myriad of issues facing rust belt cities and how these issues can be addressed by using the resources within the creative community.  As conference participants we were asked to re-think artists and the creative community by acknowledging their very active role in our future-making. We agree that artists play an essential role in the revitalization of landscapes and the vibrancy and cultural connectedness of a place. The conference, however, focused so heavily on building the creative community by calling for new individuals to cities, that we feel it did not fully recognize the creative assets already present. We must recognize, support and connect the creative assets already alive in our cities.

Individuals participating in a panel discussion entitled “The Power of Race in Placemaking and Community Development” shared our sentiments. Not only was this particular panel discussion vital to understanding a community, the conversation is key to many Rust Belt cities. We all have prejudices.  Art is a means of facilitating conversations and social issues that have destroyed and isolated us in the past.  Artists express, artists can be anyone, and art has the capacity to build bridges across all divides.  Art and life are not so separate, and it can be through our collaborative storytelling that we grow to greater connectedness and understanding of one another. 

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A couple of weeks ago, I attended a symposium titled, “Breaking the Rules of Engagement: New Perspectives on Thinking about Art,” at the Denver Art Museum, or DAM, as it is so lovingly called. The weekend included art, culture and new ideas about museum goers and supporters. I explored the museum and city, but  I was there particularly to meet with other museum professionals and discuss the future of docent programs.

The symposium centered on new ideas in docent presentations. Three interesting speakers at the conference were James Chung, Michael Cassin and Shelly Casto. They talked about tapping into proven trends and integrating new and creative ways to actively engage a visitor’s quest for the visual. Many discussed that the old ideas about tours were not the way to entice audiences. Instead, engaging in interesting conversations surrounding the work of art is the preferable method. Read the rest of this entry »

Realizing that I never finished my blog about Day 2 at the Harvard Art Museum’s Art and Medical Education conference, I thought I would add to those thoughts now. Coming off our visit to Detroit, where both the DIA and MOCAD sit in close proximity to the medical center, and headed to a visit to the Frist in Nashville, who maintains a strong relationship with Vanderbilt’s medical center, it seems as if there is growing energy and propelling those of us working in the art world to bridge the gap with those in the medical world. The points of intersection are numerous, whether they exist with engagement of patients, medical teams, students, residents, or otherwise.

As my position is jointly appointed with the Brown School of Social Work, who recently founded the Institute for Public Health, this is adding further fuel to this intellectual fire. For this particular partnership, my current mode of exploration, while broad in focus, continues to return to the theme of health disparities—how can art museums use an engagement around art to address health disparities? I would love your thoughts and comments about this particular train of thought.

Crew members from Earthworks Urban Farm in Detroit pose with their produce.

So my personal Detroit visit included conversations with Matt Sikora, head of evaluation at the DIA, and Jennifer Czajkowski, Direct of Interpretive Programs at the DIA. For those of you into evaluation, the DIA conducts what I consider to be an unprecedented amount of formative evaluation, or evaluation that is done during the formation of an exhibition (like market testing), which dovetails nicely with their strong commitment to innovative interpretive strategies, an effort in which Jennifer is highly instrumental. These interpretive strategies, the incorporation of which is based on the theoretical work of Abigail Housen and stages of aesthetic readiness, include thematic curation of exhibitions, specific language in wall text that isn’t necessarily rooted in art history, and other assistive devices, such as “I Spy” plaques and, my personal favorite, the table in their Fashionable Living exhibition that shows pieces on display being used in an 18th century dinner. The truly innovative model of how learning and interpretation (formerly, education) and curatorial interact to create one type of “optimal visitor experience” is somewhat antithetical to our approach, yet both of our institutions are striving toward the common goal of supporting the relevance of art in everyone’s lives. Read the rest of this entry »

The decline of the American City, particularly those for whom manufacturing was the primary economic driver, is long-standing topic of study and debate—a casualty of the most recent economic crisis or of more long-term political, social, and economic decisions and impasses. An expedition party from the Pulitzer ventured to Detroit recently, visions of Gordon Matta-Clark dancing in our heads and curiosity about how the arts were surviving in what is inadequately-described-as a challenging urban environment.

The flight to Detroit already spoke volumes, as we encountered what is becoming increasingly rare in this economy—a relatively empty flight. A friendly seatmate and Detroit suburb native shared with me the story of what industry still exists within Detroit, namely the military industrial complex that enables Windsor (part of Detroit’s metropolitan area) to continue to thrive. He also shared with me what would be the first of many glimmers and even rays of hope about the state of the arts—that he, a dedicated military contractor with very little arts interest otherwise, was a frequent and ardent visitor for the Detroit Institute of the Arts. We were greeted in Detroit by a sparkling new terminal, complete with indoor fountain, tram, and light and sound installation, and fairly easily found our way to Midtown Detroit, roughly equivalent to Grand Center in St. Louis. Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings from a recent trip to Philadelphia, where I and several other PFA staff members attended the annual American Association of Museums Conference.  It was a typical conference complete with educational sessions, networking, and expo-walking.  However, it was special in that it was a time and place that I decided–museums are for me. 

The talks I went to ranged from the Public Relations aspects, finance, volunteer services, etc.  I covered multiple topics and found out more than I probably ever need to know on running a museum.  I also learned about wonderful experimental programs being developed at museums around the United States.  In fact the theme of experimentation was wound throughout the conference and I found myself feeling like the Pulitzer isn’t the only Laboratory in the world.  

It wasn’t all seriousness though–there were museums a plenty to visit! The Mütter, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art were all wonderful and made me have those great moments that only art provides for me.  Each is a very different type of institution and each shows a very different type of art or artifact–but each is reliant upon ideas and viewers to witness them. 

In a full wall at the PMA, I discovered the brother to one of the current paintings at the Pulitzer.  St. Sebastian, off his tree stump and being healed by St. Irene, opened my eyes to the rest of the story presented on our walls.  Art is a dialogue and museums are necessary to house the story. It was a wonderful treat to hear so many other stories and ways of making them available. 

St. Sebastian cured by St. Irene, by Luca Giordano at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, Harvard Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Pope, Edward W. Forbes and Paul J. Sachs, 1924.31, Photo by Imaging Department, President and Fellows of Harvard College

I’m back in St. Louis, and full of ideas from Museums and the Web.  More to come on that soon.  In the meantime, I’d like to talk about my love of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

I’ve written before about how much I admire their approach to museum transparency, but this was my first opportunity to visit in person.  The new Davis Lab gave me ideas for the presentation of our own in-gallery kiosk and the surrounding 150 acres of gardens (with prompts to post your photos on Flickr – nice) was perfect after being cooped up inside hotel conference rooms for days. Their director, Max Anderson, gave an inspiring opening address to the conference, which set the tone for all the great ideas that were to follow. Watch his intro here (ah yes, Art Babble – another reason to love the IMA!).

To add to this always-growing list – here’s a blog post about the “Indy Culture Matters” rally they participated in yesterday and the associated website. Reminded me of Amy’s post a few months back on visiting Jefferson City  (and also here) and how important it is to keep the arts at the forefront and convey their importance to our community leaders.

I’m in Indianapolis, ensconced in my hotel, and ready for tomorrow’s sessions at the Museums and the Web conference.  The program looks great, I can’t wait to meet the people behind so many of the sites I admire, I get to talk web for 3 days straight, and finally I’ll get a chance to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art!  In conclusion: I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.  I’ll try to tweet updates on the Pulitzer’s Twitter account (follow us here: http://twitter.com/thepulitzer) as much as I can and maaaaaybe a blog post, if there’s time.  But expect a full update when I’m back next week.

This is how the cover of the Prospect 1 map describes the city-wide exhibition on view in New Orleans. Only three years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina hit the city, the biennial aims to revitalize New Orleans and affirm it as a vibrant locale for the arts. I was lucky enough to view the exhibition in person and experience not only the impressive array of works, but also the efforts of the people of New Orleans to rebuild their homes, neighborhoods, and lives.My trip to the Lower Ninth Ward had most profound effect on me. Here are a couple of highlights:

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Art:21’s blog today featured part 2 of a post by Hrag Vartanian about Prospect.1, a city-wide biennial in New Orleans.  Read the first part here, the second part here, with more to come tomorrow.

These posts are especially timely around here – two of our staff members just got back from visiting the exhibition.   They’ll be giving us all a presentation on their trip at lunch on Thursday (exciting!) and Elise (who coordinated The Light Project) promises a post about what they saw, and how this might figure into our future plans at the Pulitzer.