DO IT OURSELVES: ART COLLECTIVES RE-DEFINE OPPORTUNITY

by Fionn Meade
Clicking on title is a link, but it is also here:
http://www.artisttrust.org/services/prof_dev/collectives

(excerpted from the Artist Trust Journal, Spring 2003)

Where collectives fit into the landscape of a given arts community has been somewhat of an under recognized barometer of social and aesthetic trends? Whether speaking of the collectively designed Dadaist publications of the 1910s, such as 391 and The Blind Man, or the loosely knit association of multidisciplinary artists that comprised the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the importance of collectively instigated and self-produced art activity is often more appreciated after the fact as the back story of recognized individual artists.

Likewise, the impact of an artist collective or artist group is often not fully realized until a community is faced with the gap in activity that occurs when a group folds (local examples include Project 416, Fuzzy Engine and, most recently, Vital 5). The familiar eulogies of “they closed?” or “what happened to…” or “the rent was raised, what can you do” often come as ready justifications for why the closure of an artist collective or alternative art space was all but ‘inevitable’. That said, independently organized collaboration as an alternative to or an enrichment of individual art practice is an idea that is increasingly in the air these days.

As New York Times art critic Holland Cotter summed it up in a recent article, artist collectives are increasingly “Doing There Own Thing, Making Art Together” (January 19, 2003) and people are taking notice. Referring to such highly successful collectives as The Royal Art Lodge (which recently exhibited as a group at The Drawing Center in New York) and Forcefield (a multi-media contributor to the 2002 Whitney Biennial), Cotter points to the emphasis on “shared resources and dynamic interchange” as the consistent organizing principle of the new collective model. Both in creative and economic terms, artist groups across disciplines are re-invigorating the collective model as an innovative alternative to market-driven expectations of individual artists competing against each other for limited resources and opportunities.

While no means exhaustive, the following five groups offer insight into how local artists are embracing updated versions of the collective model, all of them addressing issues of sustainability with innovative approaches.

Stronghold, a nonprofit group of artists working in different disciplines formed as a pro-active response to the increasingly limited availability of artist live/work space in Seattle. As their mission statement puts it, “changes in the economy and its attendant factors consistently push artists out of urban centers. In order to combat this process, Stronghold proposes to build a ‘fortress’ for the arts community through the acquisition of property… that can weather gentrification when it hits a developing area.” Having recently secured a group of buildings on Beacon Hill in order to turn them into functional artist studios, Stronghold has already taken a big first step toward realizing their goals. As member artist Jordan Howland puts it, “Stronghold is first and foremost a mission: to serve as site and catalyst for the arts.” Stronghold embraces somewhat familiar ideals but with a circumspect and practical strategy for taking hold of real estate and securing their place as artists.

Similarly, d9 Dance Collective formed in 1992 in an effort to pool their resources and take control by creating their own opportunities. “d9 was created in order to put the power in the hands of the dancers and satiate a wider pool of talent than the normal outlets can sometimes support,” says member Kate Kerschbaum. d9 identifies and commissions work that they would like to perform, or choreographers they would like to work with as a dance collective, and then produces that work. Currently consisting of seven dancers, each member of the collective also takes on an administrative role in addition to their role as a performer. The reward, according to Kerschbaum, is “the collective’s power to create opportunities, maintain artistic control, and pool our resources to make new work happen.” An added bonus, says Kerschbaum, is the hands-on education in “how all the components of an organization work.” Nevertheless, says Kerschbaum, “it can lead to more meetings than dancing.” As it stands, the considerable success of d9 Dance Collective over the years led them to incorporate as a nonprofit organization in 2000 in order to “address its long-term sustainability.”

Put On the Dog is a digital design collective of four “created out of necessity,” offers co-founder Laura Blanchard. Looking to avoid the overextended and often directionless business ventures that became so commonplace in the dot.com boom and bust era, Put On the Dog developed a consortium of in-house designers that work on projects for nonprofit and private sector clients alike. “No office, no employees, only three of us as regular players—that was a lot for people to swallow four years ago. It still is, but we can demonstrate that it works successfully,” says Blanchard. Promoting a more agile, customized business model has allowed Put On the Dog to avoid common mistakes. “We aren't forced to take work to support a large group, so we can turn down work that looks like a black hole,” reasons Blanchard, “which allows us to focus on getting the best work, not just collecting a paycheck—something our clients take notice of.”

Begun in 1999, BuyOlympia.com offers a grassroots entrepreneurial take on the consortium model as it sells the goods of a group of Olympia-based artists to an online client base that continues to grow and grow every year. Indeed, as co-founder Aaron Tuller states, “the initial and ongoing goal has been to bring the creative forces of Olympia to people outside of Olympia.” With a product list that has grown from offering one item—Olympia-based artist Nikki McClure’s 2000 calendar (featuring original prints)—to over 250 items in their main online store (including a diverse array of artist books, artist-designed clothing, toys and accessories, as well as new titles from local record label Kill Rock Stars), BuyOlympia.com has grown quite organically. “We meet face to face with our artists, take the pictures of their products, process the orders, and ship the work out,” says Tuller, “allowing for artists to concentrate on their work.” As McClure attests, “their work (co-founders Pat Castaldo and Tuller) has been invaluable to me, allowing my work to find advertising and distribution through major magazines and, as a result, find an audience as far away as Japan and Finland.” While primarily conceived of as a tool to for wider distribution of original work, BuyOlympia.com has also served as a community catalyst, assisting local organizations such as the Olympia Film Society and LadyFest Olympia with their computer savvy, but also, more importantly acting as a pro-active conduit for local artists. “A sense of community among the makers has been a real benefit of being involved,” offers McClure.

The mission statement of another Seattle-based collective uses a more familiar precedent to get fresh results. Founded in 1996, “SOIL is a not-for-profit cooperative space established, supported and operated by local artists,” reads their mission statement. “SOIL exists as an alternative venue for artists to exhibit, develop and advance their work.” This streamlined vision has carried SOIL through the turmoil of three venue changes in seven years and a close to bi-annual turnover of member artists. Rather than impede its mission, this state of flux seems to be part of the plan as SOIL continues to put on provocative shows and present some of the best emergent art work in the city. “SOIL is a real mix of wonderful creative energy and irritating frustrations,” says Kiki MacInnis, a member artist and sometimes curator (The Gun Show, September 2002). “Without specific committees and without fixed rules and procedures SOIL reinvents itself over and over,” says MacInnis, “and I can’t decide if its looseness is a strength or weakness.” Funded largely out-of-pocket through membership dues and an annual auction, SOIL skirts the question of whether to become an institution in the local scene and focuses instead on the artwork.

Do it ourselves? Five innovative answers to the question of how to create your own opportunities.