Developing arts and culture in Fayetteville has been a topic of conversation for 20-plus years. Probably longer in some form or another.
Expanding arts and culture infrastructure is economic development. Earlier this year, the private nonprofit Northwest Arkansas Council, in conjunction with the Walton Family Foundation, announced inauguration of a regional arts organization headed by Allyson Esposito, formerly senior director of arts and culture for The Boston Foundation, a nonprofit community organization in Boston.
The move reflects a serious step. The Northwest Arkansas Council, among many ongoing efforts, was central to development of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and the Alma-to-Bella Vista link of what's now known as Interstate 49, both projects that opened the region to business and population growth of major proportions.
Developing arts and culture in Fayetteville has been a topic of conversation for 20-plus years. Probably longer in some form or another.
Expanding arts and culture infrastructure is economic development. Earlier this year, the private nonprofit Northwest Arkansas Council, in conjunction with the Walton Family Foundation, announced inauguration of a regional arts organization headed by Allyson Esposito, formerly senior director of arts and culture for The Boston Foundation, a nonprofit community organization in Boston.
The move reflects a serious step. The Northwest Arkansas Council, among many ongoing efforts, was central to development of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and the Alma-to-Bella Vista link of what's now known as Interstate 49, both projects that opened the region to business and population growth of major proportions.
The regional arts effort, though, will thrive or fail based on what happens in each community. Last week, Fayetteville leaders got into a bit of a spat over the future of arts and culture development in their city. It reflects the fact that people sense all the talk of arts and culture promotion is finally turning into real and meaningful action.
For many years, it was easy to get frustrated. Sure, Dickson Street had the Walton Arts Center and a music scene. There was once a threat -- that's how it was viewed from Fayetteville's perspective -- that the Waltons were going to help finance a bigger arts center in Bentonville, but those notions seem to have cooled for now. A broader, strategic arts and culture discussion, though, has gone on for years, but has remained less than focused and, even more frustrating, without funding.
It seems, however, approval by Fayetteville voters in April of funding for development of a "cultural arts corridor" has re-invigorated interest. And by interest, I mean competition for who's in charge.
Fayetteville City Council Member Sarah Marsh and the Fayetteville Arts Council two weeks ago decided to press Mayor Lioneld Jordan's administration to include $102,000 in the 2020 budget to hire an arts and culture coordinator. Marsh lamented that goals related to arts and culture have languished for years without someone professionally experienced in the arts in charge. That the 2020 budget is already $1.2 million short of revenue vs. expenditures didn't help her case.
Jordan's administration, with City Council approval, earlier this year hired Experience Fayetteville, the advertising and promotion commission and tourism bureau of the city, to develop an overall plan of programming, marking and operation of the arts corridor. Its executive director, Molly Rawn, suggested an as-yet-unidentified -- and perhaps so-far nonexisting -- nonprofit organization would likely play a major role in future arts strategy and programming.
Marsh pressed her case Tuesday night, acknowledging "pushback" from Jordan or his staff. She asked the City Council to budget the position she wanted despite the administration's resistance. She even challenged the mayor on the spot to see if he could identify the city's three top arts and culture-related goals. He explained his perspective on the corridor, but didn't respond with a list of arts goals. Marsh said the city's current approach leaves a lot of room for improvement.
City Council member Mark Kinion later referred to a lot of "defensive posturing." Indeed, there was.
Now that the arts are getting real attention -- i.e., funding -- it's perhaps no surprise a bit of a tug-of-war would happen over who gets to be in charge. It seems the push and pull is between what might be called rank-and-file artists and the larger artistic organizations or influences.
Rawn has said her organization's work is, in part, to discern what the best model moving forward should look like, but it's too soon to know what it will be.
My guess is there will no shortage of suggestions.
Commentary on 12/07/2019