“You’ve got to come through as an individual…If you own space, rent it to an arts organization for a reasonable rate; if you’re an employer, employ artists; if you have a special skill or knowledge, give it – volunteer.”
Justin Hectus, President of the Arts Council for Long Beach, issued this challenge to the Long Beach community as part of Re-Imagining the Arts in Long Beach: One Year Later, a special one-hour internet podcast at TheCreativityNetwork.org on CreativityNet.Radio. The downloadable podcast features community and business arts leaders from around Long Beach including Alex Slato from the Museum of Latin American Art, John Thomas of the Redevelopment Agency Board of Directors, and Blair Cohn, Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association. They, along with other Long Beach artists and arts leaders discussed the state of arts & culture all around the city, highlighting what has changed for the Arts in the past year and forecasting its future.
The special, a look at the State of the Arts in Long Beach, is a follow-up to a two-hour television special produced in November 2007 at the Museum of Latin American Art. Leaders discuss the challenges and opportunities facing arts corridors in the city as Fourth Street’s Retro Row and Bixby Knolls/Atlantic Corridor are welcoming new opportunities while the East Village continues to face challenges. “How can we (Bixby Knolls) do what you’re doing up in our neck of the woods which is a blank canvas?” asks Blair Cohn of Bixby Knolls. “People want a theater, and they want music and they want culture.” Perhaps rhetorically, Kamran Assadi suggests, “Maybe we should change direction and promote the (East Village) as an area that is receptive to arts and culture, rather than a live/work space, because (artists) can’t afford it anyway.” As co-owner of Utopia Restaurant in the East Village and Vice-President of the Arts Council for Long Beach, Assadi has been at the heart of the East Village and is a co-organizer of the very successful SoundWalk that is staged annually.
As host to many arts events and festivals, Long Beach faces a challenge to be more than just a series of unconnected one-day events. “We need a long, sustainable connection to all of the arts and opportunities that exist here in Long Beach,” say RDA’s John Thomas, who outlined his five “Ps” for creating sustaining greats arts community: Passion, Purpose, Partners, Presentation and Performance.
Justin Hectus highlighted the upcoming update of the twelve-year old Cultural Master Plan as important for the future of the arts in Long Beach.
Launched by The Creativity Network, in partnership with LongBeachCulture.org, the special podcast was moderated by The Creativity Network co-founder, Antonio Ruiz. The discussion was recorded by LongBeachCulture.org Executive Director and lbpost.com Culture Agent columnist Sander Roscoe Wolff.
The participants included:
• Justin Hectus, President, Arts Council for Long Beach
• Alex Slato, Museum of Latin American Art
• Max Viltz, Owner, Village Treasures, East Village
• Blair Cohn, Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
• Rachel Potucek, SmolarCorp, University by the Sea
• John Thomas, Board of Directors, Redevelopment Agency
• Carina Leoni, The Connected Corridor
• Kamran Assadi, Arts Council for Long Beach
• Danielle Dauphinee, Alive Theatre
• Jeremy Aluma, Alive Theatre
• Liz Anderson, Media Consultant
Co-Owners Amir Zee and Kamran Assadi hosted the gathering on December 1st at Utopia Restaurant in the East Village.
The Creativity Network is a network of creative community members committed to promoting, advocating and inspiring dialogue on the Arts and Culture in Long Beach. They do so through sponsorship of Salons at artful locations, a website at thecreativitynetwork.org, regular e-news alerts and event collaborations with arts organizations, institutions and individuals.