Photo by Lee Jin / Artspace
Building community is at the core of our mission. That’s what we mean when we say we foster affordable spaces for creatives. An extraordinary example of fostering community occurred as an artist exchange program between The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts and Hi-ARTS.
Beginning with a friendly email from Kelley Lindquist connecting the leaders of each arts organization, the seed of an idea to connect artists from different Artspace properties would very quickly blossom into a six-month exchange program involving five dance and performing artists across two cities. In one city, we have The Cowles Center located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, whose internationally-recognized education programs for artists and learners have fueled their mission to serve artists. In the other city, housed within Artspace PS109 in New York's artistically rich El Barrio neighborhood, Hi-ARTS has been a leading cultural hub within the urban arts movement for over 20 years. Their focus on artistic development and community-centered programs was the clear overlap in a Venn diagram that brought two vibrant dance institutions together.
“We focus on the process more than the product. Especially for artists of color, this can be an integral period in their development that informs their artistic process. That ethos was shared in the Artspace exchange.”
Aaron L. McKinney
Executive Director, Hi-ARTS
Through focus groups taking place in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, dance and movement artists were asked what they needed. From those conversations, a core question emerged as the guiding force in developing the exchange program: “What happens when artists are paid to be themselves?”
That’s the question Hi-ARTS and The Cowles Center asked and, after experiencing the in-person culmination of six months of virtual gatherings, now have the answer to. Through this pilot program, three Minneapolis-based dance artists and two NYC-based dance/movement artists connected as a cohort with no designated measurable outcomes or need for a special final presentation. In other words, all the program asked of these five talented and respected artists was to be in community with one another. They were to structure the cohort however they deemed fit.
Photo by Lee Jin / Artspace
“We wanted to create a safe space to break down some of the rigid structures that we know in this industry and create opportunities for artists to learn, engage, grow, and expand their scope of the world through interaction with other artists."
Aaron L. McKinney
Audiences of dance are well-acquainted with the intimacy illustrated through the motions of movement artists. How they show vulnerability through the way they glide, pop, and soar on stage. Shaping and extending energy through their fingertips, elbows, and toes. A push and pull, inviting us into the landscape of their minds.
Those of us in the dance studio of Artspace PS109 for the final program gathering were privileged to experience this vulnerability in a different light during the circle discussion at the end of the day. In their stillness, with only eyes darting back and forth collecting the thoughts that whizzed before them, the artists reflected on their six months together. As each spoke, we again felt the push and pull of energy swirling around the circle.
A highly respected NY-based artist shared how validated he felt in the cohort’s acceptance of his genre of dance, something not always felt throughout the dance community. An MN-based artist shared how the program is a continuation of her journey in confidence and body positivity. There was an emotional discussion and acknowledgment of the pain artists internalize from years of whittling down a physical art form into a 200-word grant application. And there was an affirmation of the structure of the program itself—a mutual agreement that while being overworked and underpaid, it is truly invaluable to pause and reflect on oneself and one’s art.
Photo by Jennifer Diaz / Hi-ARTS
“We got to see in real-time each artist be reminded that they are indeed an artist. To hear them recognize their own value and expertise. To regain the drive of being life-long students and remain open to all the lessons we learn along the way.”
Jessi Fett
Co-Director, The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts
Experiencing the swing and rhythm of the conversation from one artist to the other, our heads bobbing back and forth soon to be filled with laughter and tears and applause and wonder and anticipation is art we most often witness on stage. But we were, and will always be, fortunate to have been able to view it behind closed doors in a space self-created by titans of their art form.
“We answered a question, and now we’re left with so many new questions. How will these five artists continue to be in community with one another? What endless possibilities come from creating more exchanges like these? How do we continue to find funding for programs that feel fundamentally right? It’s all very exciting!”
Jessi Fett
Photo by Jen Diaz / Hi-ARTS
“This group of artists will be forever connected because of the time they shared together and the bonds created through both virtual and in-person engagement. This is just a small example of what building artist communities could be.”
Aaron L. McKinney