ARTISTS!

I received the following letter from Trish Shepard on 2/99 and post it for your review. Copy it. Print it out. Review it. Comment on it. It is a great start toward the discussion needed to form a plan which we can organize around. I have a number of thoughts on Trish's suggestions but prefer to hear and post your reactions and additions. I ask ten questions throughout this document and will post your responses linking them to this page where appropriate.

Read on and write us your opinions, additions, suggestions or best wishes to umcac@art-teez.org or by snail mail to UM-CAC, 1630 W. Wilson, Chicago, IL 60640. Thank you! Your input is valuable. Thanks goes to Trish for starting this discussion!

"Free Artist Market" Advocacy Action Plan
Trish Shepard December 17, 1998

On the Chicago Cultural Plan, presently under-going updating and available for your input on the web, a new recommendation has been added by Drew, Director of the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center. Drew states,

"We call for the creation of a "Free Artists' Market" on the lakefront where artists can sell their arts and crafts for free (no booth fees) all summer-long (May lst - September 30th) every day of the week. Imagine the excitement with an open mike for poets, a space for theater, artists selling arts and crafts from all comers of Chicago, with musicians encouraged to play - jesters, jugglers and mimes, puppeteers, playwrights, and inspiration everywhere, every day. It would be a creative space to gather and meet others during the summer. It could only be a smash hit. Chicago needs this. Artists need this......"

To achieve this end Drew's idea is to hand out the fliers like the one I saw and begin a mailing list of artists who were interested in the creation of such a market. Then letters, which I helped stamp envelopes for, would be sent out calling for a brainstorming (grassroots) meeting to take place. Chris believes that the same artists who show in the summer exhibits of the "Art of the T-shirt" will spearhead the move for a free market. It would be more operational if he created a focused plan briefly outlining the ideas and obstacles. From this outline a working 'skeleton' plan could be presented to artists in a clear and concise manner. I believe in the grassroots approach, but it is an important step to lay some of the groundwork which can then be discussed and altered by the group. Here is the proposal which I will send to Chris.

Preliminary Free Market Proposal

This proposal reflects my thoughts about how to proceed on the original description above by Chris Drew. It boils down to questions of the Who, What, Where and When.

The market would only play host to artists with a Chicago residence. Any artist holding a Chicago Public Library card would be, eligible for participation. Following the framework of a traditional "open air market", products would not be juried. The reason for a non-juried show is that there would have to be a staff infrastructure to set criteria. There is no money to support such a large undertaking. Therefore, the spaces would be determined by a lottery.

Question 1 - What other reasons can artists offer for not attempting to jury artists' work?

The marketplace would be a lakefront area set-aside for artists to display and sell. Art is defined in broad terms to encompass both visual and performance.

The exact location would be determined by the organizing artists keeping foot traffic, public transportation access, parking and economic sustainability in mind. The size of the market will be governed by the availability of land and the restrictions set by the City of Chicago. I would suggest that the market start out on a smaller scale, using this as a pilot program, to prove to itself and the public that is a worthwhile, necessary venture.

Location is the most crucial of all the decisions and will require the most advocacy on the part of the organizing artists. Any market looking for lakefront land must court not only the City of Chicago Special Events Department but a multitude of other key players in the cultural life of the city. A perfect location for such an arts market would be on the strip of land north of the Museum Campus located between Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive.

Question 2 - What other location(s) do you suggest and why?

When:

The outdoor market is best suited to the summer months. May 1st through September 30th appears to be the most agreeable time of the year as Chicago hosts a variety of popular Farmers Markets, as well at the State Street Council Fair. The market would run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 am until dusk, during, its premier year. Having the fair everyday of the week would be too much of a strain on both volunteer staff and the City Departments, such as the Department of Streets and Sanitation, the Police Department, and the Park District.

Question 3 - What other ideas do you have regarding start-up practicalities?

Key Players

Trying to initiate a free artist market entails advocating to two different interest groups; the artists and a number of City Departments. The first step, which Chris Drew has begun, is to reach a wide group of interested artists and try to rally them in this grassroots fashion. There has been low and irregular attendance at the meetings. This I believe can be attributed to a couple of different reasons. Sure artists are busy trying to make a living with their art and have irregular work schedules, but I also feel that those who have come to the meetings leave feeling like they wasted their precious time. A sense of purpose and a solid plan of action will urge most volunteers to stay committed.

A long-range plan to involve more artists will include sending this proposal in a 'chewable' one-page format to local arts organizations and then call a meeting. The location of this meeting should be some where that is easily accessible from a variety of neighborhoods, such as the Chicago Public Library or the Chicago Cultural Center Cafe.

Question 4 - What other organizing suggestions or meeting locations can you offer us?

Getting the word out to a wide variety of groups will be an important task. The following are some ideas of where to post information/updates regarding the free artists market:

* Art departments at all the local colleges and universities will be asked to post flyers and inform their students.

* Gallery openings during the first weekend of each month will be canvassed for signatures.

* Flyers will be passed out at the MCA's First Nights.

* Lists of artists represented by galleries will be compiled and mailings will be sent out to those artists currently showing at expensive commission based spaces.

* Community Centers will be approached to hand out petitions and flyers.

* PSA's created for public radio.

* Art supply stores such as Pearl, Utrecht, Creative Reuse Warehouse,

* Betty's and other second hand stores will be approached with information and flyers to be displayed.

Question 5 - What other locations should we post invitations to participate? Please indicate any locations where you could volunteer to post and maintain our information.

Once the task of attracting a base of competent, committed artists is completed, it will be necessary to fine-tune the proposal and launch a full out advocacy plan directed at the key players. The key players are not only those whom would stand as obstacles, but also those offering relative programming. Forming partnerships with programs, which are established, will help leverage our cause, the free artist market. The following people and their organizations are influential in Chicago and will need to be approached by the organizing artists. At the organizational meetings artists will be encouraged to add names of alliances they may have in the cultural fabric of the city.

Mary Slovik, Special Events Department, Mayor Daley's Office. 4-08 10. She would have insight on the do's and don't of downtown projects.

Kim Whalen, Park District, 7-2504. A connection to the Lake Front Park District. Other people could be approached depending on the location of the market. The Park District has control over any activities offered on the 'public land".

Kristy MacLear, Museum Campus. If the market was interested in being located near the Museum Campus it would be important to know the transportation available to the Campus and to be aware of their programming.

Eileen Carey, Commissioner, Streets &, Sanitation, 4-461 1. Any outdoor program will require the attention of the this City agency in regards to clean-up and appropriate sanitation.

Eva Silverman, Project Coordinator, Millennium Celebration, Department of Cultural Affairs. With the much publicized 3 year Millennium Celebration slated for Chicago, an artist market would fit nicely into the community emphasis on the celebration of diversity.

Steve Balkin, Maxwell Street Market Preservation, Economics Professor at Roosevelt, 312.341.3696. Would be a great guy to speak with in regards to strategy of open air markets in Chicago. There has been controversy surrounding the evil UIC take over of the Maxwell Street Market. Play into the city's need to smooth things over and give them a safe, artistic and beautified alternative to offer to Chicagoans.

Belinda Reeves, State Street Council. Will offer advice on how to deal with the city while setting up a crafts fair. Possibly retrieve valuable statistics on numbers of people attending and revenue generated by surrounding institutions during the popular fairs.

Alderman, from all the districts, will be called upon by the artists in their Ward. Hopefully the artists involved with the organizing will be a representation of the diversity of Chicago.

Question 6 - What other names of interested individuals and grass roots organization from Chicago's many communities can you add to this list?

Obstacles

The problems, of trying to run a free artist market without any paid staff, are numerable. The only way this market will come to fruition is to sign on about ten really dedicated artists to follow through with all the pipe dreams gathered at the grassroots meetings. It can happen with some planning and serious courtship of the City agencies, which ultimately need to be convinced that this is necessary to the livelihood of Chicago artists. One important part of creating a new program that would impact so many City offices is to intertwine your program into something that they are already working on. Strike while the iron is hot.

Question 7 - Are we begging for favors from the City or building a movement?

Question 8 - Should we rush or take it slow?

Question 9 - If we succeed in creating an artists market, what should be the organizational structure? Who should make the decisions that affect us?

Question 10 - What if they just allowed us our First Amendment rights and we only had to agree on a location to create an artists' scene at? Then we could just let it happen.

What do you think?

Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center (UM-CAC). E-mail UM-CAC at umcac@art-teez.org Ph.773/561-7676