What Happened, Arts! Arcata?
Nine ideas to help liven the place up a bit
(Sept. 17, 2009) September’s arts events in Arcata typically inspire crowded streets, as Humboldt State University students have rolled back into town and locals feel the rainy season breathing down their necks. True, wine and bathroom seekers filled Jacoby’s Storehouse last Friday, where Northcoast Environmental Center staffers kept pouring vino and providing the toilet key, but outside, attendance was so sparse for Arts! Arcata, even the wandering Arcata High kids commented how few people had come out and about.
But people were out — Absynth Quintet’s “String Thing” show packed Arcata Theatre Lounge and getting a table at either Rita’s or the Alibi required patience and planning. The Plaza proper, however, remained a relative ghost town, despite fine work on display throughout at least, um, 20 venues.
Maybe that’s the problem — in contrast, Eureka’s Arts Alive! had 60 galleries, stores and cafés listed for September. Maybe more businesses need to get involved? The fact that finding Arts! Arcata listings online (outside of northcoastjournal.com) is nearly impossible doesn’t help — artsarcata.com is defunct and arcatamainstreet.com is no help.
Perhaps the wine crackdown of last year? Some killjoy pointed out that Alcohol Beverage Control requires a special event beer/wine license, which is why the norm has switched from merchants merrily offering libation to nonprofits collecting donations from arts patrons who desire to fill their cups. Good for the do-gooders, but at least a few people were overheard grumping about how “everyone wants you to pay them for wine now!” Sour grapes much?
Since the art major remains one of HSU’s most popular, the inability to get Arts! Arcata off the ground is not only depressing, but a potential economic boost fizzling out instead — and again, totally weird considering how many other successful events take place in the township recently named “Best City” in these very pages.
So, some ideas:
First, get the kids involved. Invite the Hunter Plaid Gallery folk to take over a section of the Plaza. They’re youngish, talented, smart and into multimedia. The South G space is great, but their energy is needed in the middle of things, not on the edge.
Bon Boniere and the other shops that support Arcata High School’s Arts Arcata Institute should be applauded — and let’s get more work by the teens out there in creative ways. Let them transform display windows for the night. Instigate an ongoing Project Runway-type event where the students are given an assignment that forces them to combine maximum creativity and minimum budgeting over the course of the month. They can track their progress on blogs MySpace Facebook Twitter and throw a fashion show — can we make it happen around Missing Link Records and Three Foods Café, two of the coolest, most inspired businesses existing in Arcata?
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preview
Changing Modern Dance: One Minute at the Time
23 Dances / 23 Minutes
And the Beat Goes On
Cupid’s Coquettes: a burlesque event
Recent art beat
Feb. 2
Shaken, and Stirred Up
A conversation with Ink People ED Libby Maynard
Jan. 12
To the Letter
Jan. 5
The Juice, the Jump and Curtis Otto
Today
Open Celtic Music Session
music / 3 p.m. Cafe Veritas/Mosgo's, 180 Westwood Center, Arcata. Informal monthly gathering of musicians playing Irish and other Celtic music. Hosted by Seabury Gould. seaburygould.com. 845-8167.
Nonviolence Action Camp
etc. / 10 a.m. Chinmaya Mission near Piercy. Weekend-long direct action orientation features workshops, role playing, seminars, ceremonies and field trips. Bring food, bedding, warm clothes, signs, banners, bikes, drums, acoustic instruments. Pre-register. saverichardsongrove.org. 932-5898.
Audubon Society Field Trip
outdoors / 9 a.m. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 1020 Ranch Road, Loleta. Meet at Refuge Visitor Center off Hookton Road. Leisurely, two- to three-hour trip intended for people wanting to learn birds of Humboldt Bay area. 822-3613.
Look Back in Anger Matinee
theater / 2 p.m. Ferndale Repertory Theatre, 447 Main Street. John Osborne’s sharply funny, fiercely honest exploration of political disillusionment and basic human yearning. Directed by John Heckel. $15/$13 students and seniors. ferndale-rep.org. 800-838-3006.
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FOUR Comments
Comment / By Sara Griffin / Sept. 18, 2009, 12:57 p.m.
Very impressive array of ideas to help with ArtsArcata-thanks for all the energy you’ve put into inspiring us all to do better at this opportunity we have here.
Comment / By noway / Sept. 21, 2009, 8:39 p.m.
Arcata = Green on the outside red in the middle.
Comment / By morgan corviday / Sept. 22, 2009, 2:41 p.m.
i agree… the turnout was depressing. even more depressing though was that only 6 (yes, 6) of the open businesses had music! what’s up with that? made me wish i’d brought my guitar and setup in an alcove somewhere…
Comment / By Joseph Wilhelm / Sept. 25, 2009, 12:32 p.m.
The purpose of Arts Arcata, as far as I can tell, is focused on getting people into town to drop money in the retail stores and restaurants. It really comes down to generating retail activity that rarely includes the art. It is the artists who are supporting this retail activity. There is very little going back to them beside a chance to show their art with shoes, wine, computers, sofas or garden gadgets.
It takes a huge amount of work to produce a true art exhibit and hundreds of people may show up to look at the art and meet the artist but few people buy. So how does one fund art-centric activities? Most everyone is struggling to pay their bills.
Art shouldn’t be about buying and selling but then again how do the art makers and those who promote it fund what they do? Rent is too expensive to run with the notion of art for art’s sake. I wish this wasn’t true.
I run a venue that is solely about the art. It is inside another business (Umpqua Bank) that donates the space and 52 feet of walls. This space is for nothing but art. Is there another venue like this? No. Even with free rent, and the volunteer time of the producer, the gallery looses money. The whole thing is a questionable activity yet we are told all the time how important it is and to keep up the good work. It’s community service when it comes down to it. How long is this sustainable? Will my credit card company accept a pat on the back when I can’t make my payment?
Personally, I have made numerous attempts to work with the University and I have shown students and had student interns. But students can be flaky and inconsistent and HSU faculty and staff are too over-worked to get involved. They are rarely even seen in town.
I agree with the premise that Arts Arcata has big problems. But I am concerned about the gist of this editorial. The artists and art centric venues are really quite burdened already and are probably doing all they can do. What we need is more genuine support for the art and the artists. It is the retail stores and restaurants that benefit financially from this cultural activity. And if they can’t be burdened to help more, then nothing will change. A new face or place will arrive for a season or two then implode.
The Journal itself could do a lot more to cover the art. Probably every artist in the county reads the Journal and it is the logical place for arts coverage. A calendar doesn’t motivate people to go out and take in the culture.