It seems strange to open the first entry of a new blog with a statement about past events, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm currently recovering from witnessing one of the greatest arts events in Madison's history. This is a bold statement, I know, for at least two reasons: 1) I haven't been in Madison forever and 2) My opinion is somewhat shaded because I'm a musician, so I'd say I'm partial to events that promote the arts.
That being said, The UW-Madison Arts Enterprise Symposium was quite simply the most exciting cross-disciplinary event that the city has perhaps ever seen - a weekend of workshops, seminars, passionate keynote addresses, and a student Venture Challenge competition that brought together the best and brightest of Madison's past, present, and future.
John Roach (the Emmy-winning filmmaker) was here. So was Leon Fleisher - yes, that Leon Fleisher. A head writer from the Colbert Report talked about his long, unexpected journey from the Onion to show business. Prominent Madison-based figures like Madison Symphony Orchestra conductor John DeMain and Andy Abrams (Director of the Four Seasons Theater) chimed in. UW Alum J.J. Sedelmaier outlined his path to survival as a cutting-edge independent animator in the age of 'Shrek' (his did the first season of Beavis and Butthead, by the way). Gary Beckman and Angela Beeching - pioneers in the world of arts entrepreneurship - gave impassioned, inspired, and revealing keynote addresses, and graciously took the time to give advice to students in the midst of a schedule which could have left even the most geared-up arts advocate exhausted.
Some of the most respected UW Professors from the arts gave perspectives on everything from the cross-pollination of art and business, to the various challenges the 21st century poses to artists, to how handle success when you finally 'get there'. This is just the beginning, but you can check out all the details at http://www.artsenterprise.wisc.edu/; in the coming weeks you'll see recaps about everything that happened over the blistening two and a half days. I hope you'll see the same in our local print media.
I want to move on to something else, though, because this literally groundbreaking event in the history of Madison is just the beginning of a movement which will quite literally shake the foundation of art as we know it. And I say this from the perspective of an admittedly awe-struck (but still marginally realistic) perspective. I should not be so shocked, after all, since I knew about the event and the people involved, and, as I've been lucky enough to share in some of this project through my role as a founding member in the UW-Madison Chapter of Arts Enterprise I should have expected that Stephanie Jutt and her partner Samatha Crownover would pull off something incredible (check out the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society). The thing is, I did have high expectations - they were just blown away. This seems like a really self-centered rant, but believe me these comments are meant as a statement about the event's impact from a humbled participant, one that was echoed time and again by those in attendance.
What is truly remarkable about what the Symposium accomplished is not that it brought these talented, fascinating people together. It is not due to the fact that students and community members (and there were lots and lots of both) had the chance to meet, mingle, and pick the brains of these generous and talented professionals. The true success of this event lies in the way it seamlessly brought together artists from all walks of life, from all over the country, behind a common ideal: the creation of a cutting edge forum for forging new ideas about the world of art, the renegotiation of art as a cultural and economic force for good, and the role and responsibilities of artists within the new social landscape of the current economic crisis. In the process we all had the unparalleled chance to collaborate in a truly entrepreneurial venture: the awakening to a new creative idiom through artistic empowerment, one which is flourishing as we speak across the country in events that are driven with the same passion and vision that made this Symposium so successful.
And as I started with a somewhat overblown statement about the past, let me just conclude with an (overly) optimistic stab at what I believe this experience means for the future: it is from the gestation of ideas that were formed this past weekend that you will see events launched which have never been seen before, and which will pay unrivaled dividends for Madison, the State of Wisconsin, and beyond for years to come.
But please don't take my word for it, get back to me about what you thought about the Symposium, or what you think we can do to keep the incredible buzz going!
http://www.artsenterprise.wisc.edu/
http://www.artsenterprise.com/
http://bachdancinganddynamite.org/
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