Louisiana Business: Arts Are Smart

A must do event! What makes this event so unique? After all, there are art related events taking place throughout the year anywhere you go in Louisiana. Any one of them will showcase culinary, literary, crafts, visual, and/or performing arts. There’s every kind of setting: arts fests, concerts in the open, art markets, arts camps and workshops, gallery nights, arts awards ceremonies, etc. You can network with the artists, the non-profit support entities, and the State’s cadre of cultural officials that focus on enhancing the arts.

Aah! But here’s the difference. This is the first time arts and business combine in a very dedicated way. There’s an event and then there’s follow-up business development services. You, the artist, business, or support organization, are not just introduced to a few leads at a networking event and a showcase of artists. This is different.

Sure, the event itself is packed with important information: testimonials from artists and businesses in the a.m. followed by an entertaining luncheon, and then a choice of training sessions in the p.m., finalizing with a facilitated brainstorming session where you, the experts and the businesses exchange ideas and solutions. (See Agenda below)

But the event is only the first stage. The next stage involves follow-up business services that help you develop and refine your arts business or organization. A business incubator without walls, for the arts.

And this is who has taken the lead in offering a long term arts business assistance program. The Louisiana Small Business Development Center at McNeese State University (LSBDC – Lake Charles) joins The Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana (The Arts Council) in this endeavor, to support cultural entrepreneurship. As Irene Vandever, Executive Director of The Arts Council, says, “there was an aligning of the planets when the two organizations came together.” After several decades of existence, each working separately, they realized they could be so much more effective working together. More effective organizations yield more effective artists and their businesses.

The term cultural entrepreneurship is not an oxymoron. Those with artistic talent can also be good business people. One does not cancel out the other. In fact, the sponsors of this Event argue that the synergy of the two sides, the “left and right brain,” make for a better whole (brain).

A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND

How did this come about, you might ask. There were a series of catalysts. First of all, Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and his administration have championed and energized the arts, arts development and preservation, admirably. Not even two devastating hurricanes threw theirs and local agencies’ drive off track. Quite the opposite. Everyone had to think outside the box to save the arts.

The positive effects of such leadership can be felt and seen at the international, national, state and local levels. Louisiana is considered a center for the arts, not just recreation and tourism, and not just nationally but also internationally. Nor is it exclusively about New Orleans. Google “culture,” “arts,” or “cultural economy initiative” and “Louisiana” to get a better picture and be proud of our State.

From that initial impetus to promote the arts before hurricanes Katrina and Rita, efforts at the State and local levels turned to recovery of the arts, its people, products and places. All of us who experienced the hurricanes directly or indirectly know that one of the outcomes of devastation was to better organize for assistance and, by doing so, strengthen the networks that provide support. This has been true for every aspect of life in Louisiana post-hurricanes. It’s also true for the arts.

A stronger network means the ability to reach for higher goals, namely legitimizing the arts as a viable industry in Louisiana. It takes helping artists and their support organizations create economic development. You know, it’s about growing the business base which, in turn, generates jobs, productivity, innovation and diversification of the economy, and so forth. Arts economic development = adding business skills/tools to the cultural mix.

And this model can be replicated all over Louisiana. Just as the LSBDC and Arts Council are spearheading this effort in southwest Louisiana, so it can be done in the other sections of Louisiana because the LSBDC and arts organizations have key offices throughout. “From this Summit we will better understand artists’ needs and, thus, be able to develop assessment tools and delivery systems to help artists around the State,” affirms Mary Lynn Wilkerson, State Director of the LSBDC.

It’s a good sign when the private sector pitches in with government to make things happen. In Louisiana we’re blessed with strong public initiatives in the arts and an engaged private sector. There are now more supports than ever for artists, their businesses, and the organizations that assist them because of federal, state, local and private sector funds and development programs.

Anyone interested in venturing into the arts, or refining and/or redirecting artistic endeavors, has exposure to a richer environment than ever before. One way to test the possibilities, brainstorm ideas, network, and explore answers to your questions is to attend the Business of Art Summit. Call 337-439-2787 and sign up. The entire event costs $10 including continental breakfast and lunch. Can’t beat that!

Some Important Contacts:

Pam Breaux, Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

Mary Lynn Wilkerson, State Director, Louisiana Small Business Development Center

Scott Hutcheson, Executive Director, Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation

Todd Houton, Director, The Louisiana Crossroads Concert Series

Irene Vandever, Executive Director, Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana

Mary Richardson, Director, McNeese Banner Series

Deb King, Project Manager, Southwest Louisiana Business Development Project, Louisiana Small Business Development Center

Business of Art Summit