This collaborative studio tour project is funded by the Arkansas Arts Council.
TOUR COORDINATORS’ COLLABORATIVE WORK
Arkansas artists in every artistic area have always known they are an important part of our state’s economy. From children’s first art encounter to the numerous jobs and professions, they weave their way into the state’s complex structure. However, why is the contribution of art not more widely acknowledged? Why has it not grown into a recognized industry and been seen as an asset in the state’s economy? Perhaps we, as artists, must first recognize our potential. As in most successful endeavors, persons and organizations must come together for the benefit of all.
One segment of art in Arkansas is doing that. There are several artist tours in our state, four of which are free self-driving tours. Others are walking tours. Three of these driving tours have collaborated in an effort to promote their art industries. These three are the Ouachita Art Trails Studio Tour in Mena, the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour in Mountain View and the Round About Artist Studio Tour in Arkadelphia. These three art tours have a total of fourteen years invested in their tours.
A huge amount of time, effort and expense is always needed to plan and produce these annual tours. In the Fall of 2008 members of these three tours became aware of funds available through the Arkansas Arts Council’s Collaborative Project Grant. The grant application seemed to fit the needs of these three tours in combining their efforts to jointly promote the visual arts and the visual artists of each area. Starting in December, 2008, three tour members, one from each of the tours, devised a plan of action, gathered a large amount of information pertaining to each tour, combined their efforts and submitted an application for a grant to the Arkansas Arts Council before the January 9, 2009 deadline.
The collaborative grant of $8633 was approved for the three tours in May, 2009. The Arkansas Arts Council Panel, in review, was pleased with the cooperative effort between the three art areas. The Panel was interested in emphasis on the educational aspect. Local schools are a strong part of each tour with several schools providing buses for children to attend the tours. Education is evident with both the artists and the public involved in learning opportunities. In some instances, students on the tour have asked for and received on site group instruction in the actual construction of art pieces. Tourists show interest and freely ask questions and watch demonstrations by the artists. The artists learn how to set up their art areas, meet and greet the tourists thereby promoting themselves and their art. Every annual tour sees many out of state tourists which certainly promotes the visual arts of Arkansas.
In response to the grant application, these three representatives designed a budget based on the individual needs of each tour. The most important usage of funds is for advertising. This advertising has been jointly for the three tours and individually for each tour, giving the tourists pertinent information for attending each tour. Utilization of the funds started in the fall of 2009 with ads for each of the 2009 free self-driving tours. After the September and October, 2009 tours, work started and is being continued on the 2010 tours with ads, brochures, rack cards, mail outs and a website which has links to each tour and, in turn, each tour website links back to the Arkansas Artist Studio Tour. To further extend the use of grant funds, a rack card advertising the dates of all three of the 2011 tours is being produced to hand out to all of the 2010 tour visitors, as well as to place in the State's Tourist Information Centers.
Organizing this first time tours collaboration effort was not without challenges. Each city and their tour have their own identity. Understanding of individual differences and needs of each tour and tour area had to be accomplished and ideas shared in order to form a composite identity of the three tour project. The final result is known as the Arkansas Artist Studio Tours. Each tour’s representative worked with their local art guild members to identify specific areas of financial need in the framework of the three tour group effort that might be aided by the grant. Another obstacle was communication between the tours. This was mostly done through emailing. Actual meetings of the three representatives did occur which required traveling to and from the three cities and points in between.
A great deal of work has been done to bring focus to these three tours and to art in Arkansas. Much more effort needs to be placed on strengthening these tours. Increased and broader promotion with emphasis on developing new tours in the state is important. New tours should be coordinated for clear understanding and linked to avoid duplication of tour dates whenever possible. These tours should target audiences throughout the state that do not specify a characteristic or income level. A broader goal needs to provide increased income for artists to encourage each to pursue their art as they see the financial possibilities as evidenced by the artists on the tours. We need to encourage young people to pursue a career in art thereby preserving the traditions of our various regional cultures. We should use methods like these to provide cultural tourism to strengthen and broaden the creative economy.
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