Validation is just a mouse click away

As someone who has spent most of her career in the arts, I have devoted a lot of energy in convincing people (funders, patrons, art collectors, newspaper editors… the list goes on) that they should invest in the arts. And when I say invest, I don’t necessarily only mean money – not that money is bad. Bring the money on… No purism for me! No, what I really mean is the investment of time, energy, faith, and conviction.

For me, commitment to the arts, culture, and heritage is a huge investment in the quality of life for you, your family, and your community.

Luckily for me, and for anyone who is currently in the position of writing a fundraising proposal, presentation, or brand new policy, ACE Communities has now launched the online version of the Benefits Catalogue. Included in this Catalogue is a database of over 700 studies proving the value of recreation, parks, sport, arts, culture and heritage.

The 2009 Benefits Catalogue, in essence, is an online tool that provides updated evidence for 50 outcomes statements using leading-edge technology. The vision of the Benefits Catalogue is one of sustainability with always-current research and evidence. Users, in fact, are encouraged to upload their own personal research or studies that the Catalogue might be missing.

This living resource summarizes evidence that what we do – as recreation and cultural providers - really does make a difference and has a significant impact as economic, social, and/or political drivers. It provides users with an invaluable resource for policy development, planning, marketing, program/service development and/or evaluation.

Type in ‘arts’, ‘culture’, and ‘heritage’ into the search engine and actual documented studies are found that prove that these three fields:

· are essential to personal health and well-being

· provide the key to balanced human development

· provide a foundation for quality of life

· reduce self-destructive and anti-social behaviour

· build strong families and healthy communities

· reduce health care, social service and police/justice costs

· are a significant economic generator

This same type of search can be done for topics like: active living, aboriginal issues, children and/or adults, cultural diversity, living with disability, seniors, parks, and recreation. And then – voila! - the database formats the results into a handy, dandy pdf ready for print. Your work is fait accompli.

And I ask you, has research ever been easier? So if you are currently in a position where you need or want to prove the benefits of parks, recreation, arts, culture, and heritage, look no further! Validation is just a mouse click away.

So visit: http://benefits.acecommunities.ca

Etsy.com: The Medieval market gone virtual

I recently had an insightful chat with an old school friend of mine. Eileen is one of the few friends I still… luckily… have from my art history graduate days at the University of Toronto. Those were tough, demanding times and she was my strongest comrade-in-arms in the art historical trenches. Not all of us made it out of that MA Program with our sanity (or dignity) completely intact.

The conversation that we had the other day was about how she was using Twitter to drive people to the photographs she currently has on sale on www.etsy.com. Etsy.com is a popular point-of-sale site used to sell homemade objects varying from art, jewelry, clothing items, and furniture to accessories for your pampered pooch. Some call it ebay’s funky, artsy little sister.

The fact that the two of us were having an au courant 2010 ‘technology’ talk was very amusing to me. My favourite memory of Eileen was the two of laughing as we sat discussing our medieval art history class at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the U of T. This very serious and lofty class used to crack us up. You never knew when someone might spontaneously start speaking in Latin (kinda like in the Exorcist) or show up wearing a minstrel-style cape. Twitter was definitely not the rage back then.

It’s interesting how technology has shaped so much in the past few years. So much, in fact, that old dog former art historians like Eileen and myself (although, she was always way more computer-savvy than me) have had to dust ourselves off and engage with current practices.

So back to etsy.com. It’s funny how things have changed and not changed at the same time. What Etsy is, in essence, is an artisan marketplace – with undeniable medieval roots - gone virtual. Items are still being crafted in cottage industries, brought to market (albeit virtually) then sold to a buyer. The change is that the buyer and/or seller can now be almost anywhere in the world. Even us parchment-reading types have to admit that the economic impact of such an initiative is mindboggling.

The medieval artisan market has evolved into a cyber-community celebration of the creative individual. But don’t be fooled, it is still an economic enterprise driven by millions of dollars in sales for its combined members.

Rob Walker, in his article “Handmade 2.0” for the New York Times Magazine, writes: “For Circa Ceramics, and for crafters in general, Etsy is another manifestation of how D.I.Y.-ism has evolved. Its motivation may still be the independence from capitalism ... But it can also be about a form of economic independence within capitalism.”

In practice, Etsy is very aware of its role as an alternative to traditional marketplaces and actively celebrates its community grassroots. One of the services it provides is ‘Etsy Teams’. These teams are groups of organized Etsy members who network, share skills, and promote their shops and Etsy together. A Team forms around a shared location, crafting medium, or another interest.

Etsy's 450+ Teams make the site not just a marketplace of individuals, but an interconnected and diverse artistic community. The teams, in fact, are Etsy’s biggest and most creative grassroots engine for support, networking and marketing.

While I am most definitely not a shopper, I do have a fetish… dare I say obsession… for handcrafted art objects. I’ve been supporting my little bubble of capitalism for years by buying objects off of various art sites. Now that I’ve discovered Etsy, I could be in trouble. Because, for me, there’s nothing as exiting as that little brown, art-filled package, waiting patiently for me on my doorstep.

So I will raise the cry: “Medievalist shoppers…embrace technology and unite!”

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To check out Etsy: www.etsy.com

For Rob Walker’s complete article on Etsy: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16Crafts-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Interested in my friend Eileen’s Etsy site? See: http://www.etsy.com/shop/easelarts?ga_search_query=easelarts&ga_search_type=seller_usernames