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2020 Berkshire SUCC3SS Idea Jam 

Arts and Culture Report

By Team R3SET 

Overview – I

Domain Description

The Arts and Culture sector plays a vital role in the economy of Berkshire County. 

Domain Vision

***Envision A Black Owned Multi-Use Art Facility***

A place for artists of the African Diaspora to create, share, and celebrate art. Art can include and is not limited to: animation, architecture, assemblage, calligraphy, ceramics, computer, religious, conceptual, design, dance, drawing, folk, graffiti, graphic, illuminated manuscript, illustration, mosaic, music, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, stained glass, tapestry, and video. 

Domain Areas of Focus

Education. Collaboration. Installments. Gallery ownership. Media visibility. Development of an African American ownership ecology in the Arts and Culture sector of Berkshire County.

Narrative Scope: The development and implementation of ecology of ownership for African Americans in Berkshire County: Art is the dynamic expression of culture and society. Berkshire County has a rich historical and contemporary Black culture. Keystone projects coupled with networking and resource sharing, led by the Black community, can spark our untapped creative potential and give our community spaces to create, share and celebrate our artistic expressions of culture and society.

Domain Goals

Idea Jam Activities

Idea Jam Facilitator

Sharron Frazier McClaine- Community Outreach Coordinator at Barrington Stage

Relevant Context – II

Historical Context

How do we own and capitalize on our creativity?

The creative energies of African Americans were unleashed following the end of slavery. Mastery of technological knowledge was evident. As both the Westward expansion and industrial transformation proceeded, the perception of new opportunities to benefit from developing technological innovations spurred creative activity among African Americans. 

Unfortunately, Blacks’ subordinate political status and limited access to capital prevented innovators from transforming ideas into enterprises that could significantly impact Black communities’ collaborative development. 

What can we as a community do to prevent history from repeating itself? 

(A thought to ponder in your head as we move forward with this session)

Local

This research reaffirms that Berkshire County has an abundant and robust arts and culture sector in terms of assets. An estimate by DataArts suggests the county is home to nearly 150 arts and culture organizations. 

They are small and large, locally treasured and world-renowned, youth-centered and senior-friendly, and as a whole make up an estimated 10 percent of the jobs in Berkshire County. They are a significant resource to year-round residents and a significant draw for tourists and seasonal residents. 

A second asset is the potential of the creative economy. This sector’s vitality presents strong growth possibilities, as cultural activities and investments stimulate tourism and set the Berkshires apart from other rural areas in the Northeast. As part of the broader creative economy, the cultural sector offers employment opportunities and fosters community connections. These economic and social factors hold promise in helping mitigate the out-migration of youth and working-age families.

National

Investing and Capitalizing of our creative power and Creative Economy

Current Environmental Context

There is a gap between goodwill sentiment and the resources and infrastructure needed to follow through.

Existing Resources within the Berkshire ecosystem 

– Non Profit Organizations

• Nonprofit Networks and Outreach: Interviews with members of the arts community highlighted concerns about the reduction of networking opportunities that, in the past, have facilitated collaboration, information sharing, and increased visibility for the sector. A contributing factor in this reduction in networking was the lack of an intermediary responsible for convening and supporting shared activities. More specifically, members of the arts community identified the need for more information sharing on working artists’ resources, such as facilities and technical assistance. Lastly,  those interviewed expressed a desire for more shared learning opportunities to understand better what prevents robust participation in the arts among community members. 

-Additional Resources

Groups

Partnerships

People
Sharron Frazier Mcclain
Julie Boyd
Kristen Van Ginhoven
Tasia (Jacobs Pillow)w
Warren Dews

Findings – III

What Idea Jam Participants had to say 

Challenges

The Current Experience for African Americans in the Berkshire Creative Economy

Advantages

Opportunities

Risks

Insights

What Idea Jam Participants had to say 

On Space and Place-Based Arts Experiences

A space, a place, and programming that caters to the whole individual:

On Arts and Cultural Programming:

On Youth Arts Development and Programming

Arts Education and Entrepreneurial Programming

Multicultural Arts Center owned and operated by the Black Community.

Develop a capital campaign around this objective.

Analysis – IV

Arts and Culture in Berkshire County generates approximately 400 million dollars annually, and 6,000 Jobs in the Berkshires. How many of those jobs employee Black Berkshire County Residents? 

Gap Analysis 

The Black community has identified several gaps to achieving the stated goal of a thriving arts community and viable creative economy.

In the ABC survey by BTCF 67% of respondents say they felt they were “not included” in the arts scene in the Berkshires at all. 

At the central core of our analysis examining why these gaps exist are the responses of Black community members in the ABC research published by BTCF. Furthermore there is a historical memory of public works projects that, for members of the Black community, erased their gathering places. A need–gathering places–recognized by many participants across all of the Idea Jam Sessions. 

Our idea Jam session on “Arts and Culture”  yielded the same perceptions and results as the ABC study, as we asked them;

“What [they perceived] are the barriers to inclusive participation in the arts, culture and creative economy here in the Berkshires?”

( Please refer the the Section Current Environmental Context “What the jammers had to say”)

Where we are (narrative summation)

The lack of inclusion in the Berkshires has had the side effect of underdevelopment of skills based career paths for Blacks, limiting access to the creative economy, and leaving much untapped creative potential. Especially in the areas of media technology arts, such as graphic design, videography, studio recording, photography. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge of how to access resources for creative skill development, in the specified areas, for the Black Community; a lack of access to media arts spaces to develop those skills; and few culturally relevant, media arts educational programs for the Black community.

So the question is why do they feel this way? 

What is the core of the reason this perception/experience exists within the Black Community and the Berkshire Community at large? This is the guiding question of our Gap Analysis.

Where are we now?

Overview of the challenges, opportunities, risks, insights.

Arts and Culture in the Berkshires has been, in the application and implementation of its programming, nearly exclusively white. That is, Arts and Culture in the Berkshires has existed with virtually no input from the Black Community of the Berkshires. In addition, in its power of privilege dynamic the Arts and Creative Economy has been executed over the years from one dimensional methodology (no ownership or robust financial participation in the creative economy in the Berkshires).

This has manifested  in 4 parts:


Thus the reason for the lack of attendance at Arts and Culture events in the Berkshires stems from the lack of inclusion in the creative economy Black Berkshire County residents feel. As evidenced by the ABC report and confirmed through Idea Jam session feedback, direct on the ground experience, and continuous work interfacing with community stakeholders and leaders over the past year. 

What’s Happening Now

Coming Soon

Challenges & Needs

Within the Berkshire ecosystem, we’ve identified a number of areas for improvement, including:

  1. A need for robust Black representation in local arts organizations (both executive staff & board leadership).
  1. A need for more personal and professional connections between arts resources, resource decision makers and allocators, of the arts and Black community members. 
  1. There is no ecosystem or framework specifically customized to inspire the Black arts community to go into business and build wealth. 
  1. There’s a need for robust policies to address racialized barriers and attitudes towards Black folk in the Berkshires  within the Arts and Creative Economy
  1. No creative incubator space to inspire, guide and support budding Black artists to develop their craft and creative skills.
  1. Grants for Black arts programming and resources lie exclusively in the control of white organizations, non profits, and top line leadership. We need a Black arts and culture fund! To regain control of how our stories are told.

Ownership of our creative capital and creative efforts. 

Focus on developing and producing stories, and collaboration from local artists

Focus on supply chain side of the creative economy 

Supplier Diversity programming and policies in the arts community

How are we going to close the gap?

We need a context change to Creative Economy “ Ownership Ecology”

With changes from the existing context of no ownership and self determination to an environment of true creative empowerment through ownership, self determination and capitalization of our creative resources.

Recommendations – V

Recommended collaborative structures, partnerships, changes to existing context ( social, economic, cultural, etc.) 

“The Negro will have to build his own industry, art, sciences, literature, and culture before the world will stop to consider him.” Marcus Garvey.

Black Arts Ecosystem Development 

The aim of the Black Arts and Culture domain is to continue to foster, design, and build a supportive ownership ecosystem for Black/African-American Arts initiatives and investments in the Berkshires. 

Recommendation 1

Ownership Ecology

There is a rich and diverse grouping of Black and African American talent in the Berkshires that can be tapped into, cultivated, and supported to help the Black community and the Berkshires as a whole prosper. Integral to a resilient and robust Black Creative economy is education on capitalization, and ownership of, our creative power.

Recommendation 2

Investment In Creative Skills Based Education

We need more career track, creative skills based training in the areas of photography, videography, media arts, animation and coding, sound engineering, light engineering, carpentry, playwriting and screenplay writing. Again, foundational to this recommendation is Black ownership. 

Recommendation 3

Impact Funds Allocation and Investment in Black Creativity 

Robust Allocation of Arts resources to invest in the Black Community and Cultural Development

Recommendation 4

Black Artist Collective and Cultural Council

A group of organizations whose mandate is to develop an agenda around the optimization and development of Black arts and culture in the Berkshires and to monitor participation. 

Recommendation 5

Regional Black Cultural Arts Events and Programming

Optimize our rich Black history here in the Berkshires. Leverage the opportunity to 

host regional cultural events that tap into the profitable opportunities of Black tourism dollars.

Recommendation 6

Arts and Creative Skills Based Arts Education:

Arts education, and skills based and place based education in media arts, media technology, videography, sound engineering, lighting, stage production, producing and directing, script and screenplay wrong workshops, etc.

Recommendation 7

Arts/Creative Economy and Supplier Diversity:

We need more robust supplier diversity programs and policies from the arts and cultural organizations, especially the larger ones, to do business with local Black business’ and skill based black creatives. Such as; Marketing, Video production, Merchandising, and Catering for events, etc.

Recommendation 8

Regional Black Arts Events and Cultural Heritage Tourism:

The Berkshire region possesses rich and amazing Black culture, history and famous historical and current figures from WEB Dubois, James Weldone Johnson, Nat King Cole, Elizabeth Freeman, Stephanie Diana Wilson, Rev. Samuel Harrison, et al. Black Cultural Heritage generated over $60 Billion in 2019.

Recommendation 9

Black/African Multicultural Arts Center for the Black and Brown Community

Coming Soon

Recommendation 10

Additional Research and Data Collection

We need more funding to collect data on Black participation in the creative economy. We cannot fix what we cannot see. Moreover, we recommend surveying  Black artists to identify what they desire, what skills they need to support their creative capital, and lastly what funding and assets they need to grow as an artist and brand. 

📚 References

Research

🎥 Credits

Idea Jam Facilitators

Sharron Frazier McClain 

Community Outreach Coordinator at Barrington Stage

Analysts

John Lewis

Patrick Danahey

Devin Shea

Kamaar Taliaferro

Writers

John Lewis

Kamaar Taliaferro

Designers

Devin Shea

Alyssa Mack

Editors

Alyssa Mack

Devin Shea

John Lewis

Kamaar Taliaferro

Advisors

Julie Boyd

Sharron Frazier McClain

📋 F.A.Q.  

Coming Soon…

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