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Lincoln Arts sees red ink, not red-clay sponsors
It’s a troubling sign of the times. After 21 years, the region’s biggest arts event is in peril of being canceled next year if more corporate sponsors don’t step forward this year – and soon.
The Lincoln Arts and Culture Foundation’s highly respected and internationally known Feats of Clay ceramic art competition and exhibition – now in its 21st year – announced it is seeing lackluster support from local businesses due to the economic downturn and a more cautious business environment. The not-for-profit organization, which sponsors a range of arts programs in Lincoln, is funded almost entirely by community donations and member contributions.
“We are running behind in our corporate sponsorships this year,” said
Claudia Renati, executive director for Lincoln Arts in a press
announcement released Feb. 28. “We realize businesses may not have as
much to give in these financially difficult times, but they should look
at (the Feats of Clay) sponsorship not only as helping their local arts
organization, but also as a good investment.”
Still, more than just economic issues plague the organization. Its community volunteer board of directors went through a shakeup last year when five members from its 10-member panel stepped down. While the circumstances surrounding the board changes remain unclear, sources cite infighting over the direction Lincoln Arts should take in the future as one issue. Currently, the board has nine members.
According to Remati, the organization had drifted from its original mission to make arts affordable to the community. The 2006 and 2007 Feats of Clay opening reception, for example, included catered meals, but required a $75 fee to attend. This year’s event returns to its more modest roots with appetizers, live music and a ticket price reduction to $45.
The reception event – held yearly at the historic Gladding, McBean plant – is open to the public and offers an advanced preview of the 80 sculptures and other ceramic art pieces chosen out of an extensive field of about 1,600 submissions.
Yet, at four weeks out from their biggest fundraiser of the year, Lincoln Arts officials report they are nine sponsors short of last year’s 30 corporate sponsors, which included several area developers. This year, few developers have stepped up due to the dismal housing market, contributing to the organization’s $30,000 shortfall in its fundraising goal. That creates a huge gap for dollars needed to fund next year’s Feats of Clay-related events and other programs, such as this year’s annual summer concert series and various after-school arts programs for kids.
“The programs for the rest of the year could be at risk,” Renati said, “or cutting staff is a possibility.”
The 2008 juried competition – open to ceramic artists nationally, as well as in Canada and Mexico – is already underway. The top winners who get a nod from this year’s juror, Associate Professor at New York University Judith Schwartz, will be announced at the Feats of Clay XXI “grand opening gala” on April 26.
It’s part of the festivities that kicks off a month of celebrating the red clay on which the city sits and the artistry of ceramic visual art, including tours of the giant firing kilns at the 137-year-old Gladding, McBean terra-cotta factory. It’s a hallmark Lincoln business that today still fires many clay products, including sewer pipes. About 4,000 to 6,000 people attend Feats of Clay events annually, said organizers.
The 2008 “All Fired Up” ClayFest on May 3, a daylong Feats of Clay festival that includes vendors, exhibits and kids’ activities, was at risk of being canceled this year because it lacked organizational manpower. But longtime area arts supporter, clay artist and educator Larry Ortiz – along with help from PlacerArts – stepped in at the last minute to organize the event and “to help return it to its roots,” Ortiz said.
The Lincoln Arts and Culture Foundation launched in 1986 with just a few volunteers and $5,000 in seed money from the City of Lincoln. It began in a tiny storefront on Fifth Street in downtown. Today, the organization is housed at 580 Sixth Street with office and exhibition space. The interior was remodeled late last year and reopened in January with an exhibit entitled “New Beginnings.”
For information on this year’s Feats of Clay exhibition or for sponsorship opportunities, call 916-645-9713 or visit www.lincolnarts.org.
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