Usually I get this crap from different art orgs and don’t care, but enjoyed this message today from the SF Arts Council Interim Chair, Nan Baker;
In Ray Davis’ book “Leading for Growthâ€, he says “YOU GET BETTER OR YOU GET WORSE. You can’t stay the same. Treading water is not sustainableâ€.
What does that mean for the Art and Culture community in Sioux Falls? Are we treading water?
Moving to Sioux Falls in 1997, starting a career at Western Surety Company on the corner of 9th and Phillips, I walked to work from my apartment across from Lyons Park. At that time, few people lived downtown, businesses offered no outside seating, public art was controversial at best and professional artists were few and far. Having lived all over the world, I knew exactly why I chose Sioux Falls as home. Today, there are at least a dozen downtown apartments complexes, public art is beginning to take shape, new art venues are surfacing, appreciation for design and culture is bubbling. Things have changed. Are we treading water?
In 1999 the City of Sioux Falls approved an Art and Culture Plan. One of the most visible products of that Plan is SculptureWalk. From its inception, it was and still is a community effort like the Washington Pavilion, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Sioux Empire Community Theater, State Theater, Municipal Band, Siouxland Heritage Museums to name a few.
It is in a community spirit, that the Arts Council will be working to up-date the 1999 Art and Culture Plan in partnership with the City of Sioux Falls and Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. We will bring citizens together to share ideas, hopes and dreams of how to advance the art and culture of Sioux Falls.
As we begin the planning phase, we hope it will stir citizen participation. You will be invited to attend community conversations. We look forward to the up and coming journey and traveling it together.
Nan Baker, Interim Executive Director
Yeah, a lot of the stuff is ‘Pie in the Sky’ but at least someone is looking at this, while I hammer on these folks quite a bit, I do want to be a part of the conversation, because right now, the public is not.