This story has been circulating for awhile and there has been some pushback from councilors. This is the best explanation of what the position would be;
The position, as recommended by the arts task force, is a professional arts administrator. It is not a clerical position. The city would seek someone who understands nonprofit management and finances, facility needs and management, public art preservation and maintenance. They would also be able to increase funding from outside sources through grants from private foundations and the state and federal government. Sioux Falls is ready and in need of this kind of leadership.
While I clearly understand WHY they may think they need this position, this argument isn’t exactly convincing;
As in all industries, there are politics internally that sometimes prevent partnerships or collaborations. Cultural groups are no different. This is one of the reasons why a city position is much more effective and efficient than jobbing this out to another arts group. As Jeff Eckoff said, without great expense, the city can convene and develop policies that promote and encourage collaborations and give attention to the creative sector including individuals and smaller organizations. Nonprofit arts organization are businesses focused on staying solvent through a sale of a product. They are not service organizations concerned with the values of government such as transparency, equity, effectiveness and efficiency. They are also not accountable to taxpayers and all citizens. Based on the task force’s work, there is great need for leadership from the city to bring about cohesiveness and collaboration.
I would agree the city does need consultation, but would argue using an outside consultant would be much more cost effective then a permanent position and with the track record the city has on transparency I worry having an internal arts consultant would actually hamper the work arts organizations are doing in our community. Just look at the contracts we have with the Pavilion and the Denty. The city doesn’t have internal employees telling them what to do, and we shouldn’t. We rely on their expertise to run these facilities without undue influence from the administration.
I do support a long term city arts plan, but this cannot be done with another bureaucrat on the city’s pay roll it has to be done with private consultation from experts in the field and would suggest a study would be a better investment.
As someone who used to be extensively involved with the arts community I can tell you much more is being accomplished by the private sector and we need to keep government out of our studios.
*While there is absolutely NOTHING on the agenda explaining adding this position, it falls under Item #60 which is the 2023 city budget resolution. I also suspect that ‘someone’ is angling for this job, I will leave it at that.