Funding and the Arts

From time to time, I want to answer questions that come to me via email that I think might be of interest to more than just the sender. Here’s a question on funding that goes to arts funding but for anyone looking for sponsorship.

Q: How did you raise the money to shoot the videotape Tribes & Bridges at the Steppenwolf Theater and produce the Kaleidoscope Curriculums for inspireaclassroom.com?

Like many artists, the phrase, “businessperson,” can make me squirm.  But hiring tellers, shooting videotapes, printing curriculums, all of it, takes money.  I have been fortunate throughout the various Kaleidoscope projects to have Father Derek Simons and the Society of the Divine Word’s support plus support from my own regional storytelling organization, Northlands Storytelling Network.  However, I had to branch out further to turn dreams into reality.  The Tribes & Bridges videotape, for example, was made possible by a unique collaboration between religious (The Society of the Divine Word and the ACTA Foundation), arts (The Steppenwolf Theater, Illinois Storytelling Festival, Northwest Area Arts Council), business (The Kaleidoscope Group, Diversity Consultants) and corporate (The Northern Trust Bank) sponsors.

Fundraising is storytelling: What stories do you have to tell a corporation or an arts organization to motivate them to get involved with you?  You are a story:  What relationships have you or can you develop?  What will potential funders tell themselves about you?  “She’s trustworthy.”  “They’ll be around for awhile.”  “He’s accountable.”

Your potential funder is tuned to one station: WIFM – what’s in it for me?  Don’t tell a future funder or business partner your story alone i.e. why your project is so worthwhile.  Speak to their needs.  Do they want publicity, a name in the community or a long lasting product at the end such as a book or video?  For our multicultural shows on justice, we had to ask: what are our funders’ ideas of how things can or should change in our society?  We needed to write a clear business proposal that spoke to their vision.  Yes, organizations care, but they need more than that to have your project rise above all the others that come across their desks.

Fundraising, scheduling, feeding the PR machine, answering e-mails, bookkeeping and distributing tapes are all responsibilities I’d gladly do away with, but the nuts and bolts of business hold the artistic structure together.  The art of commerce is a story that makes creative projects happen.

Moving from PC (Politically Correct) to PC (Personally Caring) Language

Language is never neutral. I am a professional story artist and I have witnessed again and again storytellers, teachers, ministers and librarians, with the best of intentions, telling their audiences stories about slavery. They are trying to right a wrong; they know we were never taught the cruel realities of that economic system. However, throughout the telling they continuously use the word “slave.”  The word “slave” certainly seems like a neutral word describing a specific reality. But several years ago some African American tellers pointed out to me that a word such as “slave” denotes a certain viewpoint, the oppressor’s viewpoint. It reduces people to a de-humanized role. Instead, when we use words such as “people who were enslaved’, or “people who were kidnapped” or “people who were held captive,” we get an accurate description of who were the doers and who were the done-tos.

I’m not talking about choosing our words to be “politically correct,” but to become more aware of what we are communicating – intentionally and unintentionally. This debate over language isn’t arbitrary or frivolous. One group has had the power to name things, has had the power for so long that we are blind to the biases and put downs associated with so many “common” words. The greatest sign of respect is to call people what they want to be called.

I know this can seem confusing. But make it simple: ask the people you are involved with or plan to tell stories about what they prefer to be called. Not in a manner that puts them under a microscope or asks them to speak for their group such as: “What do “you all” want to be called?” (“Well, all twelve million of us have taken a vote and…”) Instead, ask people as individuals what they prefer and be ready to share your preferences as well. This means we have to make contact; this means we have to talk to each other.

Instead of feeling put out by the need to consider language, we could rejoice in the fact that we’re finally becoming a multi-voiced nation. People are beginning to name themselves and no one group of anything wants to be called any one thing.

Language is a living, breathing, ever-changing art form. We could take the attitude that it’s interesting and even fun to play with words to get descriptions that are more clear, more accurate and more sensitive. We take the time not to be “right” but because we care not to hurt each other. When we choose different words we help people see a different reality. A different shared reality is the foundation upon which we can build a transformed society that works for everyone.

This article may be reprinted when this full byline is used:

Susan O’Halloran is a story artist, workshop presenter, television personality and keynote speaker whose work explores the complex issues of social justice. She is an author of four books plus diversity curriculums, CDs and films. The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” For a copy of a free teleseminar with Susan, go to www.susanohalloran.com

* Photo purchased from istockphoto.com