ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS MANAGER

In Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, improbable as it seems, nearly all of the musical numbers are in ¾ time, waltz tempo.  I bring it up, not (only!) to bask in the borrowed glow of a certified genius, but because, in this report on the state of (the) ArtSpace, I have set myself a parallel, if considerably lesser task.

For nearly all of my report this year consists in thank you’s  Too often, these reports have been a synopsis of what we’ve done, followed by a hurried couple of thank you’s to a select few.  Time to give the whole lot its due.  Because it takes a village to make ArtSpace operational, too.

First up, the artists, all 321 of them (305 humans, plus 10 cats, and 6 dogs), who trusted us with their babies and allowed us to show their work to the community.  More often than not in many quarters, the artist is thought of as the beneficiary of the ArtSpace space.  But it works both ways:  without their work, there would be nothing in the galleries, nothing in the gift shop.  And without their cooperation, we’d be out of business.  So, thank you, artists.  Long may our partnership flourish!

Then, I want to thank the Board of Trustees for its stewardship and dedication.  As a whole, the Board is to the organization what the artists are to the galleries:  without their participation, we would be adrift.  Individually, board members have been instrumental to our success.  Thanks, then, to Bill Sackett and Beverly Miller, outgoing president and vice-president respectively, for their astute guidance.  Thanks, too, to Brian Keegan, our treasurer, and Linda McClure, our tireless secretary, who have been induced to stay on as members of the Executive Committee.

Thanks to Shama Amin, our incoming president, who last fall organized the Heritage of India show and who gave us use of her spacious lawns for one of the most elegant fundraisers in our history.  To Sally Windle, who gets our CEU credits for the Soup and Salad Lectures and who has overseen most of the details of The Artist in the Film series.  Thanks to Kathleen Phipps, whose expertise in matters video has given us the PSA still running on local stations and the extraordinary interview with Judith Greavu which accompanied her retrospective show.  (Both videos are on the website.)

To Mike Baker for his tireless work in booking the rally bands and to Beverly Miller whose cheerful presence gives the rallies continuity and a face.  Thanks to Linda Lehman, who this year became chair of our indispensable Exhibit Committee.  To Elizabeth Brown, our legal voice and liaison to the Symphony; to Nicole Nelson, our link to downtown; to Bob Farmer, Jr., our newest board member; and  to Fred Odum, our institutional memory.  And one last, posthumous thank you to Martha Farmer, who was everything ArtSpace aspires to be.

Thanks to everyone in the community who supported us in monetary, spiritual, and even physical ways (who put their bodies where their hearts were):  our generous sponsors for the rallies and other events, our underwriters, our donors in high impact categories, and the people who frequent the galleries and opening receptions and the students who enroll in our classes.  Thanks, of course, to the teachers of those classes, who, like all teachers, never get the recompense they deserve and rarely get the thanks due to them (a former teacher knows whereof he speaks).  Thanks to those who lectured for us.  Last but not least in this list, thanks to our loyal members.

Lastly, we do have people who actually work here:  Kay, whose spirit and dependability are unmatched; and Anjali. who keeps our books with precision; Phil, who spots the problem before any of us; Ruth Ann, who is responsible for the professionalism and attractiveness of the gallery shows; and Chris, who is ever at the ready; and Andrea, our summer intern who has learned that arts management is not always glamorous --  to all of you, thanks and double thanks.  You make it work.

It’s quite a list.  Everyone on it is a cog in the wheel.  And all together, they are ArtSpace/Lima.

For a printable copy of the report in pdf format

click The State of _the_ ArtSpace 2010-2011.pdf