The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Artists' census to take place through survey
Census expected to be a valuable tool, help attract more funding
By Sue G. Collins, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 27, 2008
Two minutes and nine questions is all it takes to be counted.
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The Arts Alliance is launching a Washtenaw County Artists' Census Tuesday to help determine how many artists — visual, performing and literary — live and work in the county.
Artists of all ages and abilities are encouraged to stand up and be counted. The census will help build the visibility and credibility of the many artists in Saline, Milan and surrounding areas.
"Artists are the creative DNA of Washtenaw County, and provide the spark that makes our region such a great place to live," said Tamara Real, director of the Arts Alliance. "It's easy to know how many arts organizations are in the county, but individual artists are often overlooked."
The two-minute survey will be available online at www.artscount.org April 1 through May 17 and at Saline and Milan's libraries, and from Two Twelve Arts Center in Saline.
"This will be a valuable tool for artists to become more aware they are truly a part of a larger community and should empower them to find more funding and act as a cohesive group," said Two Twelve Arts Center Director Margie Bovee.
Bovee commended Terri Sibo-Koenig and Lynne Friman of Saline who have served as liaisons to the community during fact-finding forums so far for the Arts Alliance.
The census is intended to be as inclusive as possible. It's open to writers, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, dancers, poets and musicians, regardless of the number of shows they've been in or the number of pieces they've sold.
The findings will be reported this fall and organizers hope to repeat the census every three to five years to keep tabs on the health of the arts community.
"We are encouraging anyone in Saline or Milan to take a few moments to complete the quick survey," said Sibo-Koenig, co-chairwoman of the Saline Area Arts Council. "As we build the Arts Council, it will be valuable to know how we can best represent area artists and who is living and working in our communities."
The census questions were developed by a team of area artists and arts administrators using models developed by The Arts Economy Initiative, Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota and others.
A copy of the survey also will be available on The Saline Reporter and Milan News-Leader's blog, "Inside the Newsroom," the first week of April. The blog can be accessed through the Web site, in the upper left corner of the page.
For more information, call Two Twelve Arts Center at 944-2787 or the Arts Alliance at 214-0112.
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