2023 Annual Membership Meeting Highlights
The 2023 Annual Membership Meeting of the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington took place on Tuesday, Feb 28 in the Flex Space at the Arts Alliance Center. It was great to see many members, advisory council members, and the general public in attendance. The meeting featured speakers discussing topics such as updates on past programs, initiatives, and upcoming events. The meeting also featured a presentation by the Advisory Council Chair, Alain Barker, who spoke about the Arts Alliance's role as a catalyst for the arts in Bloomington. New board members were introduced and participants were invited to sign up for volunteer positions or become members themselves.
Below is some more information about the meeting. Leave a comment on the blog post and let us know what you found most interesting or useful. We'd love to hear your thoughts!
Click the picture to access the annual report PDF
Advisory Council Chair Alain Barker: Arts Alliance as an Arts Catalyst
Alain Barker, Advisory Council chair of the AAGB
Alain Barker, Advisory Council chair, congratulated the Arts Alliance for its growth and spoke about its history and function as a voice for the arts in Bloomington.
"As part of the DNA of Bloomington, you are here to celebrate, nurture, and build the arts, but also to become a catalyst for the entire Bloomington population to treasure and get involved in the arts. The arts should be part of the innovative thinking that happens in Bloomington, rather than just economic development."
Alain also mentioned that the members of the Advisory Council are carefully selected to “help catalyzing arts in Bloomington, and not to in any way control or shape or or determine what the Arts Alliance does, but really just to celebrate and champion what you do and to put their full weight behind what you do so that it can become more and more of a driver of Bloomington.”
President Henry Leck: Update on Arts Alliance This Past Year
The Arts Alliance Center covered in Bloom Magazine.
President Henry Leck summarized the annual report and highlighted the success of the Flex Space, which hosts events every month. Currently, the South High School show is on display, featuring artworks by talented students, and in the future, an IU undergraduate art show is planned. The Flex Space events, including workshops, are available on the Bloomington Arts Calendar. Later this year, an IU student will compose a piece based on environmental sounds in the space.
Krista Detor, the composer/performer and director of the Hundredth Hill, an artist retreat center in Bloomington, will host a youth arts camp culminating in an arts show at the Arts Alliance Center.
In addition to the success of the Flex Space, the Arts Alliance has gained more visibility through coverage in WFHB, Herald Times, and Bloom Magazine.
Improve Artists’ Online Presence: Website and Marketing
The Webmaster, Xinyuan Zhang, introduced members to the Arts Alliance website and its functions. She emphasized the site's importance as a tool for communication and engagement with members and the wider community. Xinyuan introduced the different functions on the website:
The Bloomington Arts Calendar for posting events so that the community can find artists
The Bloomington Arts Directory as a home for AAGB members and point for the community to connect
The Gallery page for showing artists in the AAC Gallery
The Flex Space page for applying to use the space
She also announced the launch of a new blog this year, encouraging artists to write about the arts scene in greater Bloomington and submit their articles for consideration to be posted on the website. This is a great opportunity for artists to showcase their work and contribute to the Arts Alliance's mission of promoting arts and culture in the community.
The Marketing Manager, Bob Appelman, discussed ways to present artists' events, including the Calendar, the email Newsletter, Facebook, and Instagram.
President Henry Leck: Future Plans of the AAGB
It is mentioned that there will be 15 workshops held in the Flex Space, which can be found on the Bloomington Arts Calendar. These workshops will assist artists in developing their entrepreneurial and artistic skills. This could help emerging artists gain confidence and expand their reach.
In addition, there is going to be a townhouse forum at the Waldron on Tuesday, April 11th from 5:30 PM - 7 PM, moderated by Gabe Gloden. President Henry expressed intention for the Arts Alliance to become politically active and asked how the city planned to support the arts.
The audience cheered in response to this statement.
Arts Alliance Center: Space for Artists and the Community
The Arts Alliance Center Coordinator, Sarah Asher, talked about the interaction of artists who volunteer at the center, and how this leads to building community with groups of artists, members, and the greater community.
Piano playing in the Arts Alliance Center.
Sarah mentioned for artists who volunteer at the AAC, “There are stellar kids like seven years old that play that piano, on to people in the 70s 80s and they're so talented. That's the extra little bonus that they can hear.”
President Henry also noted that because the Arts Alliance is located in the mall, people who might not normally visit an art gallery feel comfortable coming in.
Board Introduction and Election
The president introduced all new board members to be elected, including Alison Kingsley, Krista Detor, Bob Appelman, Hiromi Yoshida, and Connie Shakalis. Each of them (except for Connie, who was out of town for work) shared their experience and their vision for the Arts Alliance.
AAGB 2023 Board of Directors
The meeting recognized Joanne Shank, co-founder and board member of the Arts Alliance, for her contributions to the organization over the past 12 years. The president acknowledged her hard work and dedication in helping to build the Arts Alliance into the thriving community it is today. Joanne played a key role in the development and promotion of the Arts Alliance, and her commitment has been invaluable to the organization's success. She will step down as the board member, but will continue to serve on the web committee, the membership committee, and governance committee. We are grateful for her service and look forward to her continued support in the years to come.
The voting for the new board members took place, and the results will be shown in a later post. We're excited to welcome these new members to the board and look forward to seeing the great things they will accomplish with the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington.
You can also find the people serving on the board of the Arts Alliance on the Arts Alliance website.
Open Floor Discussion
Speaker 1: Local Artist Showcase by Bloom Magazine
Malcolm Abrams, editor and publisher of Bloom Magazine, announced plans for a more substantial story on the Arts Alliance in the upcoming June/July issue. The previous story focused on the space, while the new story will highlight initiatives.
Malcolm also called on artists to submit their works to be considered as featured artists and pitch ideas.
Additionally, Bloom Magazine is hosting its Local Artist Showcase again, which had been going on five years ago, excluding times of severe weather. The showcase will occur on April 23rd from 11am to 5pm and is a complement to the Fourth Street Festival, in that the Bloom showcase features local artists and galleries. The event is inexpensive, with a $2 admission fee, and Bloom will donate the proceeds to the convention center to support local art. There will be live music, beer, and wine.
“We're doing it again because we felt that after the pandemic, artists had fewer opportunities to really show their work,” Malcolm said.
If you are an artist looking to show your work, please contact (812) 323-8959 at extension 0.
Malcolm added, “Not only is the Bloom show potentially good for selling your work, but it also helps people find out about you and come back later on. We've received more feedback on that show than any other I've done.”
Speaker 2: Arts Road 46 Project by Brown County Arts Commission
The former president of the Arts Alliance in Brown County, who is now an Arts Commission member, is working on revitalizing the Arts Road 46 Project. This project aims to bring together the different identities and activities in the arts world from Bloomington, Brown County, and Columbus. The plan involves allocating funds to each community and working with a professional to determine a long-term mission and strategies for execution. The former president is also seeking input from artists to combine the three communities and showcase their offerings.
ArtsRoad 46. Picture from the project’s Facebook page.
“We’re very serious about getting something going between the three communities because people come here, they should go everywhere, see different things and experiences. […] We need to see what we can do to combine the three communities and highlight what we have to offer.”
Volunteer, Membership, and Sponsors
To better serve the community, the president of Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington urged members to sign up for volunteer positions in various functions, such as running the Arts Alliance Center store, marketing, blogging, or joining the Development Committee, Membership Committee, or Space Committee.
Find out more about volunteering with the Arts Alliance and sign up at https://www.bloomingtonarts.org/volunteer.
The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington extends an invitation to become a member and grow with fellow artists in the community. Annual membership fees are reasonably priced at $25 (student/senior), $35 (individual), and $45 (organization). The Arts Alliance looks forward to welcoming new members into their community of arts supporters and enthusiasts.
Find out more about the benefits of membership at bloomingtonarts.org/membership. Signing up and paying can be done easily online or by contacting the membership team directly.
If you know of a corporation or organization that would like to sponsor us, please let us know. We are always looking for new sponsors to help support our mission of promoting the arts in our community. By sponsoring us, your organization can help us continue to provide high-quality artistic experiences to our audiences.
Find out more about Sponsors of the Arts Alliance at bloomingtonarts.org/sponsors.
Great Past Year of the AAGB, and Great Year to Come!
In conclusion, we are thrilled to report that the annual membership meeting of the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington was a success. Members enjoyed a diverse range of topics and participated in a productive exchange of ideas, and plenty of pizza and drinks. From updates on the past year to plans for the future, the meeting highlighted the organization's commitment to promoting arts and culture in the community. We hope that this blogpost will keep members informed and engaged - and attract new members and supporters. We extend heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the meeting, and we anticipate another fantastic year ahead!
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