It is such a pleasure to have been asked to blog for At The Crossroads…

So-s here we go…

Thought I would introduce myself…

BIOGRAPHY

Robert Longyear is an artist whose practice alters the integrity of built structures as a way to compromise and transform. He’s drawn to buildings as metaphor for system breakdowns – and as opportunities to learn more about how humans interface with the world through architecture. Longyear received his MFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and his BFA from the University of Kansas. He is the Community Outreach Manager and Metals Studio Chair at Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO. Longyear completed his CAT study in 2003.

Robert Longyear

Studio Artist

Craft Alliance Community Outreach Manager

CAT Fellow 2003

St. Louis

“Art has to do with being, existing, survival, and life.” -Calvin Brunett*

We must remind ourselves of the above statement when working within our immediate environment and in wider capacities. Many of us search for an end product to achieve and sell. Yet, we forget the simple tasks of life can be eloquently colored experiences and happenings. This truth can not be hanged on a pristine wall or wooden stand. Nor can it be sold.

We must consistently share in the arts and be dedicated to longterm experiences. I will be telling all I can about my experience at the convening & what I’ll learn in hopes that more lives are creatively inspired. We should share what we learn in this upcoming week; whether it be person to person or at large. Use this experience to educate and motivate each other, in the arts.

Lately, I keep running into the same question from my colleagues, hopeful collaborators, and friends: “How can I survive, creating my/our vision?”  This quest shouldn’t be a lonely, singular action. We are on a boat together.

Gas bills. 20 meetings. Student Loans…. life. Existing is an art. It is an art to be honored. We must push for more collaborative efforts in the St. Louis area, and across all spectrums of everyday life. That is how the arts survive. We can not survive on temporal short term experiences, nor can our communities.

I am looking forward to the Joint Task Force.

*Calvin Brunett is an artist & educator from Massachusetts. I first became aquainted with his work when reading Black Artists on Art, a small art book  I recieved while living in Memphis…. but that’s a different story for a different day….

…back to the convening. What is everyone reading? I am revisiting Bill Cleveland’s Making Exact Change and Damballah by John Edgar Wideman.

-dail.

As I patiently wait for the Convening to take place I can not help but look back over a very intense month! One would assume that after CAT graduation, CAT is over, done, complete, that’s a wrap. But no, graduation has been the beginning of more work, more responsibility and more dedication. Literally, in my case. CAT Alum Alderman Shane Cohen presented a resolution to me this past Friday at the City of St. Louis Board of Alderman meeting! It is refreshing to be recognized by our peers and community, and the experience of CAT Class “Lucky Thirteen” is something we will always share! “Meee-0ow” to all my Lucky 13’ers serving the community in so many innovative, dynamic ways! I can not wait for our reunion at our first Convening!
-dail.

Check the Resources section for notes, photos and video documentation from At the Crossroads!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED!

The Community Arts Training Institute (CAT) and the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) hosted the inaugural “At the Crossroads: A Community Arts & Development Convening” from March 25 – 27, 2010 in St. Louis.

Over 150 practitioners and their partners in arts based community development programs and collaborations convened for hands-on workshops, panels, presentations and provocative thinking.

At the Crossroads was funded by a grant from The Nathan Cummings Foundation and with support from the Whitaker Foundation, National City-Now part of PNC, and Incarnate Word Foundation.

Featured presenters included Bill Cleveland, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community in Seattle and author of Art & Upheaval: Artists on the World’s Frontlines and Arlene Goldbard, social activist from the San Francisco area and author of New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development.

We participated in three days of lively exchanges in an energetic learning environment where arts and community practitioners connected, collaborated and conversed.

The Convening was kicked off an Thursday, March 25, 2010 with a special pre-conference workshop from noon to 5 pm: “What Difference Are We Making? Assessing Social Impact of Arts for Community Change” with Marty Pottenger of the Arts in Equity Initiative in Portland, ME and Barbara Schaffer-Bacon and Pam Korza, the co-directors of Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts.

See the Schedule to the right for entire Convening schedule of events. Please go to the Resources section for the full program, all the notes, photos, essays and video documentation.

For more information, go to the Contact section or contact the Convening coordinator Roseann Weiss, Director of the Community Arts Training Institute, roseann@stlrac.org