Day 1 was opened by renowned speaker Dr. Richard Florida – target audience, socio-economic development leaders.
Day 2, was opened by Jian Ghomeshi, CBC Radio personality – target audience, artists, arts management stakeholders.

Main Atrium

I attended Day 2, Saturday morning. It was bright and sunny, yet cold and windy, and I was early – typical! My day started off at the conference being greeted by a wonderfully draped facade by interior space designer, Elaine Cooledge. It was a cool thing to see the logo I designed for Arts Exposed, on posters and banners, and on name tags and loot bags. Then I saw Herbert Pryke of Artcures. Herbert was avidly self-promoting his Artcures programs and sold me a stack of greeting cards. Later in the day he would be a speaker in the “Healing Arts” session.

Table settings by Elaine Cooledge

After registering I proceeded down to the main presentation room where I was met by a waft of coffee aroma and Elaine Cooledge dusting and tweaking her amazing table settings, which consisted of long red spiraled zippers. [The zipper, as you may know, was the theme that I developed for the conference branding, a la Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album]. As I was feeling the buzz of my first cup of coffee, I was joined by several people — an inquisitive arts student from Unionville High, Director of Culture, John Ryerson, an artist from Mount Albert, a representative from Latcham Gallery and fellow visual artist, David Clubine. (Forgive me for not remembering your names. Put it down to the early hour and lack of that first coffee). Soon the room was full and the formalities about to begin. Looking around I saw several familiar faces.

I haven’t heard his radio show, but I have seen the filmed versions on YouTube — Jian Ghomeshi was the keynote — an extremely intelligent and candid speaker portraying himself as an immigrant Iranian from Thornhill who realized he had a skill to communicate with the masses. He definitely had that talent. He reminded us to “own our experiences“, “own our diversity“, and “change our elite prejudices about pop culture“. Illustrating the fact that 10 years ago, iPhones, iPads, Twitter and Facebook didn’t exist. Time flies! He told us that “we are our own brands” (something I’ve been preaching for years). These were words that I wish more of my peers were able to hear. His statement that “art is accessible – its how we treat and present it that isn’t” really struck home as well — he even gave us an anecdote about how an elitist error in judgement by a national gallery had the potential to reject a much larger audience of understanding by offering a bad first impression. His words rang deep within me.

Afterwards, I met up with fellow artist Samantha Rodin to go to the first session. Samantha was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the York Region Arts Council and aptly chose this session. As a former Board member of the Markham Arts Council, I too was interested in “The Nuts & Bolts of Arts Management: Board Development, Governance & Succession Planning, led by speaker, Jennifer Steele. To me, this session was the most important of the conference. It illustrated the roles of the Board member versus the role of staff. In a nutshell, the role of an Arts Board is to manage governance, policies and strategic planning. Day-to-day operations including marketing, communications and events are reliant on staff and committees.

The next session I took was “Help Wanted: Volunteer Recruitment & Management“. This was an extension to the previous session as it dealt with the trials and tribulations of volunteering. How to motivate volunteers, and more importantly, the need to show them appreciation.

The final session and an awe-inspiring one at that, was “Healing Arts: Art Therapy” with five speakers. The most captivating was by Corene Jonat of DeafBlind. Her presentation showcasing imagery of people with major sensory handicaps was an amazing experience. To a blind person it is a valuable exploration in expression. Music therapy was discussed by another speaker who was currently working in palliative care using music as an emotional stimulant. Several years ago as a therapeutic tool, my wife re-introduced me to art to help overcome personal grief. This session proved that there is more to art than meets the eye.

I met several new people and was happy to mingle with friends during the long day. Great to see Helen Argiro, (the new Executive Director of the Markham Arts Council), but wish other MAC representatives were present also. Throughout the social breaks, we were entertained by a variety of artists including The Good Brothers, First Nations performers, an exotic belly dancer, youth singers from Ovation, and many more. An interesting array of tasty treats was also available during lunch and the closing reception. (note to self: bring a tray next time). The wine bar ticket sure came in handy too.

All-in-all, I wasn’t disappointed with the conference. The staff and volunteers were exceptional, and the venue was ideal. I look forward to the next version and stress to my peers that this conference was set up for you. Take advantage of it and learn. There were many sessions I wished I’d taken, but there’s only so much one can take in during the allotted time.

Many thanks to Nancy Bodi, Judi McIntyre and the entire Conference team! I know it was a tremendous amount of work. I can safely say that you did a great job exposing the arts. Well done!

My role within my local arts community has changed to one on the sidelines and with that a look at what direction I wish to take with my art. My core explorations will always be enhanced as my art matures and I’ll always be influenced by my environment. With all that in mind I decided to rework my website a little, adding more social media tools in order to harness the power of the search engines. Having a history in seo, I have been fortunate to have my web presence ranked high. One way to do this is to use social media applications to encourage users to visit more often and to entice communication. The new look site is barely different from a month ago except for the social media enhancements and the addition of a few new paintings.

The Markham Art Show is currently underway, and usually at this time of year I am scrambling to make up new stock for the show, but I decided that after the success of my December show, “The Colour of Art”, I would take a break and focus on developing a new series for an upcoming June show at the McKay Gallery in Unionville. I was recently invited to submit a painting for the annual, but prestigious Varley Art Auction. Not wanting to send in old work, I created a brand new piece just for this event.

New changes have also affected the Markham Arts Council and York Region Arts Council. Judi McIntyre, long time Executive Director has retired from the MAC and was recently elected to the Chair position of the YRAC Board of Directors. Judi had previously sat on the Board representing the interests of Markham, and chairs the Arts Exposed Conference coming up in April (as previously written about). Hopefully Judi will use her experience as an arts organizer to motivate the region’s arts sector in a forward direction.

Congratulations to Samantha Rodin on her election to the YRAC Board of Directors. Sam exudes an energetic positive attitude towards the development and sustainability of visual arts. Her youth is a valuable asset to the region’s arts sector and her voice will be heard, I’m sure! Sam is currently displaying her art at the Markham Art Show in the Markville Mall.

In the meantime, I am happy to have met the new Executive Director of the MAC, Helen Argiro. Helen brings with her a progressive attitude that will I’m sure, propel the MAC’s arts initiatives into a new and positive level. I believe that between Helen, Robyn and (I hope) a forward-thinking Board, the MAC will continue to uphold its leadership in the Region’s arts community.

The artists and art groups of the region must also change old attitudes to their development in the culture sector. I have long-since watched the apathy towards involvement by some of my peers. Too many bench-warmers and not enough players. Forget the politics of art and move forward by encouraging a younger and more diverse demographic to grow. I believe that the region’s arts groups need to agree on a systematic program of display and performance that will put them on the larger map. We are only small-time artists if we have no support from our member organizations. Changes need to happen now.

It’s almost spring: let’s put our heads together and start some strategic developing.

Coming on April 1st and 2nd at the Markham Campus of Seneca College.

York Region hasn’t had a conference of this importance. Lots of strategy and planning is going into this to provide the arts community with valuable information on how to further the arts. Check out the Arts Exposed website at www.artsexposed.ca for details. Special early-bird pricing is in effect for a limited time as well as discounts for YRAC members. Get your membership in YRAC today at www.yorkregionartscouncil.com. Take advantage of this event and learn what it takes to run and arts group or how to further your career in the arts.

YRAC is doing this for you. Register for the conference now! The fee is minimal compared to what you will learn. Remember the importance of arts and culture in your community.

See you there!

Today, Rhiana and I entered a juried Mayor’s Art Showcase. I entered “Reach” and “The Pond“. The latter was accepted. Rhiana’s two entries also got in, one of which garnered an Honourable Mention. Way to go Rhiana! Congratulations!

Tomorrow is the Markham Arts Council’s major fundraiser: Arts & Tarts: A Royal Tea. Yours truly was the sponsoring graphic designer. Over 200 guests are expected and will be entertained by June Garber — our favourite local songstress, Opera York and local pianist Scott Christian. There’ll be a Hat Parade managed by Nancy Farr and Christiane Bristow with beautiful models showcasing the latest in headwear. A Tea Tasting by Roger Clements of the Old Curiosity Tea Shop. A heART Gallery with paintings and sculptures – all with a heart theme in honour of our star, the Queen of Hearts played by Christiane Bristow. Elaine Cooledge our décor designer has created a wonderland memory. There’ll be boutiques and balloon pop draws, silent auctions and of course, a Royal Tea. All proceeds will go towards the Markham Arts Council. The invitation was a unique design whereby I created a box with a real teacup and saucer inside. Its been a big hit. My sister Elizabeth created an amazing fused glass dish in honour of the event for the heART Gallery. Robyn Craig and Judi McIntyre are the most important component to this event. Without their continuing hard work, it wouldn’t be happening. Thank you on behalf of all the members of the Markham Arts Council for all that you do for us!

Nicky’s represented Markham Teen Arts Council at several events and attended their first rock concert at the Crosby Arena. He also took the initiative to write a letter to the Director of Culture, John Ryerson requesting an Arts & Culture Centre to be included in the Town of Markham’s long-term Leisure and Culture strategic plan. Good job Nicky – you are the future generation that will be appreciating everything the Town and the Arts Council are doing and your voice is important!

On Thursday, Robyn and I attended an announcement by the York Region Arts Council who showcased a new grant program and an upcoming conference to be held in April 2011. I design the theme logo: Arts Exposed, plus an accompanying flyer that was included in attendee kits.

On May 31 for a week, the Markham Arts Council presents the Art Show to be held in Unionville. I’ll be participating in this show as well and designed the marketing communications for this event. Click here for a poster.

Well, that’s my update so far. TTFN!

The event featured performing artists and visual artists, including yours truly.

I’ll see if I can get some photos here…

at the Thornhill Village Festival

at Applefest in the Markham Museum

Other things in the works are the upcoming events with the Markham Teen Arts Council. They have a new  executive that is as creative and energetic as the last. They garnered funding from the Trillium Foundation and are having t-shirts made up showing their new logo. A new event to be held in October is the literary showcase, WordUp! Check out their website for more info. Also watch for the 24-Hour Video Challenge and the Music & Lyrics Contest (now named “Xpression”).

The Markham Arts Council has been holding seminars lately to enhance knowledge of the business part of being an artist. An interesting session was led by members of the Ontario Arts Council, explaining grants for artists. We have a couple of contests for Photography and Poetry; and two upcoming events, the November Art Show and the 2010 Mackie Awards. Also our big fundraiser, Arts & Tarts – a Royal Tea. I’ll explain later.

Our art-loving friends Ric and Catherine are now the owners of another abstract painting of mine, “Yellow & Red” and also one of Rhiana’s oil paintings, “Locomotion“. Nicky too, sold one of his photos recently to an avid buyer. Way to go Nicky! I also have a mixed-media painting (The Pond) that’s been chosen for the Chairman’s Dinner for the Arts, a benefit for the York Region Arts Council. Rhiana has two pieces in the same event.

Its been a busy month or so lately and it doesn’t look like its going to let up.