news and networking
Leader Profiles
Ben Fyffe
Arts & Education Programs Specialist
Museums & Cultural Affairs Department, The City of El Paso
El Paso, Texas
the City of El Paso Museums & Cultural Affairs Department. His background in art education is the result of his work in the education departments of both the Austin Museum of Art and the El Paso Museum of Art. In his current position, Ben oversees the Community Arts Program, bringing artists and performers into schools and neighborhood spaces to develop multidisciplinary art-based classroom curriculum. He coordinates Music Under the Stars (a free, outdoor world music festival with annual attendance of 100,000) and is developing collaborative education projects between education leaders, advocates, and artists to maximize resources and create a shared vision of art education for area students. Ben periodically curates and juries exhibitions, usually focused on the work of emerging artists. Cathy McCann interviewed Ben about his work in the arts and his experiences as an Emerging Leader.
I noticed that you have been quite involved in many projects and organizations
involving Latino Artists, recently curating the 2005 Young Latino Artists Exhibit
for Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum. With the increasing immigrant population in the U.S., what can Emerging Leaders do to embrace these changing demographics?
As demographics shift, I think all arts professionals need to continue working toward diversifying audiences. It's crucial to not only strive for diversity in ethnicity but also, considering a traditional audience that is middle-class and getting older, to work toward diversity in age and socioeconomic background. I think more inclusive programming and exhibitions that reflect a variety of experiences is one step. When looking specifically at the Latino population, bilingual didactics and collateral, and of course bilingual staff and volunteer corps are increasingly necessary not only here on the U.S.-Mexico Border but also throughout the U.S. As major institutions begin to recognize Latino artists, I think it is also important to program and exhibit their work not only within culturally specific contexts but in the larger dialogue as well.
Recent studies predict a looming leadership gap in the nonprofit sector as current high-level administrators, made up of mostly baby boomers, retire. As an Emerging Leader, what do you think arts organizations can do to groom the next generation of leadership?
This is definitely a major concern that is becoming more vocal at almost every conference or symposium I have attended in the last five years. I think organizations need to be aggressively proactive about this and plan for transitions, including mentoring time with younger leadership, nurturing an environment that embraces change and different approaches to problem solving, and making sure mission statements are tightened and ready to assist in transition as well. Organizations that have been primarily personality-driven also need to be ready to codify procedures in preparation for new leaders.
I think anyone who is interested in helping to lead the arts in their community needs to be patient in this transition process. Young leaders need to be able to recognize and respect organizational tradition while being prepared for strategic risk-taking, and of course be ready for heavy fundraising and grant-writing in a post 9/11 economic climate. Lastly, having spent most of my career in a climate where partnerships are stressed as products, it's crucial for young leaders to be able to discern when a partnership is helping to drive a mission and when it's distracting from it.
Along those lines, how can arts organizations attract a younger demographic as board members, volunteers, and attendees?
As simple as it seems, I think programming is key. Organizations that consistently engage the interests and experiences of younger audiences draw that audience and in the long-term cultivate volunteers and board members.
I think it's interesting that a recent study publicized a few weeks ago showed that the usual pace of people's lives is moving faster than it was 10 years ago. With Americans working more and sustaining greater commitments, I think flexibility is key in attracting younger demographics to participate in an organization's processes and events. In addition, I think the way the profession sends out information is important in attracting a younger demographic. As younger Americans rely increasingly less on printed newspapers, the traditional press release is still important but definitely not the only option: communicating through the internet with networking sites, e-vites, and listservs is a good tool to reach younger audiences.
Has your experience with arts education prepared you for interacting with the next generation of Emerging Leaders? Are there any up-and-coming trends as it relates to the consumption of arts?
Working in art education has definitely helped! I think because of the nature of the work you are constantly adapting to new ideas and approaches. I think art education affords the freedom to take more risks than any other sector of the arts profession.
I definitely think technology will continue to drive the way people experience and interact with art and arts organizations. The rise of both official and guerilla podcasts for museums, galleries, arts organizations, and of course the proliferation of arts blogs attest to people's growing desire to be more actively engaged in the arts on a more immediate, experiential level. I don't think a lot of arts organizations and museums have been able to utilize technology to its full advantage—either due to budgets, lack of training, or confusion as to how to effectively use it to augment personal participation—but it's definitely a working goal.
Another major trend is the increase in the number of alternative exhibition and cultural spaces, sometime ephemeral and usually artist-run. I think, in general, people are looking less for official or institutional voices guiding their experience with art and instead are looking to foster their own meaningful experiences.
