Friday, July 4, 2008

Local vs. Non-Local Artists

A lot of local artists feel underrepresented by the larger art institutions, university galleries, museums and so on. But a lot of the institutions are trying to expand the horizons of the city by bringing new experiences in order to provide outreach educational experiences and to define the city's place in the national art scene.

And the institutions are doing things to support local artists, offering opportunities to be involved in gallery tours, studio tours, have work in a catalog system and even giving large awards. But many local artists don't become involved in these programs, seemingly forgetting that their responses are important and necessary in order for these sorts of opportunities to continue to exist and for more opportunities to be made available.

Don't get me wrong, the institutions could offer many more opportunities to foster camaraderie with the local art community, but local artists need to take advantage of the opportunities available to them before placing the blame solely on the institutions.

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