I have not yet met Sue Bell Yank, but I occasionally turn to her blog about "Writings about the social in contemporary art."Her most recent post speaks to my experiences both with the Birdhouse and my earlier visit to Colorado College, a liberal arts college in Colorado Springs and my alma mater. While at CC I gave a talk about my own work, which is increasingly socially-based and (I hesitate to write this) "post studio". I also talked briefly about the work we do at the Birdhouse. I spoke with a couple of students about how the Birdhouse runs-- for example, are we a non-profit? How does it work? Who are the "members"?-- and answered a surprising number of questions about how I was able to make a living making art. I was honest about that: I do not seek to "make a living" doing the work I do. At the very best, I hope to stay in the black (see this post), but I think a lot of these students are stuck in a semi-obsolete model of Artist makes Object, Someone buys Object, and Artist makes Money. Very few of the artists I know make even half of their income from selling works of art. It's a nice thing to do, but we also supplement our incomes by teaching, giving lectures, doing commercial work, or having paying jobs that are entirely separated from our studio practices. You've got to hustle, right?
Sue Bell Yank talks about her frustration(?) with students who want a How-To guide to community-based social work. As with so many things, the answer is to jump in and do it. Each situation is unique and specific. As to running a successful non-profit she writes,
"These things are dependent on people you know, the strength of your mission, your ability to express it, the appropriateness of your location, your relationship with funders, your prior experience."I hope that we as a nascent collective will remain flexible and able to express our mission well. I hope that for myself as an individual too. We shall see.
