It's a Family Thing...

Posted by: Lincoln Arts Council

2009 Mayor's Arts Awards Photo by Dick Hay

ARTSblog by Doug Smith - For many years I had a job that routinely placed me in new situations, among strangers, usually with a unique set of problems to solve, and a great deal of pressure and stress. I loved it, because it required a willingness to abandon routine and search for creative solutions that were time, location and people specific. Art in a pressure cooker? I'll leave that for others to judge, but as you might imagine, I value flexibility, curiosity and novelty more than most things. Art is a big deal to me because it flexes just those muscles as it asks me to play along, get the joke, take the ride, find the answer. The payoff is that I will get to see the world anew, and in a slightly different way. How cool is that!

The thing about art is that whichever side you're on, making or consuming (usually both), you value the journey, the mental flexibility it requires– and savor the successful results. At the Lincoln Arts Council, we feel the spark of art is in everyone, and it's our job as advocates to nurture and encourage it. Part of that effort is to celebrate family, our "art family" to be specific. I'll be polite and call it a community because it's so large, but you know what I mean. Some members have means and culture, and understand the astonishing impact of well placed dollars. Some members make art because they're damaged, and their art is the best expression of their humanity. Some members are simply brilliant and they know that art is a fast track to our emotional life. Some members so value that journey towards a new way of seeing, that the journey is its own reward. Other members have seen firsthand arts amazing ability to stimulate learning (yes, even in math) and are huge advocates for arts integration into the curriculum. It doesn't matter what brought you to art, or keeps you here – what matters is that you understand its power, and value its positive effects on your life. If so, you're family.

Which brings me back to celebrating family, which is exactly what the Mayor's Arts Awards does. The Lincoln Arts Council and the Mayor's office have collaborated for three decades to celebrate the impact of the arts on our community, and honor those organizations and individuals who have made that impact possible. I, for one, am honored just to be in the same room with so many people I admire and respect. In no other venue will you find so broad a sample of artists from every discipline, funders, advocacy organizations, notable collectors and supporters of every kind. (Just don't work the room to hard, it's a party after all.) So on June 7th, I'll be at the Lied Center to celebrate a group of people who have made my life better, have shown me new ways to look at the world, and have made Lincoln a better place to live. How cool is that!

Doug Smith, Office and Program Manager