Author Archives: Tom Aageson

About Tom Aageson

Tom Aageson is Co-founder and Executive Director of the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship, a 501c3 organization dedicated to supporting creative and cultural entrepreneurs through advocacy, enterprise resources, training, and technical assistance. Tom previously served as the Executive Director of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation (MNMF), a private foundation. During his tenure at MNMF he launched New Mexico Creates! a highly successful program purchasing art from New Mexico artists and generating over $7million in sales for the museums of New Mexico. Tom is a Co-founder of the renowned Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, now in its 9th year. Additionally, Tom has authored several texts on cultural enterprise development and creative tourism. Tom lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

9 Reasons to Develop an Agritourism Corridor in Your Region

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PHOTO CREDIT: Larry Lamsa

1.  Farmers benefit economically from more visitors coming to their farms to pick and buy produce; take classes; and in some cases, stay over on the farm.

2. Farm and winery visitors infuse cash into the region by shopping, eating in restaurants, and staying overnight in hotels.

3. Farm to Table programs expand.

4. Vineyard visitors increase brand awareness and sales of local wines.

5. Farmers markets become a must-do local experience.

6.  Land, native foods, and seed growing traditions are preserved.

7.   Farmers’ off-season income is diversified, and farming becomes a more sustainable form of livelihood.

8.  An increased demand for farm internships educates a new generation of farmers.

9. Healthy small farms provide local food for your community. 

9 Reasons to Create a Cultural Corridor

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9 Reasons to Create a Cultural Corridor in Your Region

1.  Tourists have more reasons to visit than if they planned a trip to a single city.

2. Visitors are attracted to authentic, local experiences, and the opportunity to design their own holiday.

3. Cultural travelers stay longer, and spend more than the average traveler.

4.   Educational opportunities with teaching artists inspire visitors to stay in the region for 3-7 days, and spend money on lodging, restaurants, and shopping.

5.  Artists benefit economically from visitors to open studios, studio tours, festivals, markets, and gallery openings.

6. The local real estate market grows as visitors fall in love with your region, and decide to stay.

7. Journalists and bloggers cover a continuous flow of new events and experiences, and bring press coverage to your region.

8. Entrepreneurs create new cultural experiences with larger markets, and increase jobs.

9. People from across the region working together creates community and promotes cross-cultural understanding.

Building community one performance at a time

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My last stop is at the Inscription Rock Trading & Coffee Co. where I sit at the cozy bar and chat with its owners, Jonathan and Pam Pickens.  As I had learned that the Old School Gallery across the street is so much more than a gallery, I learned that this gift shop is so much more than a gift shop.  Inside the shop they have a small café that serves everything from cappuccinos to pastries, but then outside they have a stage and patio for outdoor performances.  I was blown away that a community of this size had a music venue!  Jonathan, a musician himself, moved from Nashville Tennessee back in 2001 to the El Morro Valley with his family.

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Feeding the minds of cultural entrepreneurs

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As I make my way into the Ancient Way Café for lunch, I wonder if I can skip lunch and go straight to dessert as I see a listing of their homemade all organic pies.  But I’m good, I eat my lunch first and enjoy dessert with the general manager and head chef, Maqui.  I learn that Maqui was a potter for years but fell into an opportunity at the Café as he says, “I have become an artist of food and now I get to create edible glazes!”  As a long-time resident of the area and a past board member of the El Morro Area Arts Council, he understands the challenges that both the artists and community face.

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The Old School Gallery, bridging social and cultural entrepreneurship

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It’s easy to drive right by the businesses of El Morro Valley, but you can’t miss The Old School Gallery, with its brightly colored exterior.  Several artists within the El Morro Area Arts Council established the gallery 11 years ago to find a place for local artists to display their art.  The building itself was built in 1947 and served as a one-room schoolhouse for many years.  Today, the space is used for a gallery and so much more.  Attracting people from as far as the Acoma and Laguna Pueblos the space is used for art workshops, community meetings, yoga and tai chi classes, musical performances, and youth programs.  The gallery has one staff member and the rest is volunteer-driven.  It represents artists from approximately a 50-mile radius and displays new art shows quarterly.

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Building cultural entrepreneurship in rural communities

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As I continue to venture around New Mexico taking in the sights, food and culture, I head southwest of Grants down the Ancient Way Arts Trail towards the El Morro Valley.  Along the way I pass the El Malpais National Monument and the Ice Caves, go up and over the continental divide, and arrive in El Morro.  Once here, I find the brightly painted Old School Gallery and a feed store on one side of the road and the Inscription Rock Trading and Coffee Co., the Ancient Way Café and a campground on the other side.   And practically in their backyard is the El Morro National Monument.

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Shifting towards a Sustainable, Cultural Economy

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Grants is a community that has gone through its boom and bust cycles and now, like other Western communities, is thinking about how it will sustain its economy for current and future generations.  Creating a sustainable economy involves developing new models of thinking about economic, cultural, and political paradigms. Furthermore, sustainable communities are more driven by human capital and depend on the entrepreneurial spirit to survive. 

Grants is starting to build a foundation of entrepreneurs, especially cultural entrepreneurs, who will be great catalysts to preserve and promote our cultures.  Local cultural entrepreneurs like Ava Peets and Robert Gallegos, leaders with the Cibola County Arts Council and mentioned in my previous posts, are just a few examples of individuals building cultural organizations that contribute to the entrepreneurial economy while creating a vibrant cultural community.

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The Double 6 Gallery: Supporting local artists and community

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Grants, New Mexico is located on the Historic Route 66 – a highway known to many for its rich culture and history.  The Double 6 Gallery, appropriately named for its location, brings you back in time with its facade of a 40’s style theater.

The Double 6 and the adjoining Cibola Art & Artifacts Museum are both part of the Cibola Arts Council which is dedicated to providing the citizens it represents, especially youth, with experiences in the arts by providing an educational resource, promoting area artists and celebrating our region’s rich cultural diversity.  In their recent newsletter they say, “The arts promote tourism, are basic to education, are fundamental to a robust economy, and art is cost effective!”

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Ava Peets, artist and cultural entrepreneur from Grants, New Mexico

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Ava Peets, a lifelong artist, became a professional artist in Grants, New Mexico.  Ava reflected on her joy of living in New Mexico: “It is such good fortune to live in this wonderful state–with all the beauty, cultures, and history, which serve as constant inspiration for innumerable subjects to paint.”

 

Ava was encouraged to become an artist at an early age by her parents.  She began drawing and cutting silhouettes at six years old.  Later, upon entering Southwest Missouri State University, she studied fine art and commercial art.  Her plans to become a commercial artist were changed when she married and had children, but she still continued to take various art lessons.  She stated, “The desire to pursue my artist interests has never left me.”

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Cultural & Adventure Opportunities in the Mt. Taylor Region

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I find myself unwinding from the week’s activities at The Cowgirl BBQ – a local BBQ joint in Santa Fe started by two entrepreneurs who “came up with the idea of promoting the culture of the American Cowgirl through the foods of the American West and Southwest.”  There’s nothing like getting a little American culture with some good ole’ folk music and BBQ.  I can’t help to think how cultural entrepreneurs surround us every day and we don’t even realize it.

The patio air is crisp and I know fall is here as I put my jacket on for the first time since spring.  I sit with a few friends planning the weekend’s activities: do we head north to Tres Piedras to climb or south to hike the 11,301 ft extinct volcano known as Mt. Taylor?  As we weigh the options, I sit and listen to a young but talented fiddler. We opt for Mt. Taylor.

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