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.

What I love is that here, in this small rural community, they function as a social enterprise.  The gallery incorporated as nonprofit to help bring in income but found that its income had to be diversified beyond contributions and foundation support.  So now through their programs they generate enough earned revenue to maintain the gallery.

As I talk to Paula Tripodi, the executive director of the gallery, I realize not only am I sitting with a social entrepreneur but a cultural entrepreneur as well.  Paula has played the guitar since she was 10 and now she sings and writes songs too.  Initially shy about performing, she found she enjoys it as she performs at the gallery and at local festivals in such an accepting community.  She even recorded an album several years ago and is working on her next one.

As we talk about the gallery and the community she said, “Even with the gallery there is a constant challenge to get everyone’s art exposed.  Not everyone has galleries or studios, making it difficult to have regular hours to show their work.”  Additionally, things like having a website or even business cards, sound simple enough, but are lacking here to help move their art beyond El Morro.  However, one of the opportunities and something that they’re working on with the New Mexico Tourism Department is to find affordable ways to create studios along the Ancient Way Arts Trail and to have signs that show people driving by that the studios are a part of the Trail.

Paula further commented that, “Even though there aren’t many businesses in the area, we are working together to create packages and incentives for people to come and visit and make a day out of it.  For example, someone could come a see a show at The Old School Gallery, have a gourmet dinner across the street at the Ancient Way Café and then spend the night in a cabin at the campground.  The next day they could get up and get a great hike in at El Morro or El Malpais.”

El Morro may be a small community, but it’s certainly worth the visit!

The first UNESCO World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries which was attended by representatives from 50 nations with a great success.  Officials of the Italian and regional government of Lombardy, where Monza is located, created a magnificent event.  Denise Bax of UNESCO played a key role in the success of the Forum.  The Forum was held in the Ville Real, a beautifully restored 18th century palace which was the perfect setting for a gathering around culture and creativity.

The UNESCO Director-General, Mr. Matsuura, opened the World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries with insightful comments on how globalization can also work in the favor of cultural enterprises.  The Italian Minister of Culture, Mr. Bondi, gave a stirring speech about the importance of culture in Italy.  He pointed out that Italy has over 80,000 cultural enterprises.  Clearly the Europeans understand that culture plays a huge role in economic development.  Most countries have a Minister of Culture, and important budgets to support their activities.  We do not have such a cabinet position for the USA except in New Mexico where we have a Cabinet Secretary for Cultural Affairs.

My presentation on “New Strategies for Cultural Enterprises” prompted good questions and it is viewable on slideshare.net.  My co-panelists were Marcella Echevarria, CEO of Surevolution, and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.  Both are innovative designers and their presentations were excellent.

Many of the presentations from the Forum will be up on a UNESCO web site soon, and when they let me know, I’ll post about it here.

It is gratifying to see how we have progressed in five years to the point where we now have a global platform to discuss cultural enterprises, cultural industries and the important role of cultural entrepreneurs in the local and the global Cultural Economy.

The Fundacion Prada and the Hermes Foundation were present.  The foundations are supported by luxury goods companies who to this day employ highly skilled artisans.  What is significant to me is that both of these foundations promote culture and cultural industries.

It was good to reunite with Nilda Callanaupa of The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco whose work to revive Peruvian textiles is widely recognized and admired.

Felissimo was represented by the creaive and entrepreneurial Haruko Smith.  Felissimo has supported young designers for years and continues to collaborate with UNESCO in order to promote promosing designers.

Tony Pigott of Brandaid Project spoke eloquently at the Forum about the importance of brand development for cultural enterprises.  The purpose of Brandaid is to create a strong brand for individual artist groups.  The first Brandaid Project was this past September with two Haitian folk artist groups.  Brandaid Project created logos and marketing material for the artists of Jacmel and Croix de Bouquet.  The introduction of the two groups was held in New York.  The brand development for the two artist groups developed by Tony and his team caught the attention of the mainstream media.

What is a cultural entrepreneur?

New fields of development begin with ideas and then need the practical applied.  With the practical comes the need for definitions.  Over the last couple of years my definition for a cultural entrepreneur has evolved and I would like to share it with you now.

Cultural Entrepreneurs are cultural change agents and resourceful visionaries who organize cultural, financial, social and human capital, to generate revenue from a cultural activity.  Their innovative solutions result in economically sustainable cultural enterprises that enhance livelihoods and create cultural value and wealth for both creative producers and consumers of cultural services and products.

This definition first appeared in Cultures and Globalization: The Cultural Economy published by Sage Publications.  It is an important book that was just released a year ago.  Raj Isar, the Jean Monnet professor of Cultural Policy Studies at The American University of Paris, a friend, edited the book with Helmut Anheier of UCLA.

Let me know your reaction to this definition.

My travels in Jemez Springs continue to provide fodder for my posts on cultural tourism. As I walked up to the Jemez Fine Art Gallery: An Artist Collective, a local artist, sitting outside selling his paintings, greeted me.  Inside I was immersed in a collection of paintings and sculptures, from traditional to eclectic –reflecting a mix Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures.  Here I met Troy Williams, a founder of the Gallery.  I found Troy to be just as passionate towards his community, as he is his sculpting.

Earlier this summer, Troy and other local artists decided to establish the Jemez Fine Art Gallery to “create a show window for artists of the Jemez Springs community.”   They wanted to create a place where people can go and buy art directly from the artists.  Prior to the gallery, most of the artists’ work would be found in Santa Fe or Albuquerque, where profits are lost through the value chain and buyers don’t get an opportunity to meet the artists.  Troy commented, “The intention was to make the purchase better for the buyer – to create a personal touch.”

Additionally, the founders and artists see the gallery “as giving the community a place to have gatherings and art openings – a place for people to connect.”  The gallery has 14 permanent artists who exhibit their work in the main space.  For other local artists and crafters who are not part of the permanent collection, there is a side room called the South Gallery and outdoor space that can be rented.

So what makes Jemez Springs such a great place for cultural entrepreneurs?  Troy feels that, “Jemez Springs has so much potential with its combination of beautiful surroundings, rich history and culture, the hot springs, many artists and lots of traffic.  However, the biggest challenge for local businesses and artists is getting the traffic to stop.”  Troy suspects that if there were more galleries and shops that people would be more attracted to stop.

Troy thinks that cultural entrepreneurs could certainly spark the economic development needed to grow the community into a viable destination that thrives on cultural tourism and help make it a self-sustaining community.  Troy feels that, “The world is craving art, but society is lost in creating.  We are making money on money, not on creating.”

Troy believes that Jemez Springs is on the verge of becoming something more – perhaps it will become a cultural destination.  Jemez Springs has the potential, but what is needed to push it beyond its tipping point?