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In an effort not to smash the piñata or prematurely blow out the birthday candles, I waited until Artlink‘s 22nd birthday was officially over to say it:
It’s time to go.
By go, I mean disband, fizzle out, cut the losses. Take your much-deserved bows on your way out the door, Artlink — recognize that you’ve served a purpose in the local arts community and brought a large number of downtown galleries into the spotlight
And face the fact that you’re no longer needed.
It’s a good thing. Phoenix is lucky (yes, lucky) to have the arts community that it does – Roosevelt Row, Grand Avenue and the Melrose District, to name the largest three, strongly support their galleries and are working together to connect their audiences (hopefully by staying open during normal business hours), and to bridge the small distance gaps between each other.
This partnership was never more obvious than at an arts community meeting over the weekend to discuss and game plan for Artlink’s pay-to-play Art Detour, which is NOT this weekend.
Art Detour works like this: Galleries pay Artlink $100 and in exchange
are included in official Detour marketing and advertising. This fee used
to include shuttle services between galleries and placement on a fancy
map, but Artlink President Sloane Burwell says there will be no trolleys
this year and representative Mike Oleskow says the map will depend on
time and resources (read: unlikely).
Um, so what are galleries getting for $100? And just what is Artlink doing to earn it? The truth is that the organization simply isn’t needed any longer.
Blame the bad economy or simply maturation, but “rogue” is in, and
galleries throughout Phoenix have begun to participate in the event
without paying – they simply create facebook events, pass out fliers,
and open their doors with art on the wall for a weekend. Gallery owners
have even agreed to use their own Detour artwork to promote the upcoming
event and are using uniform yellow balloons to indicate participation
instead of relying on a map.
Burwell says Detour is like First Friday, in that galleries host art
openings, and unlike First Friday in that it’s meant to introduce people
from all over the state to different galleries during the day, for a
whole weekend.
OK. But one of the biggest things Art Detour had going for it (along with maps and trolleys) was the fact that people knew to expect it on the first weekend of March. Now that’s gone, too.
This year, Artlink decided to change the dates of Detour
from the traditional first weekend of March to the third weekend. Seems
like a small enough change, but if you’ve been in this city for long
enough, you’ll know change is hard to make and the new dates have
regular Detour attendees and artists alike confused (just see the slew
of events posted for this weekend that still read “Detour Opening!”).
Art Detour is one of Artlink’s main functions, though Burwell insists that the
nonprofit is looking to expand in education efforts. And Art Detour is a
great idea, which is why it’s been around for such a long time.
But in the meantime, Artlink has changed — membership numbers have
dwindled, they no longer coordinate shuttles for detour or First Friday,
and the only maps they provide are now printed in the Downtown Journal.
And as Artlink has evolved (or devolved, really) the Phoenix art scene has
grown up too, and what it doesn’t need anymore is a supervisor.
Check out plenty of group exhibitions, solo shows, and performances during this year’s Art Detour on Saturday, March 19 from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. and Sunday, March 20 from noon to 5 p.m. in any downtown gallery
with a yellow balloon.
More information can be found at this event page (or this one), and yeah, I’ll be making a map.
