The sweet reward of peace

Hello! You can check out the 'about' page if you'd like a little context for where I'm coming from. Each newsletter closes with a Philadelphia moment, institution, or window cat of the week because I love it here. And I'm always open to suggestions, feedback, responses at solidseam@gmail.com. Tell me what you're noticing or curious about in your arts ecosystem.

Much of this week's newsletter is focused on process-related projects or resources. Fun! Fringe continues Fringe-ing, one lawyer has made $1.1M in legal fees from UArts while staff are still owed pay, and the November election looms a little closer every day.

The Process Podcast, volume 3

The Process Podcast, based in Chicago and led by artist Alyssa Gregory, launched its third season. The first episode dropped yesterday and features a killer line-up of Chicago dance artists: SJ Swilley, Kara Brody, Rahila Coats, and Camila Rivero Pooley, discussing what it is to make work in an ensemble. This season comes in multiple formats, offered both as a traditional podcast and as a video version, available on YouTube. I'm looking forward to hearing what some stellar Chicago dance artists have to offer on questions like, "How does vulnerability shift when you’re creating with a group instead of on your own?" Check out the previous seasons if you're a process nerd too!

Links Hall community visioning

Also coming in hot from Chicago this week is this opportunity from Links Hall to apply for their Community Circle, which is advertised as a group of 12 community members coming together over the course of 4 evenings, 8 hours total, to "explore visioning questions for the organization around space, partnerships, values, and mission." Participation is paid and there's dinner at each meeting. I haven't heard of a model to formally include community members in strategic planning in quite this way and I love the idea.

There are two additional meetings (also with dinner) for a broader group to offer their ideas, which I also appreciate for people who might not be able to commit as much time but are still invested. Links is a crucial part of the arts landscape in Chicago and I hope they'll share the results of this community visioning with those of us who aren't currently in Chicago but still feel connected to the institution. Would be amazing if an organization like FringeArts wanted to try something similar... You can apply or just check out the details here.

Lily Kind's How to Make Dance in America

Lily Kind has created this super easy to read, chock full of valuable information, breezy guide to making dance as an independent artist. I think it would be particularly useful if you're making your first, second, or third dance ever, but I found plenty to learn as someone who's been in the field for more than a minute too. It includes sample spreadsheets with lists and schedules (!😍!), and so much backwards mathing from the date of the performance. It folds in technical drawings for things like dimmer switches:

I admire that it includes nuts and bolts things around the technical aspects of making a dance, and also elements like power dynamics in the rehearsal room, all couched in a tone of 'here are some things I've learned that you might find useful.' It's newly available online thanks to Baltimore venue The Voxel.

The myth of neutrality

One thing I did not love this week is the ongoing practice of censoring staff at cultural organizations. Hyperallergic has this unsettling article about the firing of multiple workers at the Noguchi Museum who refused to go along with a new museum policy that bans staff from wearing keffiyehs. With fresh horrors in the headlines every day, it's worth remembering that #MuseumsAreNotNeutral. (I would add: museums and other cultural institutions.)

[One worker called] the policy a 'slippery slope.'... 'What’s next? What’s the next garment that will be seen as too incendiary?'

Sisterly Affection (a bit of Philadelphia appreciation)

I came across this quilt at the Arch Street Meeting House, where Nichole Canuso's The Garden is currently running. I have a soft spot for Quakers and their role in Philadelphia's history, and this quilt has survived for 180 years!

I'll summarize the wall text for you: One woman, Ann Burns, was leaving her non-profit job after working there for 44 years, and her bestie, S. Wistar, got a bunch of her friends and co-workers together to each make one block of this quilt and put them together as a gift of appreciation for her service. Her last day was April 20, 1844. The inscription in the center block includes the text below:

May the sweet reward of peace be abundantly shed abroad in her heart. ... Mayest thou when retiring from thy useful labours reflect with satisfaction on the time devoted to this useful Institution.

Next week's newsletter will include a lil review of the new book Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography, which I am currently devouring like a hyena. Have a good week!