>Members of the Overture Center Gallery Commission called on Madison’s visual-arts community Tuesday night for recommendations on how to bring high-quality, diverse new art to the Overture Center’s three community galleries.
The galleries, which are expected to open with the first phase of the Overture Center in fall 2003, plan to “engage the community in the arts” by representing various artists and communities living in Madison.
Several attendees said they believe the galleries should be managed through a community-based process that allows citizens the opportunity to give anonymous feedback and a clear, consistent process that encourages all artists to apply for their work to be exhibited.
“It’s important that the policy developed has an educational outreach project so the groups that are underrepresented can bring their art forward in a professional manner,” said Helen Klebesadel, a member of the Madison City Arts Committee.
Klebesadel also said she thinks an advisory panel should be part of the management that would consist of representatives from various Madison communities as well as members with backgrounds in visual arts.
Michael Bridgeman, another Arts Committee member, said in order to truly develop the arts in the community and create an atmosphere of equity in the visual-arts community, a high standard of quality should be set through a competitive yet consistent application process.
Bridgeman also said an open process is important to encourage all organizations to apply; otherwise, organizations may not gain the visibility they need and deserve.
“We need to recognize the area has a lot of high-quality visual artists,” Bridgeman said.
Other local artists gave input on an array of important issues surrounding gallery management. One artist said three-dimensional art, which deserves to be seen in prime spaces, should be hung from the ceiling because the rest of the space is clearly designed for two-dimensional works.
Another artist said a new emphasis on digital art and art that incorporates the Internet should also be accommodated because art is ever growing and developing in that medium.
Tino Balio, a member of the Overture Gallery Commission, said several rooms in the Overture Center could be converted to galleries that would be more appropriate for the exhibition.
Some artists also expressed security concerns. There will be no posted guards to supplement the security cameras, and a few suggested a system that locks pieces to the wall, like one in place at UW Hospital.
But Overture Center Commission member Linda Baldwin said it is crucial for artists to remember the galleries will be only one part of a building that will hold several different kinds of art and people will be coming to see other things besides what is displayed in the public galleries.
“Everyone needs to understand you can’t show everything here. You have to recognize limitations,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin wants artists to know what community standards will be set so they bring art appropriate for all groups and families visiting the Overture Center.
Later this year, the commission will present recommendations to the Madison Cultural Arts District board, which oversees the Overture Center project.
“We hope that what we have in the end is a series of valuable gallery exhibits,” Baldwin said.
