Article appeared in the Sept.8,2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Winnipeg Beach artist, Helma Rogge Rehders, has her eye on the next great task on behalf of the arts community. Namely, to raise the profile of individual artists and creators working out of their home studios in Manitoba. She wants to see Manitoba promote individual artists’ work as a cultural item that is worth buying, not to be placed at the bottom of the list, especially during hard times when the public resists so called “luxury” items.
“Maybe we are thought of a superfluous, but I don’t believe we should be. We are precious. We need to instil in people to think of art as a cultural expression.”
Rogge Rehders argues that currently no infrastructure is in place that properly promotes the individual artist, and that Manitoba is failing on that front. While she has made a life-long career as an artist, as well as a strong name for herself, she still struggles. With her fine arts degree in hand, she has long operated a studio open to the public in the summer, and has been unwavering in her self-promotion. While that should be enough, for the individual artist, it often is not.
“How am I going to get people to come in here when I am not even promoted as an asset?” she asks.
“In tourism brochures, ballet and theatre, all of these places are greatly promoted. The individual artist is at the very bottom rung. They have to list us side-by-side with bear watching in Churchill, or the Aboriginal or Fringe Festival. For example, when you visit the Pembina Valley, here are the artists you can visit.”
“Ballet has a budget in the hundreds of thousands. As individual artists, our budgets are dismally low.”
Many of Manitoba artists have done their part to promote themselves, with efforts such as the WAVE Tour in the Interlake, and “In Plain view” in Winnipeg, and other collective initiatives throughout the province. Some government funding has been available for artist groups like these, but Rogge Rehders feels that individual artists and artist collectives need to be able to partner with tourism. This would help raise the profile of artists and promote them around the world.
“Manitoba is lagging far behind Saskatchewan for individual artists,” said Rogge Rehders.
Artists in Saskatchewan are profiled in tourism brochures. In addition, rural signage to artists’ studios is paid for by government. Nova Scotia, as well, has managed to raise the profile of individual artists to a very high degree, recognizing their contributions to tourism and culture.
While the Manitoba Arts Council will provide grants to individual artists, if they are lucky, they do not assist artists in making a living. Grants are given to only a select few, which may hinder many an artist.
“A grant just gets you started. Then, now what? I have to reapply and reinvent myself each time,” Rogge Rehders said.
However, she recognizes that some progress has been made on some fronts.
“I took a workshop called, ‘How to Manage your Arts Career’. I wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t free.”
However, she has criticism for the strategy that simply teaches artists to write a business plan.
“They keep churning them out to make a business plan, then there’s no support.”
“Many of us will reach a (creative) plateau, that is hard to wiggle out of, so we can keep our day jobs,” she added.
The starving artist scenario is very real, and hinders artistic excellence, even for the most talented of artist. Likewise, society is short-changed.
“There is something to profoundly think about here…there was no problem getting the Jets back. It’s all a bit of a great philosophical question. What do we want to be as a society? The creative person has given us everything.”
Rogge Rehders has begun the long process of opening up dialogue with politicians at the local and provincial levels. She has written letters to Flor Marcelino, Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, and has met with Gimli MLA, Peter Bjornson. She has plans to invite representatives of some rural municipalities to the table, and looks forward to working with other artists to come up with viable solutions to the problem.
