Artists are what defines any arts agency, be it an arts council, commission, or board. Artists are the reason you exist. Artists can be your best advocates or your biggest critics. To ensure the artists are on your side . . . [...]

When we think about creating, we usually consider it to be a one-way conversation: the creator speaks, writes, paints, sculpts, dances, etc. and we listen, read, or view. But as a former museum educator, I have always believed that the viewer (or consumer) completes every work of art. Each person who views and shares an artwork adds a new layer of meaning to that work. You, as the artist, can decide whether or not the interpretations are valid, but once you put your art out in the world, you have relinquished total control over it.

Just like a blog, your art is the start of a conversation. If you had only an audience, you would talk at the audience, they would listen, and then they would go home. Picture an audience. Everyone is facing one way. They don’t see anyone’s face other than those sitting or standing next to them and that of the [...]