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Here's what happened.
I'm a painter.
Support for the arts (visual, music, what-have-you)- now this is my opinion- is a complicated case. Lotta ins, lotta outs. It seemed to me that how things are right now isn't working so great, at least for me and the people I know who are artists of all types. People moving to New York. Most people I know can't live off of their art. I know that it is incredibly difficult to sell fine art in Columbus and we're potentially about to lose a warehouse that is home to over 50 artists in Grandview- there's a huge overall shortage of affordable space. People who create things don't very often seem to be the beneficiaries of their contribution.
I wanted to get educated on how planning, investing, and development worked- armed with the interest of the artist at heart. So I signed on for a Masters in City Planning. I figured, what better way to assure that music, art, dance, film, etc. get integrated into how Columbus develops than to more intimately understand and be involved in our city's planning.
So, I was doing some academic research on Austin. They're known as "The Live Music Capital of the World", and while how exactly that occurred has already been debated here I understood it something like this- "Lillian Standfield, returning from a gig in Houston, saw a city limits sign and thought the City needed a slogan to promote music." What she said wasn't based in falsehood, but it also wasn't as true then as it is today. It somehow got at what was already there, but also inspired the scene to grow even more.
This was never meant as a PR thing, really. How did the word "Indie" get involved? I was trying to think of what it is, exactly, the artists I know do. We seem to bootstrap ourselves. Some of us show in galleries, but there is a community based, grass roots effort at shows and events that is a thousand times more rewarding than that. What embodies our stand-on-its-own music scene? What also includes creative risk takers like Liz whose businesses contribute to Columbus culture and also act as a cool venue? I think "Indie" just popped into my head. Without a doubt it isn't perfect. I get that. Nothing ever will be a perfect way to describe such a diverse creative population as ours. I just put it out there on Columbus Underground and a bunch of people ran with it.
I am just hopeful that each of us can ask ourselves, "what thing is missing here (in Columbus) that would make this a great place for creative people to live?" For me it is making sure artists have an affordable place to make art and that they get ownership in the neighborhoods they help to develop. It seems like everyone has a dream that they are working on, haven't shared yet, or are just about to stumble upon. My intent was to think of a way we could all share those ideas and help create them as a community.
If you are a local musician, artist, or whatever-creative-type I'm sorry if the idea, the execution, or the way it has evolved has offended your sensibility about you art. Truly. I would never wish to infringe upon another person's creativity.
Mike Reed
thecouchfire.org
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