It isn't often that one has the opportunity to reflect on a century of progress, but that's just what Ox-Bow asked me to do to kick off their centennial celebration at a lecture on July 9 at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Several other residency programs have celebrated milestone anniversaries in recent years, and while we are always looking ahead to how we can continue to evolve as a field to meet the needs of artists, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on how we got here... The complete speech is below.

I know this has been a time of uncertainty and struggle for so many organizations, and yet as I visit art schools and residency programs, funders and artists around the country, I am struck by the sense of possibility, and the opportunity to transform ourselves.

In August, the Alliance had the opportunity to join forces with its national arts organization peers to sign on to a statement calling for health care reform that takes into consideration the millions of uninsured individuals in the U.S. Artists have long fallen through the cracks of the current system, as many are self-employed or work in jobs that do not provide insurance. Additionally, soaring healthcare costs are consuming the ever-shrinking budgets of nonprofit arts organizations hit hard by today's economic recession.

I’ve seen a lot of funding appeals in the last few months talking about how dire things are and how desperately your support is needed. This is not one of those appeals.

What I’ve also seen a lot of lately is abundance – an abundance of personal involvement in civic life; a wealth of understanding about what artists of all kinds add to our world; a rich desire to participate in creativity and art-making; an investment in those things that offer meaning and relevance in chaotic, consumer-saturated lives.

I've just returned from the Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Atlanta this past week, as well as a visit to New Orleans to check in with our four member grantees there. Since it isn't often that one gets to sit down with 300 grantmakers, especially in the midst of such rocky financial times, I wanted to share with you how encouraged I was to hear how upbeat grantmakers are right now. There was tremendous reaffirmation of the need to continue supporting the arts, to contribute to the health and vibrancy of our society, and to give a creative voice to these uncertain times.

Russ (3 weeks after starting as the Alliance's Development & Program Manager) and I are in Seattle working out plans for this year's conference, and the trip isn't complete without a visit to Hedgebrook and their director, Amy Wheeler.

Walking into the office today I thought, "This is the day I start as Executive Director. Things will feel different!" The truth is, much is the same -- same desk (it's kind of a mess), same view (grey sky), same music I started the day with yesterday (UNKLE's "War Stories" album, if you're curious). That is the luxury of having served the Alliance for 5-1/2 years already: an understanding of the field, solid relationships with the most amazing board ever, a huge affection for the membership, the knowledge of this space we occupy in the world.