President Obama’s United We Serve program is designed to encourage Americans to do community service as volunteers in order “to help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn.” If your group needs volunteers, you can post an announcement at serve.gov.
Last week we received an email from the non-profit arts advocacy group, Americans for the Arts. Inspired by the United We Serve campaign, they are trying to document the impact that artists have on their communities by asking people to upload stories, photos, and videos about volunteer activities in the arts at serve.artsusa.org.
Part of the mission of WomenArts is to increase the funding and employment of women artists. Since so many women artists are unpaid or underpaid for their creative work, we are troubled that our federal government and our largest non-profit arts advocacy group are placing so much emphasis on volunteerism.
We want to know what you think. When it is good to volunteer and when should we insist on being paid? What is the best way to tell our stories if we want to persuade people that we deserve more money? Should artists be asking for major bail-outs like the ones the the bankers and auto execs received?
Please leave your comments below.
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Additional Reading on this topic:
Arlene Goldbard has written an excellent survey of current national service programs in the arts – “The Long, Hot Summer of Service: Community Artists on The Job,” (July 2009).
Americans for the Arts has published a pamphlet with ideas about ways that arts organizations can participate in the United We Serve campaign – United We Serve: An Arts Idea Kit
There is no conflict here. Women deserve to be paid. Their work deserves to be hung in funded, well lit, temperature controlled museums. The arts need to be revived through women artists, women art teachers and women & girls studying.
The significance of volunteer efforts in America is widely acclaimed as something unique and praiseworthy about our country. It is only the “citizenry” that volunteers and creates the associations that strengthen democracy. These special contributions of women are often seen as invisible.
Today it seems improbable that NOW denounced volunteer work as exploitation, but in the early days they did just that. It took academic studies and public debates, such as this one, to over-turn that hastily made decision. It was finally determined that women recognize the many human needs that major institutions of society do not fulfill. Many bits and pieces of necessary activities are left dangling, requiring integration and coordination by concerned volunteers. Volunteers act as “intermediaries between existing institutions and newly developing requirements.”
This idea of women’s invisible careers is neatly expressed and fully researched by Dr. Arlene K. Daniels
As a follow up to the larger idea of women volunteerism, I think it is a poorly thought out strategy to ask the underdogs of the educated working class (artists) to donate in a substantial way, without a framework to support one of the classes that needs help.
We artists know, and governments know, that strong art seen by the public is inspirational and forward moving.
We may need to put the framework in place ourselves. Let’s put the call out to organizers who work in the arts, to build a platform for us to help the rebuilding of America.