The Tropic was represented at the recent Art House Convergence by Board Chair Jon Allen, Exec. Dir. Matthew Helmerich and Theater Manager Lori Reid. We thought you would find the opening introduction interesting.
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Welcome Address by Russ Collins, Director, Art House Convergence
January 15, 2013 – for the Art House Convergence conference, Zermatt Resort, Midway, Utah
Welcome
to the Art House Convergence. Welcome as we celebrate the Brave New
American Art House. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to gather
here in Utah with colleagues and friends and, with strangers who will
soon be friends, to execute the mission of the Art House Convergence.
The
mission of the Art House Convergence is to increase the quantity and
quality of Art House cinemas in North America. We hope you will help us
pursue this mission by: 1) constantly improving your own Art House; 2)
helping colleagues make their Art Houses better places for audiences to
experience cinema art and 3) working to make all Art Houses serve as
highly effective community cultural centers.
This
conference would not be possible without the hard work of a dedicated
group of volunteers. Thanks to the Art House Convergence Conference
Committee – if you participated in one or more of those Friday calls
that happen throughout the year as we plan the Art House Convergence,
stand and be recognized.
It
is wonderful to see so many of you here! How many are here for the
first-time? Wonderful, welcome to Utah to the Art House Convergence.
How many of you are staying, for at least a day or two to go to Park
City and check out the Sundance Film Festival?
I
see a lot of friends; friends that have grown from the 25 brave souls
who came to the first Art House Convergence to this year, with nearly
350 registered delegates, the sixth annual gathering of community-based,
mission-driven cinema operators.
The strong theme of this year’s conference is The Brave New American Art House. So, what’s the Brave New American Art House?
The Brave New American Art House is a set of ideals that looks something like this:
· It is located in Canada, Mexico or the USA.
· It
is focused on frequent and regular screenings of Art House movies –
classic, foreign, documentary, independent and experimental cinema (and
sometimes other cultural programs the community demands).
· It
actively seeks community support – it believes philanthropy and
volunteers are important and viable sources of revenue and support.
· It is a cultural institution – it teaches its community about the art, craft, grammar and historical importance of cinema.
· As
possible, it is dedicated to quality celluloid AND digital exhibition
methods – providing state-of-the-art image and sound across all eras and
formats (including live music for silent-era films).
· It
believes excellent customer service is paramount – it trains its
employees and manages its marketing, facilities, event presentations and
staff to put the customer’s experience first.
· It makes cinema come alive – with intelligently curated programs and ever expanding relationships with living filmmakers.
· It is community-based – it is not part of a national chain.
· It
is mission-driven – it has a triple bottom line: Bottom lines
calculated in: 1) community benefit; 2) artistic quality; and 3)
financial success.
· Its business management is strategic – it plans effectively and does not expect Deus ex Machina* to magically provide for its financial success.
· The
Brave New American Art House annually sends staff and board members to
the Art House Convergence to have fun learning and being inspired by
dedicated and resourceful colleagues.
The
“Brave New” of the Brave New American Art House is an intentional
literary reference to both Aldous Huxley and Shakespeare – because, you
know, Art House people are just a little smarter and better-read than
your average movie exhibitor (some might say “snooty,” rather than
smarter and better read, but I think “smarter and better read” works
better with this crowd). In Huxley’s novel “Brave New World” he
expressed the notion that the fast-paced world of the future would force
dehumanizing changes, causing anxiety, the loss of intimacy and
individuality. Plus, Huxley predicted that movies in year 2540 would be
called “feelies,” a cinema-style entertainment that creates the illusion
of an entertainment reaching out and literally touching the audience.
Which given the ironic nature of the novel supports the poetic notion
that 3-D is the movie technology of the future – and it always will be!
Of
course Huxley and the Convergence both stole the phase “brave new” from
Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” The play’s most famous lines are said by
the Prospero’s daughter Miranda, who looked on in wonder as drunken
sailors stagger in a disorderly manner from their wrecked ship, and
said:
“O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.”
And
although Shakespeare’s words spoken by the naïve Miranda were ironic, I
believe, stated without irony, that this “brave new” notion is correct,
because today and for the next several days the Zermatt and Homestead
resorts will be full of goodly people; goodly community-based,
mission-driven Art House people. How beauteous it is; O brave new world,
to have such people, such Art House people in’t!
The
ethos of the Art House Convergence is a commitment to quality, openness
and community. It is the antithesis of the “whatever the market will
bear,” cutthroat and mass market dynamics of commercial exhibition.
Please know I’m not saying one is better than the other – both of these
business dynamics are viable, even needed, but the ethos of each are
juxtaposed. The Art House Convergence ethos embraces the notion that
philanthropic subsidy from a community will create a stable, culturally
significant center for cinema to be experienced, taught, supported and
loved for cinema’s intrinsic artistic and cultural worth and for civic
enrichment of communities.
The
community-based, mission-driven exhibitor is a powerful but subtle
aspect of the movie business; too subtle to be deeply appreciated in a
blockbuster obsessed media or in a greed driven entertainment industry.
And, let’s be honest the Art House movement will not create
millionaires and it will not be the hot new thing that transforms media
culture.
At
this point cinema is an old art form, like painting and writing,
sculpture and dance, theater and music. Although artists always do new
things with their forms of art, the art of cinema itself is now an old
form. It can no longer be a shiny new thing and that’s OK; because
cinema presented on a big screen in a darkened room full of strangers is
a great thing; a profound thing that can deeply move the human psyche
and transform lives.
Although
the financial scale of the Art House, compared to half-a-billion dollar
superhero blockbuster, is rather small, it is significant and the
long-term impact is critically important; because the Art House plays an
essential role in preserving and promoting the best and the brightest
of cinema for diverse audiences. Your Art House is a sacred shrine and
home to the most profound form of creative expression created in recent
human time.
And
just as important, Art Houses are exciting, sustainable and practical
venues that effectively bolster the vitality of local neighborhoods and
transform lives through the creative vision of the people who work there
and the poignant cinema found in these remarkable little arts
institutions.
Over
the decades, the Art House community has had a hard time finding its
voice, a hard time believing it is in fact a community and a hard time
feeling like it is a citizen in the wider cinema world. But now, with
the Art House Convergence we have found our collective voice, we are
starting to believe in our potential and we are growing the number of
communities throughout North America who are demanding community-based,
mission-driven Art House cinemas in their towns.
Your
Art House as a key community institution – feel it, own it. You provide
a vital service and you are an important economic driver in your
neighborhood. Being a community-based, mission-driven, not-for-profit
Art House you can be much more than a mere movie venue and employer, or a
recipient of charity and coordinator of volunteers. You are a flagship
asset, an essential cog and an indispensable part of a healthy
community.
Over
the next few days, what will be most important for those of us gathered
here in Utah is to feel the strength and joy of being among kindred
souls, of benefiting from shared knowledge and experience and feeling
anchored to this non-profit Art House movement.
Welcome
to the 2013 Art House Convergence celebrating The Brave New American
Art House. We hope all delegates, who this year come from around the
world, will share with great enthusiasm all that is wonderful and brave
and new about their Art House and their community. Thank you for coming
to the Convergence. And as the Bard of Stratford on Avon almost said,
“How beauteous it is; O brave new world, to have such people, such Art
House people in’t!” Enjoy the 2013 Art House Convergence.
*
Deus ex Machina is something that appears or is introduced suddenly and
unexpectedly into a narrative or system that provides a seemingly
miraculous solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty – like
expecting a handful of box office hits or some amazing marketing,
business management or technology solution to make running an Art House
profitable. In the long-term depending on Deus ex Machina type solutions
is ineffective and often implies a lack of creativity and strategic
management effectiveness.
From Russ Collins
CEO, MichiganTheater-AnnArbor
Director, Art House Convergence
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