The Buffalo Society of Artists is a work in progress. It exists as one of the nation’s oldest arts organizations. The vision of its founders was preserved by capable and conscientious stewards who in turn left it stable and financially healthy, even through the Great Depression. Where many other groups and galleries came and shined a few moments before fading into the amnesiac ether of history, the BSA has been stable and adaptive. When the question is posed: “Are we relevant?” my answer is that resiliency and tenacity must count for something. We have weathered many storms.
Transitions are tough. There’s always a period of adjustment as new and old board members and new officers get used to working with each other. When the stalwarts of previous boards leave, new members have to undergo an accelerated learning curve; tasks must be done. It helps if new board members have served on committees before “coming up” – committee work is good on-the-job training for board and officer positions. It’s the price we pay for growing and becoming more dynamic: there is a constant need for able volunteers to implement both existing and new programs. More moving parts need more movers. Not a single one of these parts is expendable. Neglect one, and we become stagnant – or worse; we sink into the pit of irrelevance.
There have been times in our past when all, or most, of the work has been done by three or four members, determined to do whatever it took to keep the BSA alive. These people weren’t on ego trips; they were just doing the nuts and bolts work of an organization they believed in. Some burned out; others just plugged away, until they were confident that they could hand the reins off to competent successors.
For those who aspire to move up to the board, and perhaps serve as officers, our growing BSA has room for many stars to shine – and, we have room for bit players.
I have been impressed by the level of help that has come forward so soon. Our newly-formed Education and Programming Committee, headed up by co-chairs Fotini Renzoni, Lawrence Kinney, Mary Kinney and Gary Wolfe, has on the drafting table a video project which hopes to capture the lives, works and ideas of many outstanding WNY artists. Think of the archival value and the educational value. We are also seeking to link up with inner city schools, to provide them with art materials, and are developing programs to bring demonstrations, workshops and seminars to the membership and community, at libraries, schools and possibly the Artpark Gallery. We will be looking to our members for ideas at the upcoming Spring Membership Meeting. The extent to which we succeed will redefine us in a big way, and down the road help us make a strong case for not-for-profit status.
The Exhibition Committee, thanks in no small measure to the dogged work of vice president and chair Beth Pedersen (and too many committee members to list here), has taken one huge load off the board. Thanks to the Exhibition Committee, the following questions have been answered: Where are we going to show next year in the Spring? In the Fall? Who’s going to help hang the shows? Who’s going to walk around with the juror and index the acceptances and rejections? Though our exhibition schedule is fairly well set for years to come, there is always work to do.
Artpark Gallery gains momentum each year with more cultural and educational programs being worked out by BSA’s Gallery Director, Helen Russell (see Artpark Gallery article, below).
The Website Subcommittee, with Jennifer Kursten, Paula Sciuk, Sylvia Coles, Dennis Bertram, Carol Townsend, has done an outstanding job working with our website developer, Ingenious, to create an excellent webpage and site. It’s a pleasure to navigate, and promises to be everything we could ever want in a website. A few more tweaks and we’ll be up and running, possibly in June. Jennifer has agreed to serve for a while as webmaster, but we are looking for members who will fill her shoes.
Fundraising is high on our list. Because the website redesign cut our reserves down by 32%, it would be prudent to replenish our treasury. I am calling for us to raise between six to eight thousand dollars in the next 2 years. To this end, the Fundraising Committee, co-chaired by Nancy Cerny and Andy Russell will generate ideas. We are planning dinners and parties which some board members and officers have offered to host. We are looking for more volunteers. Our heartfelt thanks to Mary Kinney for coming forward to take charge of the Publicity Committee, Mary is a new associate member.
Lastly, the Spring Membership Meeting will be held at the Burchfield Penney Art Center on April 18 at 10 am, open to all exhibiting and associate members. We will update the membership on all committee developments, take a survey for education ideas, and sign up members for committees. Help us take this organization up to the next level.
