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Semi-Annual Report of the Scottsdale Cultural Council

December 6, 2004

Mayor Manross and Members of the Scottsdale City Council: Thank you for the opportunity to present the Scottsdale Cultural Council's semi-annual report.

As our audit will show you, the Cultural Council ended the fiscal year on June 30 by having a stellar bottom line in all respects, including repayment of the $150,000 advance from the City to help us renovate the space and mount the hugely successful production of Menopause the Musical at the former IMAX Theater in the Scottsdale Galleria.  

Currently, Always. . .Patsy Cline is running five shows a week.  Theater 4301 has brought new life to the Galleria and to the downtown area. This is a success story, and we’re grateful to the City of Scottsdale and JEMB Realty for making it possible. Theater 4301 provides one more venue where people can enjoy an evening of live theater, and it helps make our downtown area more vibrant, since many theater patrons are visiting the area’s restaurants, shops, and galleries.

Thanks to the City’s partnership, the Cultural Council has provided diverse arts experiences that allow residents and visitors to be educated, entertained, inspired, and sometimes even provoked.  Our mission is to engage the community in diverse and creative arts programs.  Here is a brief look at how we’ve done that during the past six months and a preview of what’s ahead.

Scottsdale Center for the Arts

This season marks the Scottsdale Center for the Arts’ 30th anniversary of bringing world-class performances to Scottsdale.  In celebration of this milestone, the Center is presenting a special anniversary series with performances by some of the nation’s most talented artists including Lang Lang, Midori, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, and Lily Tomlin.

Late Nite Catechism and Late Nite Catechism II, which debuted last March to enthusiastic crowds and positive press, still go strong in Stage 2 at the Center.

The new ArtReach exhibition space, which opened in May, provides a professional environment for youth participating in the Center’s nationally-recognized education and outreach programs to display their artwork.  The first exhibition featured photography by students from Salt River High School --- the results of an artist-in-residency program designed to complement academic achievement, enhance self-esteem and build confidence. 

I’m proud to tell you that two of our staff members --- Linda Jane Austen, Director of Education and Tammy Hinds, Program Coordinator --- were presented the Paiute Recognition Award last April.  This award is presented to those who embody the mission of the Paiute Neighborhood Center through their dedication, innovation and effectiveness in their work.  Linda Jane and Tammy were recognized for providing the Paiute Neighborhood Center’s children with arts experiences through an artist-in-residency program.

Scottsdale Public Art Program

The Scottsdale Public Art Program has 24 projects in development, ranging from new Kevin Berry bus benches in downtown to Paolo Soleri’s landmark sundial bridge at the Waterfront.  

Last summer, an estimated 2,750 citizens participated in the Community Portrait Project taking their own pictures at photo booths throughout the city. Ultimately, these photos will become part of the mural project for the new Senior Center at Granite Reef and McDowell.  In January, a project mock-up will be displayed, and the public will be invited to comment on the proposed designs. 

One of the earliest public art projects, the popular photo murals at Scottsdale Stadium, are undergoing renovation.  Artist Craig Smith is working with Cesar Color to convert the print photographs into glass mosaics. These mosaics will be much more durable at the outdoor site and will be ready in time for the spring training season.

SMoCA

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art continues to attract national attention: 

• Three exhibitions are circulating across the U.S. promoting Scottsdale's reputation as an arts center and three exhibition catalogues were published (a significant accomplishment to help establish the museum's scholarly reputation);

• SMoCA’s At Home with Ozzie and Harriet brochure won honorable mention in the American Association of Museums’ annual Publications Design Competition; and, 

• All three of the museum’s summer exhibitions were written up by the Wall Street Journal.

SMoCA increased its median annual attendance in the last fiscal year by 5.4 percent while exceeding development goals, increasing the average level of sponsorships, and attracting numerous new donors. The museum also secured its first national corporate sponsor, L'Oreal. In addition, major collaborations were formed with ASU, the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture, the City of Scottsdale Green Building Program and Solar Energy Conference, and the Heard Museum.

SMoCA Nights, our thrice-yearly event that brings together artists, fashion designers, musicians and dancers for an eclectic evening of cutting-edge culture and entertainment, continues to attract crowds of more than 600 young adults to the museum, bringing new energy and vitality into the downtown.

Educational programs continue to inspire people of all ages and are projected to reach more than 12,000 people this year.  SMoCA’s Visions program provides high school art students with the opportunity to increase understanding of modern and contemporary art while learning about diversity, teamwork, and interpersonal communications.  SMoCA is also a participant in the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture’s 21st Century Community Learning Grant, delivering much-needed after-school arts programs to nine underperforming elementary schools.

Looking forward to January, one of the most important international design exhibitions of the year will open at the museum.  SMoCA is one of only three American venues to present Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday Life, organized by Minneapolis’s Walker Arts Center.  The exhibition examines the latest contemporary developments in design from around the globe and includes innovative projects in architecture, product design, furniture, fashion and graphic design.   

Culture Quest

Thanks to our partnership with the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, the third season of Native Trails began with a special performance during the Smithsonian’s Culture Fest week in November. This free noon-time celebration of Native American song and dance continues to be successfully produced by the Center for the Arts and has proven very popular with visitors and residents alike.  The regular season of Native Trails, now sponsored by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation begins on January 6 and will run through the end of March. The performances fall under the umbrella of Culture Quest, the collaboration of the arts and hospitality industries to raise the visibility of Scottsdale’s arts and cultural offerings. We are pleased to be able to offer a season of 30 performances, and are grateful to the Scottsdale CVB for continuing to market Scottsdale’s arts and cultural events to potential audiences from around the world. 

Sources of Revenue and Support

Last year our board and staff raised $2.2 million, about 20% of our budget.  This year our goal is $2.5 million.  We continually look for ways to engage our community to let them know that admissions, gift shop sales and city support are not enough to meet program and operating expenses for the Center and SMoCA.  Our development plan is aggressive: to increase contributions 60% in the next four years.  Though we realize this is ambitious, fund raisers have to remain optimistic.  We have a very supportive community and it is our hope we can increase the number of donors from about 3,500 to nearly 6,000.

Four hundred eighty-eight active volunteers donated more than 19,000 hours of service last year to the Center, SMoCA, Public Art and the Cultural Council for an estimated value of $327,000.

And, the Cultural Council leveraged $3 to every one city contract dollar last year.  Revenue from all other sources accounted for $8.5 million.  The City master agreement represented 24% of the total budget in FY ’04 compared to 28% in FY ’03.

Strategic Plan

One of the four key priorities set forth in our strategic plan was to further empower our operating divisions ---- the Center, SMoCA, and Public Art --- and ensure responsible leadership. To accomplish this, we examined our organizational structure for a better model to govern the growing organization, and after 18 months the board arrived at a new governance structure ratified just two weeks ago. We now have an active corporation with three very distinct components, each entrusted with different missions, and a core administrative division responsible for management, fundraising, financial services and cultural development planning. As a result of the new governance structure, there are now many more volunteer leadership opportunities with the Cultural Council. We believe this is a structure that will enable both the parts and the whole to better thrive.

And thrive we must, because we have some important work to do. Among our goals:

• Number one: Renovating the nearly 30-year old Scottsdale Center for the Arts to ensure it remains competitive in our regional market, as well as provide for the ongoing safety and service of its more than 350,000 annual visitors. This project is more crucial than ever, given the number of renovations, expansions and new cultural venues occurring all over the Valley. The proposed renovations include better patron access and amenities, renovated and enlarged box office and retail spaces, improved delivery and service areas the addition of patron seating areas. 

• Supporting the City's pursuit of the creation of a museum of the American West in downtown by lending whatever expertise and assistance we can to achieve the success with the project.

• Building a new 350-seat signature theater for a professional resident theater company as part of an innovative theater district to help revitalize downtown.

• Exploring ways to help property owners re-conceive existing downtown buildings as performance spaces for small and mid-size performing arts groups.

• Pursuing the possibility of converting the empty cinema complex in the lower level of the Galleria Corporate Center into a film and small performance center.

• And, working with citizens in north Scottsdale interested in building an 1,800-seat concert-theater and arts center. 

Conclusion

Finally, I’d like to recognize and introduce the members of the Scottsdale Cultural Council’s Board of Trustees who have joined me here this evening. 

The fact that Scottsdale embraces the arts makes our city a great place to live and visit. We hope we are not only meeting but exceeding your expectations.  After all, we are your arts programming and planning agency and the caretakers of your cultural venues.  The true beneficiaries of this partnership are the residents and visitors whose lives are enriched through arts experiences made available to them in a city where the arts flourish.

Thank you.  I’d be pleased to answer any questions.