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Health & Fitness

Making Space at Our Place

Now that I am a homeowner and parent north of New York City, the phrase “artist salon” conjures the good ol’ days when artists gathered at our leisure to show work, talk about process and sit on floors, on street corners, and in garages to experience art work by our peers  -- the kind of stuff that we would have difficulty describing to our parents or friends from high school. 

When I was working as a fundraiser in the arts, we used the salon model as a tool for stewardship.  Artists were “brought to” homes of Board members where they showed their work not so much to entertain, but to make a case for the value of new and experimental work, and in a very real way, for themselves. Artists get used to putting on a dog-and-pony-show out of necessity.  Independent artists rely on “fans” or benefactors to support not only the product of their work but the very process that enables them to build a body of work that may establish a viable career.   My job was to make sure we left those salons with checks in our pockets and commitments for ongoing support. 

What I discovered in those days was my gift for articulation.  I was an artist, but I wasn’t trying to make a career at it.  Everyone I loved was an artist and I wanted so much for them that I got really good at making sure other people knew how great and important and necessary their work was for all of us.

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In Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow there is a rumbling from a growing base of mature artists and art leaders to make place and space for their work to happen here at home.  In me, there is a re-engagement to that cause.  Of the artists I’ve spoken with, some want space that can hold work-tables and sawhorses, they want to build with their hands or design and conceptualize new projects.  Others need enough space to move their bodies to create stories through dance and performance.  All deserve space to do the business of their work: the research, the networking, the writing.  We envision community engagement and connection, access and audiences, resources and services, and we think our home is the perfect place to make it happen. 

Since we can’t always get what we want, at least not right away, last night my husband and I hosted a salon at our home.  Following the popular house tour model that so many independent musicians, including my brother, book to test out new work – we hosted two local choreographers – Jill Liflander of Sleepy Hollow and Stephen Ursprung who teaches at the Dance Academy at the Tarrytown YMCA-  to showcase work-in-progress in our living room.

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The result was a bit of magic and alchemy.  The choreographer’s feet where inches from our own, and the audience, made up Sleepy Hollow community members who were artists -- painters, architects, woodworkers, writers, performers and musicians -- were grateful and inspired.  It was like the good ol’ days, except for the obvious fact that we are much older and possibly even more deserving and appreciative now of dedicated adult space to do the things that make us whole. 

We were invigorated by the notion that communities that values artists with jobs and with families, can be built by the people in that very room.   We don’t have to wait to afford a lone studio or residency in another town, or hold out for an invitation to perform or show work; we can build partnerships in our community and begin to make the work happen now.

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