Blog
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The Necessary Tools Friday, August 15, 2008
The Necessary Tools
Healthcare is an essential, though difficult, addition to any artist’s toolbox
For artists and be-my-own-boss-types alike, the stress of finding insurance is often reason enough to give-up on the whole enterprise. The epic quest for affordable coverage requires bravery, discipline and an appreciation for music of the “You’ve Been Put on Hold Indefinitely” genre. Of course, the high cost of even the most basic medical treatments testifies to the importance of reliable healthcare, but with the investment of time—and of course money—required, it can be difficult for the self-employed to justify the hassle. A little know-how can get you started in the right direction.First and foremost, there’s the government. Many programs, both federal and state, exist to pay for your healthcare costs, though you may find that qualifying for Uncle Sammy’s dollars requires an extenuating circumstance. Cover Tennessee provides healthcare for children and seriously ill individuals who have been denied healthcare elsewhere. Those over 65 can benefit from Medicare, and low-income families have Medicaid at their disposal. Most notably, CoverTN, one of four divisions in the Cover Tennessee network, finds ways to insure the employees of small businesses across the state.
As an individual seeking healthcare independently, it’s helpful to think outside the box. Let’s imagine you’ve been employed by A Company Fortunate Enough to Find a Genius Like You, Incorporated, which has generously provided you with a benefits package that includes healthcare. Because this company is staffed with 800 or so other geniuses, you all get cheaper insurance rates. You benefit, collectively, from your individual employment.
Enter the private group provider, a type of organization that simulates a large company for the purposes of providing insurance to its members. Group providers connect artists with bunches of uninsured brethren, i.e. your fellow geniuses. The idea is that there is strength (and discount) to be had when these bundles of artists approach insurance companies as a collective, rather than as individual policy-buyers. Enrolling in a private group provider gives the shopper access to rates that those working for larger companies enjoy. Enjoyment whilst shopping for insurance. It’s genius.
There are a few names in the private group provider industry worth knowing. With Freelancers Union, members have access to health insurance as well as dental, disability and term life policies for the particularly ambitious. Fractured Atlas, a provider some 50,000-members strong, can also connect artists in Tennessee with an appropriate healthcare plan through Aetna. And there’s Assurant Health, which helps with financing your healthcare and works with several nation-wide insurance companies providing both short- and long-term policies.
Goodness, it sounds so easy, but the buyer beware: insurance companies recommended by group providers are not legally bound to accept group bids. While Freelancers Union and Fractured Atlas have enormous clout because of their sheer size, it’s still not a sure thing. Ever.
Should you so choose to forgo insurance, there are many prescription assistance programs operated by non-profits and pharmaceutical companies. The government is also willing to offset prescription drug costs from time to time.
And then there’s the jive. Mercifully, many providers and advocacy groups offer resources for learning the romantic language of health insurance—and there are volumes dedicated to its pursuit. This proves incredibly helpful since different companies provide different types of coverage: you can do some powerful comparison-shopping when you understand the jargon. Hit me with an HAS for my PPO, you’ll tell them, you genius.
Keep in mind, even the most well-informed smooth talker can come up against major pratfalls. Age, medical history and income can all play a decisive role in whether or not you qualify for healthcare and how much it will cost should you score a policy. Additionally, it gets tricky when you want to insure yourself as well as a partner, family member, or group of employees. But you’re not alone in your search for affordable healthcare, little genius. That much, if only that much, is certain.
By Veronique Bergeron
Posted by in Collective Rethink
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Call to Artists Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Maryville Civic Arts Center
Project Description
A new, 47-million dollar cultural center is currently being constructed on the campus of Maryville College, located in Maryville, Tennessee. The new Civic Arts Center will be a destination for the arts for Eastern Tennessee and the region, and will include a 1200 seat theater and 250-seat recital hall, a 200-seat flexible theater, three exhibition spaces, workshops, classrooms and offices. The majestic entry lobby, as well as the Center’s exterior arts plaza, will be the focal point for a myriad of corporate, community and college events.
Information about the Civic Arts Center can be found at the website http://www.civicartscenter.org, and includes updates on the progress of construction as well as information about the site plan, donors and Maryville College.
There will be a significant fine arts component to the new cultural center. This part of the project is open to established, professional artists living in the United States and abroad. The aim is to acquire works of the highest quality, and will include both regional artists and those artists living and working internationally. The primary criteria will be the level of expertise and quality of past work exhibited by each artist, as well as suitability of that work for the site.
Art Locations
Fine artwork is being sought for a variety of areas within the building and in exterior locations. These works may include sculpture, painting, photography and video art, installation/environmental art, textile design, glass, ceramic art, and wood. Appropriate artworks may include two dimensional paintings for interior wall surfaces, exterior free standing sculpture or relief sculpture; pedestal-sized sculpture; and possibly the design of the theater curtain and prominent entrance doors.
Criteria
All artists wishing to be considered must be proficient in their stated media, with a strong exhibition history and demonstrated expertise in their field. Submissions must take the form of no more than five (5) digital images of the artist’s most recent work, in jpeg format only, and include:
• The title, size, media and an explanation of each work depicted, including location.
• A CV or resume detailing exhibitions and other accomplishments.
• Price range of past works, including commissions, if applicable.
• Team members, if appropriate, if the artist typically employs structural engineers, fabricators or other subcontractors;
• Contractual relationships with galleries or private art dealers;
• Artist’s full contact information, including day and evening phone numbers, address and email.
All submissions will be accepted via CD-Rom or flash drives only. Each individual CD Rom or flash drive must be clearly labeled with the artist’s name. CD Rom disks and flash drives will not be returned. These should be forwarded to the Civic Arts Center’s architect, McCarty Holsaple McCarty. Make sure the envelope is marked Fine Arts Program and forward to:
Jeff Johnson
McCarty Holsaple McCarty, Inc.
550 W. Main Street, Suite 300
Knoxville, TN 37902
Deadlines
Submission deadline is September 30, 2008. Submissions will be reviewed in October, with a short list presented to the Fine Arts Committee of the Maryville College Civic Arts Center by the end of the month. Final decisions on artists to be considered for commissions or acquisitions of non-commissioned works will be made by the Fine Arts Committee. Artists will be notified via email. It is the policy of Maryville College and the Civic Arts Center not to discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, national origin or disability in its hiring and employment practices. No person shall be excluded from participation in or be discriminated against in treatment or employment on the grounds of handicap and/or disability, age, race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.Posted by in Collective Rethink
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The Arts Mean Business Monday, August 04, 2008
...communities that invest in the arts reap the additional benefits of jobs, economic growth, and a quality of life that positions those communities to compete in our 21st century creative economy.
Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2B in economic activity annually- a 24 percent increase in the past five years. That amount is greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries. This spending supports 5.7 million full-time jobs right here in the United States - an increase of 850,000 jobs since a 2002 study. What’s more, because arts and culture organization are strongly rooted in their communities, these are jobs that necessarily remain local and cannot be shipped overseas.
Our industry also generates nearly $30B in revenue to local, state, and federal governments every year. By comparison, the three levels of government collectively spend less that $4B annually to support the arts and culture - a spectacular 7:1 return on investment that would even thrill Wall Street veterans.
Arts and culture organizations - businesses in their own right - leverage additional event-related spending by their audiences that pump vital revenue into restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other local businesses. When patrons attend a performing arts event, for example, they may park their car in a toll garage, purchase dinner at a restaurant, and eat dessert after the show. Valuable commerce is generated for local merchants. This study shows that the typical attendee spends $27.79 per person, per event, in additional to the cost of admission. When a community attracts cultural tourists, it harnesses even greater economic rewards. Nonlocal audiences spend twice as much as their local counterparts ($40.19 vs. $19.53). Arts and culture are magnets for tourists, and tourism research repeatedly shows that cultural travelers stay longer and spend more. Whether serving the local community or out-of-town visitors, a vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive.
Right now, cities around the world are competing to attract new businesses as well as our brightest young professionals. International studies show that the winners will be communities that offer an abundance of arts and culture opportunities. As the arts flourish, so will creativity and innovation-the fuel that drives our global economy.
(Source: Americans for the Arts, 2007)
Posted by in Collective Rethink
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Writers’ Workshop | July 31st, 6:30-8:30 PM | CreateHere Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Artists, entrepreneurs, and freelance writers are invited to a workshop to learn about crafting press releases and query letters. It takes place on Thursday, July 31 from 6:30-8:30 PM at 55 E Main Street. This event is free and open to the public! Space is limited, so please RSVP to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Led by local writer/editor Janis Hashe, the program’s two-fold purpose is to assist those in creative fields who do their own publicity, and to review the essentials of freelance querying for writers, particularly those who would like to be published. Please pass the word along to others who may be interested!
What: Writers’ Workshop with Janis Hashe
When: Thursday, July 31st, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Where: The CreateHere studio, 55 E Main Street
Cost: Free!
Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)Posted by in Collective Rethink
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Front Porch Sessions Wednesday, July 09, 2008
From this spot on Main Street, Sharon and I disperse to the east and the west. We walk the sidewalks that snake through the Southside and make it accessible. As we trace the streets, we look for avenues into the spirit of the community. We listen for voices that will help us understand these neighborhoods.A distinctive of this community is the porch phenomenon. Even the new apartments and condos are fronted by open-air space, with railings, folding chairs, maybe a citronella candle or two. Front porches are made for socializing, for keeping an eye on the neighborhood, for shooting the breeze with the folks who live next door. We at CreateHere want a small taste of the front porch culture.
So Sharon and I have been traveling the streets of Jefferson Heights, Highland Park, Fort Negley, and Cowart Place. We take our voice recorder and our camcorder and our camera, our folders and notebooks. We come to the houses of new and long-time residents alike, and we come with questions. We’re ready to hear what brought them to the Southside, and what they see and have seen from their front porches.
At CreateHere, we’re in the business of priming the creative pump on the Southside. But no work of that sort can be done in a community that doesn’t know itself. To build its sense of identity, a community must have an understanding of its past through the individual stories of its members. CreateHere wants to be an active part of hearing—really hearing—those stories, recording them, and presenting them for anyone interested in the way this community is growing.Can we hear from you? If you live in this area and would like to be involved, contact Sharon or Charlotte.
Posted by in Collective Rethink
