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He said social media networks
such as Facebook and blogs are
quick becoming the best friends
of the arts community. “Social
media give the arts organizations
the opportunity to reach an awful
lot of people without spending
a lot of money on advertising.
We’re doing it now at the NEA,”
said Landesman, who writes his
own blog that
can be found on
the NEA website,
www.nea.gov.
Peoria has been a
frequent subject
of his blog.
Landesman
said studies have
shown that peo-
ple who engage
the arts through
live media are
two to three times
more likely to at-
tend events later.
“There is a lot
of important art
that doesn’t find
its way into the
marketplace for
one reason or
another,” he said,
adding the lack of
advertising mon-
ey and marketing
savvy are often
the chief reason.
“It is important to
find ways to get
those things into
the mainstream,
into the public eye.”
Peoria also has made strides
in that regard, said Chitwood,
whose challenge to Landesman
to come see what this region has
to offer shortly after he became
head of the NEA led to his No-
vember 2009 visit. Landesman
had made an unintentionally
belittling remark about Peoria
theatre and after hearing from
Chitwood and others he chose to
make Peoria the first stop on his
initial arts tour of the country.
He now counts Chitwood and
Boulais among his closest friends.
Chitwood said that while it
was important Landesman see
Peoria theatre, she also wanted
him to be aware of the other per-
forming and visual arts here.
“It has always been amazing to
me the number of visual artists
we have here and the number of
studios, including many that are
opening now,” she said.
She agreed the average Peo-
rians may not realize what is
available here. “Everybody gets
focused on their own thing and
until they get exposed to some-
thing new, they don’t include it.
One of the challenges of the arts
has always been to expand their
base. You know, everyone has
had the arts touch their lives in
one way or another during their
lives. But they still take a lot of it
for granted or don’t recognize it
as art,” Chitwood said.
Boulais said once people
become aware of one part of the
arts community,
the loop keeps
growing larger
and larger. “It’s
like in a theatre
program. You
get it at a show
you’re attending
and inside you
will see what else
is happening at
this theatre or
that, a showing
at somebody’s
art studio, a
dance recital. You
eventually find
out how rich our
arts community
is, but you have
to take that first
step,” she said.
“I’m a firm
believer that
arts awareness
is arts educa-
tion. That is one
of the roles Arts
Partners plays in
the community,
cross promoting
to keep the arts
in the minds of the public,” she
added.
William Butler, executive
director of the Contemporary Art
Center of Peoria, said there seems
to be a group of people knowl-
edgeable about visual art who
frequent the local art scene. But
even numbering 2,000 to 3,000
people, that group is relatively
small.
13
thePeorian.com
The Present
Right: During a visit to Peoria in August 2011, Rocco Landesman, left,
and Congressman Aaron Schock were presented gifts of art by Suzette
Boulais, executive director of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois.