By Joyce Kryszak
Jamestown, NY – Since the Lucy-Desi Museum left the Chautauqua Arts Council, the organization has been having a bit of a starving artists sale. But you won't find any sofa paintings for sale in Jamestown - just real estate.
Much like starving artists, arts organizations have long struggled to survive. Recent cuts in government funding have faded the arts landscape even more.
David Schein is Executive Director for the Chautauqua Arts Council. He said they have had to regroup. Over the past couple of years, the Arts Council has been gradually selling off some of its investment and gallery buildings.
"We really had to cut bait and fish because we could not sustain all those properties and keep them up," said Schein.
The historic Arcade building in Jamestown was one of the most recent properties to go on the auction block. The building leased to Time Warner will also soon go back on the tax rolls. And the Adams Art Gallery in Dunkirk was handed over to the museum.
Schein said the emphasis is now on programming rather than property.
"And we are just redefining ourselves as an arts-based, arts-missioned organization, and going into the next decade with less property and a larger focus," said Schein.
That shift in focus was somewhat forced on the Arts Council, however, when the organization lost one of its hottest commodities - the Lucy-Desi Museum.
Four years ago, Lucy's children decided to split the museum off from the Arts Council, forming a separate, not-for- profit organization.
But there is no mention of that at the Arts Council these days. Schein says there is still plenty to keep them busy.
"With things like the Buffalo Billboard exhibition and restoration project, and developing community studios in some of our remaining spaces, and our new radio station, WRFA, Radio for the Arts," said Schein. "We've got a lot of very arts focused and humanities focused enterprises."
Schein said that includes, of course, retaining and continuing to improve the Reg Lenna Civic Center, with a bigger lobby and ticket office.