In June of this year, Executive Director/Dancer John Michael Schert sat on a panel at the annual Americans for the Arts Convention in San Antonio, TX. Here’s what he had to say about why he was honored to be invited and how creative placemaking can change the landscape of a community.
“It is always a humbling experience to attend a conference such as Americans for the Arts and learn of the incredible work being done nationwide by so many dedicated and experienced arts leaders. Meeting these thinkers and learning more about the processes behind their "products" allows me to reflect and better realign with the "why" of Trey McIntyre Project: Why do we exist and what is our purpose in the modern day world? In Boise? In the nation? It is then an even more humbling and empowering feeling to be invited to the recent AFTA conference in San Antonio to sit on a panel of some of today's greatest arts leaders."
“Creative placemaking is a concept and practice that Trey McIntyre Project has been implementing since our founding in 2004 as a summer-touring company, and continued to solidify since our full-time launch based out of Boise, ID in 2008. Being a part of the fabric of a community and allowing a community to integrate into the mission of Trey McIntyre Project has become an essential aspect of who we are. We were thrilled to be a first-round grantee both of the NEA Our Town grant and ArtPlace, and eager to share our findings and stories with our peers across the U.S."
"In San Antonio, Trey McIntyre Project was asked to sit alongside funders such as the Knight Foundation, Aetna Foundation and the L.A. County Arts Commission, and leaders such as Henry Cisneros and Maria Rosario Jackson of the Urban Institute to discuss the concepts and practices of creative placemaking. Up onstage, I realized that Trey McIntyre Project was the only artist present and had the extra onus of speaking from that perspective: How can an artist/arts organization be not only a cultural leader in the community, but a civic and economic leader? How can we state our value, not always in terms of dollars, but in terms of value added? How do we monetize the creative force that we are and prove the inspiration we bring to the entire city? These are questions Trey McIntyre Project has been asking ourselves a lot lately and something we were incredibly excited to discuss.”