As the Executive Director of a non-profit dedicated to creating a platform for women in the arts, I am always interested in hearing the experiences and insights of peers who are working toward similar goals. I had the chance to connect with Rick Kinsel, Executive Director of the Vilcek Foundation, who has over twenty years of experience in the art world and happens to be among the distinguished first group of Visual Arts Curators supporting the launch of Pen and Brush's new programming (learn more about our open call for literary or visual art submissions at PenandBrush.org). His work in both the for-profit and not-for profit sectors includes time at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Coty, Inc.
Here's what Rick has to say about the evolving art world and the need to lift and support talented, professional artists who might otherwise go unrecognized.
Janice Sands (JS): What are you most passionate about in your role as Executive Director of the Vilcek Foundation?
Rick Kinsel (RK): Since joining the Foundation, I have developed programs designed to raise public awareness of immigrant contributions to the American arts and sciences. These programs include the Vilcek Foundation exhibition series, which commissions original works of art shown at the Vilcek Foundation gallery, and the Vilcek Prizes, awarded annually to distinguished immigrant artists and scientists. Through our grants, we have supported a wide variety of institutions, from film festivals, to youth orchestras, to biomedical research institutions. Many of the emerging artists we supported have gone on to promising careers, such as photographer O Zhang, musician Blitz the Ambassador, and choreographer Alice Gosti.
What I'm most passionate about here at the Vilcek Foundation is fostering new talent and recognizing extraordinary achievement. And what's most exciting about the job, and what keeps it so perpetually interesting for me, is that I get to do so across disciplines and practices. I'll meet a concert violinist one day, a choreographer the next, and an artist working in new and emerging media after that. I'm always learning new things and having new experiences of art. In doing so, I'm constantly being reminded that American society is uniquely invigorated by the talent, vision, and ambition of its immigrants.
JS: What are the biggest challenges facing the art world right now?
RK: American arts organizations are increasingly desperate for money, and that worries me a lot. Government support of the arts has been slipping for the last 20 years, and, generally speaking, public funding has not kept up with inflation. According to annual reports from the Grantmakers in the Arts, public funding of the arts increased only very modestly in 2014, and this was the first time in six years that funding from federal, state, and local governments increased at all over the prior fiscal year. Using 1994 dollars, funding for the arts has actually decreased by 26 percent!
This situation is extremely problematic for those of us who work in the non-profit world, because the drop in public funding has meant that arts organizations now rely more than ever before on private support to cover their basic operating costs. Foundation-based funding for the arts has stabilized since the recession, but there is no guarantee that the private sector will continue this level of support in the future. It is largely made possible through charitable contributions, and charitable contributions are dependent on a healthy financial climate. This is not a situation that's good for the arts, and it's not good for American society overall, since it means we are falling behind, culturally, as a nation.
JS: Why did you decide to sign on as a Visual Arts Curator for Pen and Brush?
RK: I think it's a question of basic human justice that women should achieve gender parity in our society at all levels. A century ago, women could not vote and were only able to work at the most menial and low paying of jobs. That's no longer the case -- but even now, women do not earn the same as men. If the arts are a mirror of our society, it seems to me imperative that women be recognized as artistic equals -- and in some cases, superiors!
After all, the arts help shape and influence public discourse. I know this firsthand from the Vilcek Foundation's work with immigrants. We create space for artists from an underrepresented community. We give them greater visibility while allowing them to speak in their own voices. Pen and Brush does something similar. Since I want to participate in that feminist discourse, I am pleased to serve as a curator at Pen and Brush.
I was also attracted to Pen and Brush's prioritization of excellence. It echoes our belief at the Vilcek Foundation that the simplest and most effective way to fulfill our mission is to find and support the best and brightest. Work of high quality is indisputable, regardless of the gender, ethnicity, or citizenship status of the maker.
Finally, and on a very basic level, Pen and Brush gives opportunities to artists. There are many, many more artists and writers that we would love to support through the Vilcek Foundation, and unfortunately it just isn't possible to help everyone. Pen and Brush is a much-needed source of recognition for artists and writers, so I am particularly glad to be a part of it for that reason.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of my discussion with Mr. Kinsel, where he offers advice for emerging and mid-career artists and his perspective on how art has turned from a "calling" to a business.