Bear with me while I ramble a bit here.
First things first. It’s Friday. Run, don’t walk, to this week’s
featured event, which is under way as we speak. It’s a wine and
hors d’oeuvres affair at the Amy Burnette Gallery on 4th Street in
Bremerton to celebrate the grand opening of the “Crazy Lady on 4th
Street Gallery,” with featured art by Shelly Wilkerson … “think
Norman Rockwell meets Mad Magazine,” says the item on the Kitsap Sun’s
calendar. You have until 8:30 p.m. Wilkerson’s Gallery is at
296 Fourth St.
Now, there’s considerable irony in the fact that the reception
is in Bremerton, according to South Kitsap artist James Kelsey of
Southworth. Wilkerson is from South Kitsap, said Kelsey, but alas
if it has anything to do with art, it’s probably happening in
Bremerton.
Kelsey, a former dyed-in-the-wool optimist, sounded positively
cynical and downright despondent when I called him today to ask if
he met his goal of fund-raising for a piece of public art in Port
Orchard. He hadn’t even hit the halfway mark.
Last month on this blog, I wrote about
Kelsey’s efforts to raise $15,000 through an online private
fund-raising campaign for a sculpture he proposed to install in
a public place in Port Orchard. The money would have covered his
materials, including a large stainless steel sphere that cost
$6,000 to manufacture. Kelsey, willing to take a gamble on PO’s
heart for art, paid for the sphere on his credit card. His plan was
to get the statue installed, then mount a campaign to cover his
time and other costs.
At the time he launched the fund-raising drive, Bremerton had
just approved another statue (that makes about 300 quadrillion so
far) paid for with the city’s 1 percent for the arts program.
Port Orchard has no arts funding program, but Kelsey believed
private citizens would step up to beautify their fair city. By the
deadline of the campaign, he had raised only $4,000. The giant
sphere sits in storage. Perhaps he will use it in another
piece.
Kelsey is a successful artist with works on Kitsap County
properties and in Bremerton (did we need to ask?), as well as in
other states and British Columbia. His art fetches a fair price,
but producing is is a lengthy and often speculative process. With
the recession, Kelsey struggled. In March he lost his home. Some
friends bought it and are allowing him to rent until he can buy it
back. But in truth, Kelsey is starting to lose spring in his
step.
Asked if he’s given up on Port Orchard, Kelsey said. “They’ve
given up on me. I keep forgetting I live here because it’s a good
place to live, not because it’s an arts community. This is a blue
collar, NASCAR town, not an art-centric community.”
Bremerton, in comparison, is bustling with activity, largely as
a result of its arts scene, Kelsey said. “You look at Bremerton’s
parks, and the art and the fountains they have. It’s becoming a
destination, and a lot of that has to do with the arts.”
Ironically, Kelsey said, there are numerous artists living in
South Kitsap, but most of their work is displayed and sold
elsewhere. In his opinion, support for the arts, including the
Historic Orchard Theatre and Western Washington Center for the
Performing Arts, comes from a small core group of people, and it’s
not enough to support a thriving arts community.
Kelsey, citing a
2009 study on Arts and Economy by the National Governors
Association, said Bremerton and Port Orchard respectively will
reap what they sow in the realm of investment in the arts.
Since this is a single source blog post, I’d like to open this
forum up to comments from those of you who agree or disagree with
Kelsey.
What say you, is Port Orchard culturally challenged (take the
poll on this blog’s hoome page)? Why do you think efforts to
privately fund a public sculpture have failed?
Is Bremerton’s investment in the arts paying off?
I was going to poke fun at Bremerton for
poking fun at Port Orchard about our new 7Eleven, but we’re in
the middle of a serious discussion here. Guess I’ll just have to
save if for
a future post.
Reach Kelsey at james@jameskelseystudios.com.
Chris Henry, South Kitsap reporter
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