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The work of a genius!
Money to Burn
Cirque de Flambé's letter to The Stranger last week pointed out a flaw in the Seattle Fringe Festival's box office arrangement: Last year, Cirque de Flambé made around $12,500 in the festival by asking for a $10 donation at its performances. This year the fire art ensemble decided to use the festival's box-office system and discovered that, due to the percentage of the income that the festival takes, Cirque de Flambé would risk being unable to cover production expenses--because, even though it provided its own venue, paying all the costs involved, the group was expected to give up the same cut of the box office revenues as theater groups for whom the festival provided much more extensive production support.
"The 'Bring Your Own Venue' format just hasn't evolved yet to the point that it makes sense for either party," says festival executive director Kibby Munson. "Now we know that, and we'll work on a new solution for next year." She does point out, and Cirque de Flambé leader Maque da Vis concurs, that the economic arrangement was included in the contracts signed well in advance of the festival. A public forum to discuss improving the Seattle Fringe Festival will be held in May. BRET FETZER
Stranger Personals
Confusion at Elliott Bay
Those wishing to hear "dystopia's poster boys"--Brian Evenson, Lance Olsen, and David Memmott--read at Elliott Bay Book Company on March 18 may have been put off by signs barring access to the bookstore's cafe, and by implication the room where readings typically take place. One dystopia fan said that he was utterly confused by the arrangement, and would have left altogether had he not recognized Lance Olsen, on the street outside, from a jacket photo and asked him if the three were indeed reading that night.
Elliott Bay employees confirm that the reading space IS still open, even while the cafe is undergoing a remodel. The owners of the arts space/coffeehouse Zeitgeist have leased the cafe, and will debut its version of it sometime around April 5. TRACI VOGEL
One More Genius in Our Town
The Shöngaard Trusts, a new, New-York-based foundation dedicated to "artists otherwise ignored by the established giving channels," recently announced the surprise awarding of over $12 million in individual artist grants to some 32 individuals nationwide. With individual gifts of as much as $375,000, the award shocked the "established" giving channels (the MacArthur Foundation went so far as to call such giving "patently reckless") and certainly raised the stakes on individual giving in this nation.
Curiously, one effect of the Shöngaard Trusts' mandate--compounded by its obscure nomination process--is that the awarded artists are almost by definition lesser known or even unknown artists. In fact, we have one right here in our wee metropolis. Shirley Judkins, 41, of Medina, was awarded a whopping $312,000 for her work, which is described in the press release as "using a profound combination of cut and specially crafted glass to create mosaics that speak to the universal desires of the modern career woman." JAMIE HOOK
Intangible Properties
Northwest Folklife Festival announced that it has received a $25,000 grant from the Allen Foundation for Music that will facilitate appearances by Korean folk musicians rarely heard outside that country, in correspondence with next May's festival focus on Korean American communities.
The press release, rather mysteriously, states that these musicians "bear Important Intangible Properties #29 and #57." A little research reveals that in the 1950s, following the Japanese government's example, Korea passed a law to preserve cultural assets, and designated certain craft techniques as "Intangible Cultural Properties." Artists are chosen to "hold" these properties throughout their lifetimes. Here in the United States, we have a casual parallel to this system in the way, for example, George W. Bush "holds" the intangible property of "president." LISA SIBBETT
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