“I’m really excited about the future,” concurs multimedia artist David Cain, the Hoogland’s current artist-in-residence. “Being in the context of the Hoogland, you’re reminded of the excitement of young people wanting to tell stories – they want to be a part of something,” he says. “It gets you excited as an older artist. I remember that energy in myself when I was younger. I love to travel but I keep coming back here [to Springfield]. It’s a comfortable place and there are some great people here. I just came back from New Zealand and every small town had artists’ galleries, they were just everywhere, if you just walked down the street it was: coffee shop, grocery, artist gallery, restaurant, then another gallery. Whereas in a community like ours, it’s just a big job to try and keep it alive. Schools want to cut the arts, make it go away and do football instead. I believe that in order for a cultural entity to thrive, it’s important to respect and appreciate your city as a birthplace for art – you have to embrace the original stuff so you’re not just an authentic reproducer. It’s important to have an attitude of ‘We make art here!’ as opposed to ‘Well, we’re putting on some shows.’ Which is great, but there’s a pride that comes with creation, the idea that we can do it here.”
One local arts entrepreneur who has made it his business to “do it here” is Howard Tomas, aka “Torch” of Torch Tuesday, the vibrant showcase for local hip-hop music, held every Tuesday at Bar None [see “Hip-hop in the Heartland,” by Scott Faingold, Sept. 29, at illinoistimes.com]. “Looking ahead to 2012, Torch Tuesday and local hip-hop will continue to raise awareness of social issues, with Toys for Tots and Stop the Violence campaigns.” He pauses and grins. “We want to do good for the community, but at the same time I encourage people to speak their minds. Right now for January 2012 I’m putting together this battle contest called ‘Put Up or Shut Up.’ I’m gonna have the artists put up a certain amount of money, I’m gonna match that amount, and the winner takes the pot. For other prizes, there’s gonna be a trophy and a wrestling belt. There’s the two sides to it. My people aren’t honestly that thrilled when I do stuff like Black History Month, but the battle thing has people really excited, so it’s a little positive and a little negative. I’m also going to be working with WiseGuys productions to follow up on last year’s Raekwon concert and bring in some other national artists, probably in the spring. Right now we’re trying to build local culture here so when that show comes we’ll be more ready. A year later, let’s see how ready Springfield is.”
It can be said that any local arts community is only as strong as its most venerable organizations and Janet Seitz Carlson of the Prairie Art Alliance generally concurs with the prevailing spirit of positivity going into 2012. “We’ve had a significant transition this year. We were struggling very much toward the end of 2010 and the beginning of this year. We survived, with the help of our member artists who volunteered and actually staffed the gallery here for several months, helping out – because staff was cut,” she admits.
