Art and business are like in-laws at a wedding. All hugs and smiles on the big day, followed by a vaguely uneasy relationship.
Take the $35 arts tax Portland wage earners will vote on in November. The Portland Business Alliance opposes the tax that would raise $12 million annually for arts teachers and arts groups. The Standard and PGE Foundation officially remain neutral.
But, The Standard and PGE both contribute money to the group that sponsors the arts tax, the Creative Advocacy Network. Jessica Jarratt Miller, the group's executive director, won't comment on the seeming disconnect but will say this: "I am deeply grateful to companies and individuals who have donated to our charitable organization."
Business leaders sit on boards of directors of many arts group in the city, including every major arts organization. They give their own money to arts groups. Some leaders sit on the Creative Advocacy Network's board, and no doubt privately support the tax measure. But for whatever reason -- bosses who oppose taxes, for example -- only nine Portland businesses have endorsed the arts tax so far.
November's arts tax is the first to come before Portland voters since 1987, when it lost by 20 percentage points. This time, polls show more support. A little more than half the $12 million of annual revenue raised by the tax would restore arts and music teachers to Portland elementary schools. The rest would fund 42 qualifying arts groups to improve access to the arts for under-served communities and kids.
The initiative, supported by Mayor Sam Adams, has been brewing for several years but got a boost this spring, when a U.S. Department of Education study found that 94 percent of U.S. schools offered music instruction; in Portland, the figure is 58 percent. The study also found that 83 percent of U.S. schools offered visual art education, but only 18 percent in Portland. And 28 percent of Portland public schools offered no arts education at all.
That translates to 11,596 children who get no art, dance, drama or music instruction.
The Portland Business Alliance opposes the arts tax on policy grounds, said Dennis P. Rawlinson, the group's chairman. The Alliance doesn't object to the measure or to supporting the arts, he said. Rawlinson is a past president of the Portland Opera board. But in a challenging economy, the group supports measures that relate only to education. For example, the Alliance endorses the Portland Public Schools construction bond on the November ballot.
Other leaders said their businesses would remain neutral on the arts tax.
"I can say The Standard is neither involved in the campaign nor taking a position pro or con on the measure," said Bob Speltz, spokesman for Standard Insurance Company. Speltz sits on the board of the Creative Advocacy Network, sponsors of the arts tax. Earlier this year, he took over as chairman of the Oregon Cultural Trust.
"PGE has a long history as a strong supporter of the arts," said Carole Morse, president of the PGE Foundation and, like Speltz, a board member of the Creative Advocacy Network. "In addition, the company makes a practice of offering charitable donations or grants to organizations where its executives serve on boards or its employees volunteer. I have been a board member of CAN for two years, so PGE's donations to the organization's education fund fit both our long-term support for the arts and our policy of supporting employees' community involvement. That's not the same, however, as a political endorsement, and PGE has decided not to take a position on the CAN measure."
That doesn't mean art isn't important to business. Creativity helps business survive today's competitive environment, said three business leaders who talked about the arts tax.
Dan Wieden, co-founder, Wieden+Kennedy
The man who coined the phrase "Just Do It" considers the arts central to people's lives and to any creative, engaged business, which is why he supports the Portland arts tax, he said.
"I think it's a fabulous idea. The arts are a human trait that propels human civilization."
Wieden is well-known for encouraging creativity at his agency. "I'm a businessman who supports business," he said. "That's my job. The advertising business is a creative business. When you say art doesn't matter, you're full of (it). It drives me nuts. It's complete blindness to how the world works. If you think creativity is just an aperitif, you've missed the whole point about business."
The arts are a business tool, he added. "If you want to grow this economy, you better get some creative people in here to grow it. Business people are afraid of disorder. Art grows things. You can't keep doing the same thing, day after day. The churn is so great now, the life span of business is getting shorter and shorter. As Buddha said, 'The world is on fire.'"
Wieden grew up in Portland and got hooked on theater while a student at Grant High School. "I really, really loved it," he said. "It's the thing that gave me confidence."
And a career.
"I believe the creative life will help you. If I didn't, I'd be toast because I don't have much of a left brain."
"The arts teach us about ourselves," he said. "They create bonds between people and those bonds are necessary to invent things, discover things. To be creative is to learn something new. It compels people to act. I quickly learned through art that everybody should be able to have a creative life. Through the arts, they discover their voice, and once they discover their voice, they can make their way in the world. You have the ability to understand the world, challenge the world and change the world.
"The creative act I'm most proud of is the culture of the place. It's the only way to compete with New York. The riddle is, how do you create a place where individuals are asked to freely explore their talents and still work with other people? It's the individual versus the collective. Our daily slogan is, 'Walk in stupid every morning.'"
?Jeff Harvey, CEO Burgerville
On a recent Thursday evening, folks walking into the Hawthorne Burgerville on their way home from work would have sensed the walls pulsing. New York Rifles, a Portland punk/folk band, was thrashing it out in the middle of the dining area. As customers ordered burgers and fries at the counter, lead singer Scott Young, in ripped jeans and shoulder-length hair, howled into the microphone while bandmates thrashed on drums and bass.
But who was the older guy playing guitar with them? Patrons probably didn't know it, but the man in dress shirt and slacks was Jeff Harvey, the CEO of Burgerville.
Harvey is a guitarist from way back and likes to sit in with bands when he can, but that's not the only reason he was playing along. Music is a creative expression, and creative vitality is central to his business philosophy, he said.
"Innovation is life and death in this business," he said. "We have tons of competition, so it's important to differentiate ourselves."
Harvey uses innovation in scheduling work shifts, marketing, engaging communities, raising money for local causes and in seasonal displays, he said. For example, diners at the new Tigard Burgerville can tweet and post photos to a live video screen inside the restaurant.
Live music in his restaurants is another example of creativity, he said.
Five years ago, Burgerville experimented with music at its Hawthorne restaurant. Bands performed and streamed their music online, and the idea expanded to five other restaurants. Burgerville recently released its second album of local bands (including the Dandy Warhols, Pink Martini, Y La Bamba), to benefit the Portland Police Bureau's Sunshine Division, which gives emergency food and clothing to families in need.
Local music now constitutes 40 percent of the piped-in music at each of the chain's 29 restaurants, Harvey said.
Music is his creative expression, but until 10 years ago, he had an on-and-off relationship with it. "Every time I put the guitar away, my career became harder. I faced bigger challenges, I was more worn out, I would struggle. When I brought it back, I thought, 'wow, I feel so much more capable.' My confidence in my ability to adapt rose. I love improvisation. That's why I love jazz. I'm in a business situation and music will come into my thoughts. Words, a phrase -- I'll relate it to a chord progression. I sing it. Creative expression is a sound business practice."
Harvey declined to say how he would vote on the arts tax, but it's not hard to figure out how he'll vote based on his philosophy, he said.
"I'm not a political guy, but the arts and arts support is part of my value system. I think public support of the arts is fine. It's fair game for arts to get support anywhere they can."
Gordon Sondland, CEO, Provenance Hotels
Gordon Sondland describes himself as anti-tax, but the former chairman of the board of the Portland Art Museum supports Portland's arts tax.
"I prefer lower taxes and smaller government," he said, "but in this case, I don't consider it a product of larger government. I consider the arts part of the larger community."
Sondland thinks the arts are part of the city's economic development. "I'm keenly aware of how businesses look at our community -- whether to stay or move or to add personnel. One of the boxes they want to check is, do we have a vibrant arts scene? That's a critical thing for Portland. I also think as to the schools, it's an economic development issue. Do we go beyond reading, writing and arithmetic? Thirty-five bucks a person is not a huge burden for anyone to carry."
Revenue from the arts tax would give the Portland Art Museum and the Oregon Symphony $600,000 each per year, equal to 5 percent of their budgets.
"We would still have to raise money," Sondland said. "There's no cost of living increase, so it's a glide path. This will help immediately and then become lower over the years."
But why should taxpayers support the arts? Why not let donors and foundations sustain them?
"The art museum gets virtually no public money," he said, "which is fine, but it's a public institution being carried on the backs of very, very few individuals. It's time for the broader community, all of whom enjoy and benefit from the arts, to carry a little bit on their shoulders. It's the price of membership for living in this community."
-- David Stabler
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2012/09/portlands_arts_tax_three_busin.html
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