Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center is hosting a one day conference on the future of DIY on Sunday Jan. 1, 2012 in St. Louis MO.
The purpose of this conference is to begin a regional (and eventually national) dialog about the DIY community with an eye for issues of definition, sustainability, support, and enrichment.
DIY is in a dangerous position. For one, "the Business" has latched onto our name and is using it as the newest marketing device for up-and-coming artists lacking the polish of commercial music. In addition, many new kids on the scene don't yet understand what the responsibilities of running a DIY are and bands are being (hopefully unintentionally) mistreated - making DIY touring less feasible. We don't have a locked down definition for what applies as DIY.
The term I coined over 7 years ago (DIT - Do It Together) seems to have gone viral in this virtual world. But few understand what this term was intended to incite!
It's time! We need to put our heads together and together create a sustainable DIY scene in the Midwest and then teach that to the world.
Topics at the conference will include:
I. Towards a definition of DIY - Communities are defined as much by who/what they are not as how they are. Some aspects to consider are: Always All Ages - what does that mean, What is a DIY Band? Should locals ever get paid? What's the Role of volunteerism? DIY Venue formats: nonprofit, house, what else?
II. DIR (Do It Right!) venues need to help make touring possible by feeding, housing, and providing a fair % of the door. How do issues of a safe appropriate environment apply? How to best publicize events in our community.
III. DIT - strategies for doing it together successfully. 501c3 status and legal stuff. Working with local governments and neighborhoods. Propose building an Association of NFP organizations to build collected resources.
Tentative Schedule:
10:00- Gather
10:15- Session 1
11:45- Break
12:00- Session 2
1:30- Lunch
2:00- Session 3
3:30- Farewell
No comments:
Post a Comment