I suggest full public disclosure of BAC's financial condition followed by a round of serious neighborhood fundraising and an infusion of local business talent to supplement the BAC's board of directors. BAC's mission is much too important to our neighborhood to just let it go on like this.
Your thoughts please.
Thank You for not blaming blaming the banks that laoned them the money.
ReplyDeleteFor the BAC to survive and prosper, I believe that Beverly Hills/Morgan Park/Mt. Greenwood will need to once again evolve as a community. Our community has many great attributes and a complexity that simply eludes the attention of most “outsiders”, but ultimately it’s the tenacity and our close knit community that are both our greatest assets and greatest liabilities.
ReplyDeleteThe BAC is meant to draw people into a community that has been fighting to retain its identity for decades. We must keep in mind, if we are trying to figure out what makes our community tick, that many of our families have gone from living across a large portion of the south side of Chicago to the small corner of Chicago that we now call home and where the Beverly Art Center is located. We have fought for and will continue to fight to protect our family values and a way of life that has always emphasized love, loyalty and friendship. It is with this complexity, and to some extent, with contradiction, that we must move forward and embrace the BAC so that our community and its integrity stay relevant for future generations who value family and culture.
That being said, it is time to move forward and no longer employ Isolationism as a defense. We must look at our area from a regional perspective and establish a long term detailed plan for a balance of environment, community and business to move forward. The BAC is an important component of our regional plan and needs to be prioritized. It isn’t the Irish heritage that identifies the culture in Beverly Hills/Morgan Park/Mt. Greenwood; it’s the emphasis on family centered values that bridges all heritages. The bottom line is that we need to make the BAC a destination.
Being a resident in the City of Chicago really does not have the perks that it should have. We have to pay a premium to live in the City and it is time that we identify a way to benefit both the residents and the cultural gems that makes our city so great. One of my thoughts for a long term plan to save the BAC would include the City of Chicago supporting, and at the same time, validating the Beverly Art Center, by making funding available through the sales of annual family/individual museum and cultural passes to Chicago residents. There would be a profit sharing structure that could be established amongst the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, Shedd, Peggy Notebaert Museum, Beverly Art Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Art Institute etc., while providing cultural exposure to Chicago residents.
Obviously, I would love to say that I think the neighborhood could save the BAC by fundraising and patronizing it more, but I am more of a pragmatic person who believes that we need to deal in reality. Basically, we now have craft beer in Beverly, so I definitely think there is still hope.
The above couldn't have put it better.
DeleteWell said.
DeleteSo, the Shedd, Museum of Science and Industry,Art Institute should suppor neighborhood Art Centers. They are all barely treading water. Next Idea.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more. We need institutional presence. The key to our survival are the religious institutions, and major institutions like BAC. Public schools sadly problematic. ST. XAVIERS clearly vital,but their liberal agenda troubling. Ward organization self serving at best and community service well you be the judge..
ReplyDeleteOur culture celebrates materialism and youth; it is heavily influenced by commercialism, which is a terrible thing. We are losing our individual identity as a result of this. And, really, that is art: an individual's imaginative, creative expression. Culturally, in the United States, we are . . . illiterate. It is a terrible, atrocious thing. People acquire their culture through pop music and television - not good.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, we are not Mexico, where the leader of the teachers' union was put in jail for embezzling more or less 200 million. But we do have an enormous cultural deficit, both nationwide and on a micro level.
Frankly, I am a bit of a hypocrite her; I have never even visited BAC. I feel bad about it now. I have always wanted to, but I have never gotten around to it.
The thought I was trying to convey was that the City of Chicago or the other participating cultural components of Chicago would NOT directly financially support the BAC. The City would only facilitate in the establishment of a "City of Chicago Culture Card" that would allow City of Chicago residents the opportunity to purchase annual individual or family memberships at a discounted rate (maybe they could have the option to check a box on your property tax bill to add the discounted membership and they would mail it to you.) The hope would be that the Chicago resident annual membership program would create a large infusion of dollars into the system and the money made from the Chicago resident annual membership would be distributed to each of the participating locations. Money collected from patrons at each location would still remain at those respective locations.
ReplyDeleteThe ultimate goal would be to generate new revenue streams for these cultural gems and giving more exposure to lesser known places like the BAC.
I could not agree more. We need institutional presence. The key to our survival are the religious institutions, and major institutions like BAC. Public schools sadly problematic. ST. XAVIERS clearly vital,but their liberal agenda troubling. Ward organization self serving at best and community service well you be the judge..
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your items. My HS aged kids were looking for something "cultural" to do, a play, concert whatever. BAC sadly had nothing to offer them at the time.
I know by looking at their electronic billboard, they have some pretty good concerts for us parents.I've been there for a few events and it was nice.
I don't have the answers, and wish them the best, otherwise this Community may go the way of the rest of the South Side.
lol. St. Xavier has a "liberal agenda." ha ha, ha.
Deletelol. St. Xavier has a "liberal agenda." ha ha, ha.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to laugh at that too. It should have read "Extremely Liberal Agenda". SXU has put the "liberal" in "Liberal Arts" into another stratosphere. Check out the web-site, take a stroll by some day. Then get back to me with your findings.
They should sell Reds Hot Dogs!
ReplyDeleteThey could take the very valuable art collection from the Ridge Park House and move it there. Beverly has so much to offer as a neighborhood. I used to love the Art Fair as a kid, the fresh baked bread, running between the beautiful old buildings. How can that come back to BAC?