Artist and Director of the Department of Public Art for the City of Charleston Jeff Pierson with kids at FestivALL Fall’s Carriage Trail Leaf Walk. FestivALL Fall is this October 17-21. Image courtesy FestivALL Charleston.

BY SALLY DESKINS, EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, WVU LIBRARIES

What’s GLAM? GLAM stands for galleries-libraries-archives-museums, and, for this series, The Hub is partnering up with Sally Deskins of WVU Libraries to put a spotlight on what happens when groups and institutions related to these collaborate. As Sally says, “Sharing resources can bring in more audiences, and lead to a better course for sustainability amongst all, as opposed to seeing each other competitively and bringing each other down.”

Read all of Sally’s GLAM columns here and read more about the series here.

Brittany Javins is Executive Director of FestivALL Charleston, a nonprofit organization that creates, produces and presents vibrant arts experiences and opportunities. She started out as intern, then assistant before she become Executive Director of this organization that relies on the dedication of volunteers, and “collaborates to survive.” Read on for more about this creative and far-reaching organization and Javins’s advice for those wanting to collaborate too…

Sally Deskins: Tell me about your background and why you got into what you do.

BJ:  I grew up as an artist (mostly ballet dancer) in Charleston. I worked for several years as a dance instructor for different studios and English teacher for Kanawha County Schools. A desire to incorporate the arts more into my daily work led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Arts Administration. I studied at Florida State University, but for my internship, I reached out to FestivALL. I wanted to remain in touch with my community. I also felt that interning with FestivALL would help me build on my existing knowledge of the Charleston arts scene, while introducing me to lots of new people and experiences. I was right!

Throughout my program, I continued to remain involved with FestivALL, and once I finished my program, I took a position as Assistant to the Executive Director. I have always loved how FestivALL brings everyone together, and that is what attracted me to wanting to work with this organization. As an artist, I loved that FestivALL was a time when the arts community collaborated and worked together. As a community member, I loved how FestivALL brought our city to life with people out enjoying the arts and being with each other. Now, I get to work toward creating this type of environment in a place I love.

SD: Tell me about your organization and your role, what you do.

BJ:  FestivALL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to create, produce and present vibrant arts experiences and opportunities and serve as a catalyst for others in the community to do the same. We serve this mission through a variety of multi-arts events and programs throughout the year. Our longest standing and most well-known event is FestivALL held every June. For 10 days each summer, Charleston comes alive with music, art, theatre, dance, and more. We also have other mini-festivals throughout the year, a monthly speaker series, and a Neighborhood Arts Initiative which partners with artists, arts organizations, and groups serving children and youth year-round. FestivALL partners with over 90 organizations each year and works closely with the City of Charleston. We aim to highlight local and regional artists and organizations while also bringing in national and sometimes international experiences.

I am the Executive Director. We are a small staff with a mighty volunteer team, so we all wear many hats as many organizations in WV do. As ED, my main responsibilities including overseeing and maintaining partnerships and funding, working with board and staff for overall strategies and planning, ensuring our events and programs align with our mission and goals while serving our greater community, and maintaining a structure and team that helps balance the organization and promotion and sustainability of so many events and details throughout the year.

SD: So what are some ways you have or will collaborate with either outside organizations or groups?

BJ:  We are all about collaboration at FestivALL. It is the only way we survive. First of all, we work very closely with the City of Charleston, which supports us financially and also works closely with us on planning for city services and other event logistics. We also partner with over 90 arts organizations and community groups each year.  While we produce 4 events on our own, the majority of events at FestivALL are done through partnerships in which we co-produce or present other events as part of the full lineup. We often work with non-arts groups to get creative about ways to incorporate the arts into their events, or we work with artists and arts organizations to plan for new ideas and projects.

SD: Why is collaborating important to you and your position, and WV moving forward?

BJ:  We are a small city, and we are stronger together. A thriving arts scene is an indicator of a thriving city. The more we can collaborate – both within the arts world and cross-sector – we will be stronger for it.

SD: Any advice or tips for people wanting to collaborate—how do you approach people about it without knowing them? How do you think up such ideas?

BJ:  Be open! And communicate that. We have monthly meetings that are open to the public where we accept new ideas from the community. We also have a form on our website for submitting event proposals. We try to let people know as often as possible that we are always open to new ideas. One of our favorite and largest events this year was a temporary art installation – Brickscape – proposed by a local artist. We were able to work together to help make it happen, and it was an incredible and unique addition to this year’s FestivALL. Sometimes we also come up with ideas internally. If it involves someone whom we might not know, we find it helpful to find some common connections – someone who might be able to vouch for us as we present a new concept. We’re in a constant state of exploring and welcoming new ideas. It’s a part of our culture.

FestivALL Fall is this October 17-21, 2018 in Charleston. For more information visit festivallcharleston.com.

Interested in having your group or initiative featured as a part of GLAM? Email Sally at sbdeskins@mail.wvu.edu.

Huntington Museum of Art Executive Director Geoffrey K. Fleming and HMA Senior Curator Chris Hatten are shown with a recent acquisition. The watercolor artwork is titled View from the River Kanawha, West Virginia, Near Hawk’s Nest, which is attributed to Granville Perkins.

BY SALLY DESKINS, EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, WVU LIBRARIES

What’s GLAM? GLAM stands for galleries-libraries-archives-museums, and, for this series, The Hub is partnering up with Sally Deskins of WVU Libraries to put a spotlight on what happens when groups and institutions related to these collaborate. As Sally says, “Sharing resources can bring in more audiences, and lead to a better course for sustainability amongst all, as opposed to seeing each other competitively and bringing each other down.”

Read all of Sally’s GLAM columns here and read more about the series here.

Geoffrey K. Fleming is Executive Director of Huntington Museum of Art (HMA). For this interview, the Long Island, New York native shares about his passion for American art and history, the various collaborative exhibitions and programs at HMA, sharing art amongst art museums and more…

Sally Deskins: Tell me about your background and why you got into what you do.

 Geoffrey Fleming: Having always been interested in art and architecture, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Historic Preservation in 1996 at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., where I graduated with honors and was awarded the J. Binford Walford Scholarship in Architecture. I earned my Master of Arts in Arts Administration in 1999 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I wrote my thesis titled “Museum Shops: A Study.”  Since then I have worked in the museum field, chaired several committees and museum associations, and written over two dozen books on American art and history, with a special focus on my native Long Island, New York.

SD: Tell me about your organization and your role, what you do.

 GF: Situated on 52 acres with nature trails, the Huntington Museum of Art is a fine arts museum with a permanent collection of more than 15,000 art objects. HMA is home to the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory of tropical plants and orchids. I am the Executive Director of the Huntington Museum of Art and among my many responsibilities is to ensure the fiscal soundness of HMA and to look for ways to increase our permanent collection and maintain and grow our funding resources, so our organization can continue to offer art, education and nature experiences to the people of Huntington, West Virginia, the Tri-State community and beyond.

SD: So, what are some ways you have or will collaborate with either outside organizations or groups?

GF: As part of our commitment to promoting regional artists, the Huntington Museum of Art works with the Tri-State Arts Association and Allied Artists of West Virginia to present exhibits of work by regional artists. Regional artists are also in the spotlight in “Exhibition 280,” which is our triennial, juried exhibit that is open to artists who are 18 years of age or older and living in West Virginia and the five states that border the Mountain State.

In addition, for years the Huntington Museum of Art has worked with Marshall University in a number of ways. One of our longstanding partnerships is with Marshall University’s College of Arts and Media for the annual presentation of “Portfolio,” which is an exhibit of work by young artists in middle and high schools from West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

In addition, we regularly present solo exhibits by artists who are native to West Virginia (both past and present), which this year will include Brian Michael Reed and Jamie Sloane.

SD: Why is collaborating important to you and your position, and WV as well as society moving forward?

GF: Most nonprofit institutions in our region face financial challenges and it makes sense that if we can work with other nonprofits to everyone’s benefit that we should do so. The Huntington Museum of Art has created a great lending partnership with Ohio University’s Kennedy Museum of Art. We have borrowed art from the Kennedy Museum of Art and loaned some of our permanent collection to them. This has been a tremendously successful partnership as the two museums are close in proximity and our patrons have had the opportunity to see great exhibits because of this exchange program. The most recent exhibit the Huntington Museum of Art has presented due to this partnership is “Hot Can Be Cool: Jazz Portraits by Herman Leonard, which was on view at HMA from June 2 through July 29, 2018. Marshall University was very involved in the presentation of this exhibit and was responsible for bringing Jazz musician Ellis Marsalis to our opening reception for the exhibition.

SD: Any advice or tips for people wanting to collaborate—how do you approach people about it without knowing them? How do you think up such ideas?

 GF: When approaching another institution about a possible collaboration, I think it is important to have a plan that will benefit both organizations. When reaching out, let them know that you think both parties will be stronger by working together instead of alone.

In terms of ideas, it is important to visit other institutions to learn about their holdings, so that you can figure out ways that you can help to fill collection gaps at their museum while doing the same at your own.  This provides the maximum benefit for both parties.

SD: Anything to add? Hopes for future of WV?

 GF: Although I am a New York native, I have made my home in West Virginia for more than three years. I like that there are lots of interesting places and things to do in West Virginia and that we are within short driving distance to other wonderful cities such as Lexington, Louisville, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Washington, D.C.

I would like to see more people from outside West Virginia take advantage of all the attractions that the Mountain State has to offer. There are a lot of hardworking people in West Virginia who are doing their best to continue to grow tourism and the arts and I am happy to count myself among them.

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For more information on the Huntington Museum of Art, visit https://www.hmoa.org/.

Interested in having your group or initiative featured as a part of GLAM? Email Sally at sbdeskins@mail.wvu.edu.