Arts Link

new arts-based networking group forms

Trevor Kupfer |

 
VENTRILOQUIST DUMMIES HAVE COME A LONG WAY. The Arts Link kickoff event is the upcoming improv comedy show Whirled News Tonight.

Many of today’s young professionals (ages 21 to 39), or members of Generation Y, have recently purchased homes, started families of their own, and/or began their first out-of-college job. Either way, their schedules are getting packed. Some in this group experienced cuts to their arts curriculum when in school, and most come from an era where an evening with the arts might mean staying at home and catching a movie on the tube.

This generation, and those coming after it, is becoming increasingly disconnected with the arts. And this is bothering a small group of locals led by Ben Richgruber, who are determined to do something about it.

The Eau Claire Regional Arts Center’s executive director has taken a cue from groups in markets such as the Twin Cities to create Arts Link, an organization that targets the young professionals age group with the goal of better engaging them in the arts.

Though individuals in this age range arguably comprise the largest number of volunteers or performers in these groups, Richgruber said they also represent the lowest attendees at arts events. This is mostly due to the aforementioned schedule-suckers, and partly attributed to the likelihood that arts-goers fail to branch out from their specific silos (e.g. theater performers not getting to art exhibitions, musicians not going to poetry readings, etc.).

“So the point is to cross-pollinate, if you will,” Richgruber said.

The idea is pretty simple: get 20 and 30 year-olds to sign up for the group, and get together regularly for arts events. “We could make this big pretentious group with a hoity toity mission, but really we’re just some people getting together to enjoy great shows,” Richgruber said.

Though specifics are still up in the air, Richgruber said Arts Link will probably have an event once or twice a month, something even a busy person can swing.


These could be theater shows, art/photo gallery openings, music concerts, dance shows, and even literary affairs at locales like ECRAC, UWEC, The Grand Little Theatre, Heyde Center, and Mabel Tainter.

Many will start with a social component, like cocktails and appetizers at a local business. And, even cooler, some will have an educational component such as meet-and-greets or Q&A sessions with performers, directors, choreographers, or artists behind each event.

“It’s more than entertainment,” Richgruber said, adding that it’s also about advocacy. The group could very well get involved in the politics of the arts. The State Theatre had a discussion event last summer that is a perfect example, as local arts advocates discussed arts funding and education reform with Arts Wisconsin’s executive director Anne Katz.

Membership for the program will have a minimal annual fee ($15 a person, $25 a couple), the hook being that it not only affords members discounts on their monthly events, but also 20 percent off year-round performances for ECRAC, the Chippewa Valley Symphony, Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, and Eau Claire Children’s Theatre (awaiting approval).

Each of the group’s events will be announced in an e-mail newsletter and decided on by a committee, the same one that has helped shape the entire Arts Link concept (Rose Dolan-Neill (ECRAC), Katy Kiley (EC Chamber of Commerce), Katie Reid, Nick Meyer (V1), and Richgruber).

    The group’s kickoff event will be IO: Whirled News Tonight, Feb. 4 at The State Theatre with cocktails in the lobby before the 7:30pm show and perhaps a meet-and-greet with the improv comedy performers. To be a part of Arts Link contact Ben at 832-ARTS or Ben@EauClaireArts.com.