The 2004 CODA Conference Is in the Works

ouisiana ArtWorks, a project of the Arts Council of New Orleans, is hosting the 2004 CODA Conference. According to managing director Linda Van Trump, this year’s meeting of craft organization directors running May 20-23, will feature networking with peers and interactive panel discussions in addition to an extensive look at the “innovative” studio works project.

Located in New Orleans’ Warehouse Arts and Museum District, Louisiana ArtWorks has been called an “unprecedented entrepreneurial project” providing marketing, economic development, and state-of-the-art studio resources for artists while offering the public the opportunity to see, enjoy and understand the creative process.

Incorporating two historic warehouses with new construction, the 90,000-square-foot facility offers 19 private artists’ studios and four large, open studios for glass, metal, ceramics and printmaking. Visitors can observe artisans at work from overhead catwalks. Galleries and display cases for permanent and changing exhibitions, small-scale demonstration areas, a classroom, auditorium, retail store and café complete the complex.

The Louisiana ArtWorks project grew out of the Arts Business Center (recipient of the 1999 National Business Incubation Association Incubator of the Year Award) opened in 1992 by the Arts Council of New Orleans as a long-range incubator program designed to serve the needs of artists and arts organizations.

The ArtWorks retail store in the complex offers artist-designed commercially manufactured products priced in the low ($1 to $20) to mid-range ($20 to $75) and primarily targeted at the tourist market. One-of-a-kind works from Louisiana artists, designed to appeal to tourists and local residents, have higher prices ($75 to $250). Finally, for collectors, there are some higher-priced objects in the $250-$950 price range.

Prior to beginning development, the Arts Council of New Orleans estimated visitors and residents together provide a potential market of 11.7 million customers for Louisiana ArtWorks and its planned stores. A study by Economic Research Associates projected that the complex will attract 250,000 visitors each year. In the first full year of operation, 2005, the complex’s retail space is expected to generate net sales of $764,000.

Conference presentations include New Orleans artist Thomas Mann, active in the contemporary American craft scene for 30 years and known for his Design for Survival workshops, in a panel discussion on forming relationships between artists and organizations/galleries.

Van Trump says another highlight of the agenda is a forum to create dialog for advocacy and advancing “craft” in today’s reality. Over the past two years, many national organizations and programs have reviewed their mission, goals and audience, creating some changes. Each of the panel members will identify their audience and the new goals and programs underway to serve that audience.

Following the panel comments, an open discussion with attendees will address where collaborations and cooperation are taking place among organizations as well as identifying areas for future collaboration and cooperation, whether there are any needs not being met, and ways to share information and resources.

Moderated by Dian Magie of the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design in North Carolina, panelists include: Carmine Branagan of the American Craft Council; Cornelia Carey of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF); Becky Anderson of the Handmade Institute for Creative Economies in North Carolina; a Museum of Arts and Design representative; and Van Trump.

In a second session, Michael Sartishy, president and executive director of Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will address funding issues and using The CODA Survey: The Impact of Crafts on the National Economy and other research and statistics. In addition, Fran Redmon will review the evaluation study of the CODA Survey commissioned by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, and Conley Salyer, West Virginia’s state director for Small Business Development will present an overview of a statewide initiative to determine the full economic impact of craftspeople on the state of West Virginia, using the CODA Survey as a model.

Registration fee for the conference includes the opening reception and tour of the Louisiana ArtWorks; two days of workshops, peer networking sessions, and panel discussions; four meals and other exciting New Orleans experiences. Special rates are offered at the Hotel Monaco located on St. Charles Avenue within walking distance of the French Quarter and museums and art galleries of the Warehouse district.