>>This week on NewsNight, a look at the year in the arts in central Florida, the changes and challenges faced by the community, and a look at what's to come in 2023.

NewsNight starts now.

[MUSIC] Hello, I'm Steve Mort and welcome to NewsNight, where we take a closer look at the big stories impacting central Florida and how they affect all of us.

This week, we're taking a look back at 2022 in the arts community here in central Florida.

Joining me in the studio this week, Jennifer Evins, President and CEO of United Arts of Central Florida.

Terrance Hunter, CEO of Central Florida Community Arts.

And Nicole Darden Creston, who covers the arts for 90.7 WMFE News.

Thank you all so much for being here.

Really appreciate your time.

>>For having us.

>>Well, first tonight, I wanted to start with a look back at a busy year for the arts here in central Florida from the opening of the Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Philip Center for the Performing Arts to the FBI seizure of works at the Orlando Museum of Art to the flourishing of the old and new organizations as the region emerge from the pandemic.

So let's break it all down.

Well its been a busy year, Jennifer, I'll start with you.

You and I spoke a year ago.

>>Gosh I know.

>>Youd only just got into central Florida at that point, Right?

What's your assessment of the lay of the land now a year later?

>>Well, you know, the cultural groups here are very unique in the sense that they span everything from the media arts to the high arts of the ballet and the opera.

We have, you know, street musicians and graffiti and the arts are very alive and getting stronger all of the time.

And I we're going to talk about that today.

But, you know, we're seeing full houses again, sell outs of shows across the board and and new and exciting exhibits, things that people are that are relevant, that are helping people have deeper conversations about things that are meaningful.

But also things that are bringing people joy, which, you know, we need all the time.

So that's a big part.

We're working hard to raise a lot more resources.

You know, last year we raised $5 million in the collaborative campaign and that was $1.7 million over our goal.

And so that shows that the community number one needs and wants to invest in the arts.

So a big, big measure of success is watching donors put money behind the things that they care about and want for this community.

>>I want to talk about philanthropy a little more in a moment.

But Terrance, first of all, to you, you're not new to this area, but you are new to your current role leading Central Florida Community Arts.

What about you?

What's your assessment?

>>Yes, I think the year, starting with the opening of Steinmetz Hall and Rise and Shine, really speaks to the collaboration that we've experienced in the arts community for as long back as I can remember.

But we're seeing that continue and deepen and grow really as the year continues and it's becoming more of or a bigger part of our DNA.

>>Yeah.

Biggest story of the year, of course, was that spotlight came back on 90.7 WMFE News.

You're the host of that and Kimmy what what are your takeaways from the year?

>>After having to be isolated for so long, people have a desire to make art to see art, to experience it.

I think we learned during lockdowns and isolation and pandemic, we learned how much the arts mean to our mental health.

All of us, whether we're on the stage or whether we're watching the performance and everyone is looking to create.

And as Jennifer said, full houses.

Yes, it's great.

>>Full houses.

And that mental health benefit, because as we know and as you and I talked about last year, Jennifer, a lot of us didn't have access to the arts during the pandemic.

Are we back to full steam now?

You kind of alluded to that.

>>Well, I think we are.

You know what I hear there, look at the reports and the earned revenue from our partner organizations.

People are really getting back.

And I think, you know, it's it's it is the arts build community.

And as you mentioned, the isolation.

People want a feeling of belonging.

So whether it's participating in class or singing in the largest community choir in the country or walking into a museum by yourself and feeling like other people value that as much as you do.

So that feeling of belonging and it and, you know, we've not lost any of our organizations in the pandemic, and that is a great sign.

It shows that, number one, the collaboration is is critical because there are shared resources in that, but also that our community responded.

So it is it's it's it's it's right now I know we're going to talk about it but the demand for the arts is is something that we're having to really work hard to to build the capacity for.

>>It is interesting, though, having said that, I read an article, Nikki, the other day in The Sentinel, sort of talking about examples of how COVID still is impacting the arts community.

There are lingering effects that we're seeing.

>>There are the summer was pretty rough, lots of COVID going around, and arts organizations who could afford understudies had had to tap that resource to bring them in.

Some people had to reschedule or cancel shows, but the the productions keep going.

>>Keep going.

I mean, this is an interesting point.

And we talked about this in the green room before, right?

I mean, it's difficult.

While we're still treating COVID as something we have to contain, whilst also living normal lives, when you do get these outbreaks that affect your operations.

>>It absolutely does.

CFC Arts was a victim of of one of those.

We had to cancel a show we had planned for this summer, Ragtime, just in a conversation really earlier this week with one of my colleagues.

They've had to cancel shows due to COVID as recently as this week.

As much as we want COVID to be behind us, as much as we behave as though it is, it is still very much impacting our organizations daily.

It's not behind us yet.

>>Yeah, I mean, there were some other challenges as well beyond the pandemic, particularly the two hurricanes that we had that rolled through our region.

I mean, what kind of challenges do they pose for the arts community?

Presumably a lot of performances had to be put to the side for a while.

>>They did.

And as Jennifer pointed out, a lot of individual artists, some of them worked at the theme parks.

And the theme parks had some downtime.

Some of the individual artists had damage at their homes.

There's a group in town called GOPAR Greater Orlando Performing Arts Relief, and they were tapped heavily during the time of the hurricanes to help out some of the folks who just ran straight into the hurricane and lost some of their work.

>>Yeah, that's a really good point.

A really interesting and useful organization, right, Terrance?

>>Yes, it is.

And there are other organizations in town who like CFC arts lease from churches and other venues-- >>The Opera.

>>The opera.

And when those venues which tend to be older, flood or experience damage, we have to rehouse ourselves, rehome ourselves, even if it's only for a week.

That's a significant impact to the operation or whatever production is in rehearsal at the time as well.

>>And to give you an idea, statewide, the arts had a $27 million loss during the hurricane and about 10% of that was Central Florida.

So clearly, we didn't have the hit, you know, like the coastal communities did.

But but very important to recognize the creative workers, you know, that that lost their homes, their their art, their materials.

So the impact is lasting, like all of us in our personal lives and professionally for sure.

>>Lets pivot a moment to philanthropy and the state of philanthropy.

This is your bag, right, Jennifer?

I mean, I wonder how things are at this point, particularly as we've sort of moved on from from the pandemic, so to speak.

But we're also now looking at a sort of a cost of living crunch.

People are really feeling that talk of an economic downturn.

That's up for debate, of course, but our wallets open at the moment.

Are people giving to the arts?

>>Well, we're opening envelopes every day.

We're in the early bird of the collaborative campaign for a year end giving.

So we are seeing people give.

Last year and the collect of of the collaborative campaign groups we raise throughout the year, $38.5 million were contributed to the local arts community.

So that doesn't include the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.

That's only the United Arts groups.

But what we know is that more people are giving, they may give less, but they're not going to stop giving because they value the arts in their own lives and what it means for our community.

You know, the one thing that I think we've got to remember, the arts not only rely on contributions but earned revenue, and that's buying tickets, taking classes, people spending their disposable income to engage personally in the arts.

And and last year that was at $21.5 million just with those 33 organizations.

So hopefully there'll be some stability.

>>I just want to wrap up this segment by just talking about some of the highlights for the year in terms of productions, the arts that are being created.

Terrance, let me start with you.

I mean, what was the standout for you this year?

>>Apologies at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Locomotion at the Wrap, our production of Classical Rock at Steinmetz Hall, our community collaboration icons, the Hot Wheels exhibit at the Science Center.

Lots and lots.

>>How about you?

>>Well, I'm not just saying this because Terrance is sitting here, but Classical Rock was something amazing at the Steinmetz.

It really put the the new Steinmetz the sound to the test.

And boy, it was rich and wonderful.

They did a great job with that.

>>That Steinmetz sound right?

I mean, that's something, right?

Jennifer, what about you?

What did you feel about this year and what was put on?

>>So I go to something about three days a week, so it's hard for me to pick a favorite.

I would say.

You know, recently one of the greatest successes of Return to to the Arts was Fusion Fest.

Just last week, they went from 6,000 people last year to 20,000 people.

That shows you that people that the arts are in demand and that there is a demand for diverse cultural experiences and diverse experiences that reflect all of the people that live here.

So I get tears and joy and goose bumps and a lot of experiences.

So I'm just lucky to live in a town that had so many choices.

>>A lot of pent up demand.

>>Yes, what she said.

Yeah.

>>Well, we have a lot of choices.

>>No doubt about it.

Well be sure to join this conversation on social media as well.

We're at WUCFTV on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I want to switch a moment to talk about the Museum of Art.

The board of trustees is still reviewing the results of that investigation that it commissioned into the events leading up to the FBI seizure of artwork in that Heroes and Monsters exhibition.

Just for our viewers, just remind us about what happened here.

>>Well, it's so complicated that it's difficult to find a place to start.

But let's start with the most dramatic, which was, of course, the FBI raid of the Orlando Museum of Art in June, where they came in and they took the entire alleged Basquiat exhibition right off the walls.

And that was when we learned that the provenance of the these Basquiatss had been in question for several years, and the first that the Orlando Museum of Art learned about it had been a year prior.

So we are still sort of finding out things bit by bit.

As I understand it, the board has now received the results of its investigation that it commissioned into what happened, how it happened, how many of the board members didn't know what was going on.

And there's been sort of a changing of the guard and so forth.

We don't know.

The public doesn't know the results of that investigation yet, but it will be interesting to learn.

It was really shocking.

It sort of had a nationwide impact.

>>It'll be very interesting to see what comes out of that.

I mean, Terrance, do you think there's anything that we can learn from that experience in terms of nonprofits and arts organizations?

>>Absolutely.

I think that experience prompted and should continue to prompt boards across in this community and across the country to take a step back and look at governance policies and procedures, to look at the board's priorities and the staff's priorities and ensure that they're in line.

I think also the communication between boards and staffs has been reexamined and smart, sophisticated boards have already had those conversations with their staff members and with their leaders to ensure that A) the staff in the board are on the same page, but even more so to ensure that the institution maintains public trust.

>>Yeah, the public trust is important, of course, because so much public money, money belonging to the people, to donors goes into this.

Jennifer, what do you think?

>>Well, you know, one of the things I've said from the beginning is that this is our museum.

This museum belongs to the community of Orlando in central Florida, and it has for 100 years.

So it is our responsibility as a community to try to get more information to make sure that the the board is appointed, elected to govern the organization.

But ultimately the organization belongs to the community.

And so I think that as a community, our response is to make sure that they continue to thrive, that they look at their mission, that we embrace the mission of the Orlando Museum of Art, and we dig in and we try to help save it.

There are museums around the world that have experienced this, and I think the most important thing that we can do is look at how do we as a community manage crisis public relations issues.

Nonprofits are not equipped for crisis PR and we've got to identify experts in our community that can help us put crisis PR plans in place when when a mistake happens.

This clearly is a very deep rooted mistake.

We'll learn more about that.

But United art stays committed to the mission of the museum and making sure that that that's where we stay focused, because that's where our support is, is in the mission.

And part of that is evaluating the governance and the accountability of the organization.

So all of us have to evaluate that.

>>No doubt about that for sure.

I just want to pause to let you know that during our next two episodes of NewsNight, we'll be looking back at the top stories of the year that we've covered here on the program.

So join me next Friday night at 8:30 for the first of our two year end specials.

In the meantime, you can find more NewsNight interviews as well as past episodes of the program on our website, wucf.org/newsnight.

All right, Terrance, I want to pivot to talking about the state of diversity and inclusion in the arts community.

Let me start with you on this one.

I mean, do you think currently that our diverse community is represented adequately in the arts?

That's been something that's been debated in the arts community here in central Florida for a long time.

>>It has been.

I'd argue in a single word no.

But to that, I will add that it is getting better.

I think I am proof of that.

I am not alone.

I think we are seeing more people of color on and off stage.

And in terms of diversity, I think it's really important that we acknowledge what happened off stage is just as important as what we see on stage.

Seeing organizations like the Rep and the Renaissance Theater and Orlando Shakes and CFC Arts do very specific shows like Ragtime and Apologies and Locomotion and Lenox Ave, point to organizations across town being more specific in their programing so that we can have a better, more diverse pipeline for people to see themselves in these creative industries and know that it is a viable career path.

>>I mean, what does it mean to you to be a person of color leading an arts organization or the profile that you are here?

>>Yes, It is a remarkable and incredibly humbling, powerful opportunity, one that I am grateful for daily.

I can look across the community and only think of one other cultural leader who is a person of color, one other.

And in my entire time in this in this industry, in this community, since 2008, I can think of three total.

Yeah, including myself.

>>Does it shape how you run the organization?

>>Absolutely.

I have a responsibility not just to ensure that CFC Arts is welcoming to all, but that we are reflective of all.

And so all of our work has been to that point and will continue to ensure that we are reflective of our entire community.

Me being just one portion of it.

>>I mean that first question to you as well, Nicole, I mean, is it reflective really of our broader community?

>>No, not yet.

But there is very specific, conscious, directed work to try and get there.

And and it is it's very heartening to see.

I think representation is incredibly important.

People, as Terrance said, people see themselves as in these roles and they know that they can do it, too.

>>I mean, as as Nicole mentioned, that Jennifer representation is important.

Your organization announced a diverse leadership pipeline this year.

Tell us about that and what its mission is.

>>Well, it's so critical that diverse people be included in the decision making so that that when it is when we make decisions in our community, whether it's as curatorial or what's being performed or what the marketing looks like or what the messaging or when we start a program or when it ends or where it's being performed.

So we've got to make sure first that we have have diversity included in the decision making process that's also on our staff, who's deciding where we're investing our resources on our grants panels and our boards, and the diverse leadership pipeline, which as a result of the leaders of the cultural sector, told telling me when I got hired that, Jennifer, we need your help.

We've got to identify diverse leaders.

There are 600 board positions.

Just in the organizations that we work with.

So there are 30 organizations on the United Arts website.

You can look at those organizations and see what it means to serve on their board.

You know, you may they boards may meet at lunchtime.

They may meet at 5:00.

And so we have a real definition of when each organization's board meets what's expected, whether it's a a give or get to make a contribution.

How much time is involved.

And so they self nominate.

It's a year round program, and then we send those self nominations to the organization so they can follow up with these folks and get them engaged in in our cultural sector.

Because, you know, as we know, there are 1,500 people moving to Central Florida every week.

So we've got some great talent out there and we need the arts community desperately needs skilled, knowledgeable, passionate leaders on our boards.

>>Terrance, which organizations in your mind do you think are doing a good job of this?

I mean, we mentioned Fusion Fest earlier as an it as an important part of this puzzle.

Your organization, I think you would like to hope, is doing a good job of that.

I mean, are there others?

>>I think we're seeing it across every organization, whether it is a the Orlando Rep programing Locomotion or it is the Shakespeare Theater programing Apologies.

Every institution has a keen eye to how they are representing and reflecting representing and reflecting the community.

Is there any single organization that gets it right all the time or that is the model to follow?

No, and that's part of the work that is incumbent upon all of us to do.

>>Definitely can't get it right all of the time.

>>No.

>>Very hard to do.

Well you can find links to United Arts of Central Florida, Central Florida Community Arts and Spotlight for 90.7 WMFE News on our website wucf.org/newsnight.

Let's finish tonight with a look ahead at 2023.

Terrance, let me start with you on this one.

What are your projections going forward and your priorities for for the coming year?

>>2023, I think will be a banner year across our community.

I think we will again exceed the collaborative campaign goal.

I think we will continue to see more diverse programing come to our population here.

I think we will see increased participation both in terms of audience and performers and in terms of for CFC Arts, for CFC Arts specifically, we're leaning into Disney.

We are Disney big time.

Next year.

Disney is celebrating its 100th anniversary and so we are doing Disney all the time.

Our choir will do a big choir show.

Our orchestra will do a show called Symphonic Disney.

Our youth programs will have unparalleled opportunities for all of the youth in the community to do shows like Winnie the Pooh and Aladdin Junior and so many others.

>>Jennifer how ‘bout-- >>That's exciting.

I can't wait.

Well, you know, United Arts about is really about making sure that the cultural sector is really strong and can meet the needs of the growing community.

And so we're really looking at our strategic goals, building the capacity of our own organization and the organizations that make up our cultural sector so that we can meet the new demands.

I think we're going to see a lot of work and increased involvement in arts and social justice.

Art has been a part of social justice for centuries, and I think that we're going to see a lot more artists either add a social justice practice to their work or want to learn more about what that means.

So I think we're going to see a lot of that, and that excites me because we have incredible creative talent in this community and not just to beautifully entertain us and give us joy, but also to challenge us to think about our neighbors and to really, really take action.

And then we're also going to be completing the Arts and Economic Prosperity Study.

So every five years we lead, we're participating in a national survey of the impact, economic impact of the arts in our community.

And we're doing surveys now at all of these wonderful events, and we will report out to the community next year on the impact of the arts on our community.

So a lot to do and focusing on our strategic goals because our vision and I know we've talked about it, all of us share a desire for everyone to have access to the arts and and that's our that's our shining light ahead of us.

>>Nicole, what are you going to be looking at in the new year?

I think there's going to be a new Fringe art space, right?

What's that?

>>There is going to be a new Fringe art space, and that is in fact its proper name, Fringe art space.

It's going to be opening in early January.

They're going to have a big bash.

And then right after that, the winter Fringe mini-fest, the art space is going to be an incubator space for upcoming artists, for people to sort of experiment and collaborate and find out what works best.

It's kind of exciting.

It's it's something I don't think we've had before.

And just another sign of Orlando's arts scene.

I mean, look at us go.

>>Final question.

Since the holiday season, this is when a lot of people that don't normally consume the arts do.

What's exciting you in terms of what's on over the holidays?

Start with you, Terrance.

>>I will be selfish and speak about our two holiday productions Winter Wonderland, which is our community choir's annual holiday extravaganza.

More than 250 singers aerialists, snow and other surprises.

And then we will put nearly 100 kids on stage on December 16th and 17th to perform Elf the Musical.

>>Sounds like a great show.

And Jennifer, what about you?

>>So there are 40 arts and cultural holiday events in the next three weeks.

So I'll be going to a lot.

I've been to the brass concert already for OPO and you know, including the the lights at Leu Garden that Creative City puts together.

So it'll be nice to to just slow down a little bit.

>>Take a breather, maybe consume some arts.

Nicole, what about you?

Last word.

>>I'm not sure that I should pick one of the many, many, many 40.

Did you say holiday holiday productions?

Which is wonderful, but I am a traditionalist and I do love The Nutcracker.

>>Who doesn't love The Nutcracker?

Well, we're going to have to end it there.

That's all the time we have for this week.

My thanks to Jennifer Evins from United Arts, Terrance Hunter from Central Florida Community Arts and Nicole Darden Creston from 90.7 WMFE News.

Thank you all so much for coming and really appreciate your time.

We'll see you next Friday night at 8:30 here on WUCF.

In the meantime, for all of us here at NewsNight, take care and have a great week.

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