Common Field

NATIONAL NETWORK OF INDEPENDENT VISUAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZERS

IN 2022, COMMON FIELD BEGAN AN INTENTIONAL SUNSETTING PROCESS TO CLOSE THE ORGANIZATION IN DECEMBER 2022. DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME, WE ORGANIZED A NUMBER OF MAJOR INITIATIVES RELATED TO OUR CLOSURE FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS. WHAT NOT? TOWARDS ARTIST-LED MOVEMENT SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 2, 2022HYBRID EVENT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON AND ONLINE OUR FINAL NATIONAL GATHERING TOOK PLACE IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON AND ONLINE IN FALL 2022. IN LIEU OF PREVIOUSLY ORGANIZED LARGE-SCALE CONVENINGS, COMMON FIELD WORKED CLOSELY WITH LOCAL SEATTLE ARTISTS, ORGANIZERS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO DEVELOP AND PRESENT WHAT NOW? TOWARDS ARTIST-LED MOVEMENTS, A 3-DAY EVENT INCLUDING SESSIONS ONLINE AND ONSITE AT WASHINGTON HALL IN SEATTLE. ORGANIZED TO STRENGTHEN CREATIVE ECOSYSTEMS BY BUILDING COLLECTIVE POWER AND MUTUAL AWARENESS TOWARDS ACTIVATING SHARED VISIONS AND STRATEGIES TO TRANSFORM STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES, PROGRAMMING INCLUDED PEER-TO-PEER WORKSHOPS, COLLABORATIVE ARTS NETWORK MAPPING, FACILITATED CONVERSATIONS, AND OTHER EMBODIED PRACTICES. A COMBINATION OF VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON PROGRAMS BROUGHT LOCAL AND NATIONAL VOICES TOGETHER ACROSS REGIONS TO SHARE THE WORK THAT'S WORKING, AND DREAM THE MODELS FOR OUR FUTURES.WITH OVER 400 ATTENDEES ONLINE AND ONSITE COMBINED, THIS EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER 20 LOCAL PARTNERS AND ADVISORS, PRESENT 16 SESSIONS OVER 3 DAYS ONLINE AND AT WASHINGTON HALL, AND SUPPORTED OVER 31 PRESENTERS AND FACILITATORS FOR THE EVENT. COMMON FIELD PROVIDED 27 LOCAL AND REGIONAL ATTENDEES WITH FUNDS TO SUPPORT THEIR IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE IN SEATTLE AND SPENT OVER 60% OF THE PROJECT BUDGET ON LOCAL ARTISTS ,ORGANIZERS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS IN SEATTLE. CONTINUING OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO ACCESS, THIS YEAR'S EVENT OFFERED CART AND ASL INTERPRETATION FOR ALL PROGRAMS. 100% OF THE EVENT'S TICKET REVENUE WAS DONATED TO ORGANIZING PARTNERS, NORTHWEST FILM FORUM, TO SUPPORT ONGOING COMMUNITY-BASED WORK LED BY LOCAL EVENT PARTNERS.COMMON WORK: LEARNINGS FOR THE FUTURE FROM COMMON FIELD COMMON FIELD'S FINAL ORGANIZATIONAL PROJECT, COMMON WORK: LEARNINGS FOR THE FUTURE FROM COMMON FIELD IS A PODCAST AND WRITING SERIES EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF OUR FIELD, COMMON FIELD'S ORGANIZATIONAL JOURNEY, AND THE WORK THAT IS SHAPING THE FUTURE TODAY. PART I & II WERE RELEASED IN DECEMBER 2022 AND PART III & IV WERE RELEASED IN MARCH 2023.THIS FOUR-PART SERIES PAIRS PODCAST EPISODES WITH COMMISSIONED ESSAYS AROUND FOUR THEMES: FOUNDATIONS, COMMON FIELD IN PRACTICE, COMMUNITY BUILDING IS CULTURE, AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE FUTURE. CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE ARTISTS AND LEADERS ACROSS THE SECTOR, AS WELL AS FORMER AND CURRENT COMMON FIELD STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS. ALONGSIDE THIS THEMATIC SERIES, THE PROJECT ALSO OFFERS LINKED RESOURCES IN THE USER GUIDE AND A SET OF ORGANIZATIONAL NOTES & FINDINGS RELATED TO COMMON FIELD'S LIFE AND WORK.THIS PROJECT WELCOMED 25 CONTRIBUTORS - ARTISTS, LEADERS AND ART WORKERS - FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO BE PART OF A PODCAST DIALOGUE OR WRITE A COMMISSIONED PIECE FOR THE PROJECT. THIS PROJECT WAS AUDIO PRODUCED BY SEATTLE-BASED PARTNERS JACK STRAW CULTURAL CENTER. THIS FINAL PROJECT BUDGET WAS $65,000 WITH OVER $25,000 DISTRIBUTED TO ARTISTS, ART WORKERS AND OTHER CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE PROJECT. TO DATE, THE PODCAST HAS RECEIVED OVER 200 INDIVIDUAL LISTENERS. COMMON FIELD ARCHIVE X LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY ARCHIVE AS PART OF COMMON FIELD'S INTENTIONAL SUNSETTING WORK, THE ORGANIZATION'S PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL MATERIALS WILL BE HOUSED AT THE LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY ARCHIVE (LACA) AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR RESEARCH BEGINNING IN 2023. LACA IS ALSO THE RECIPIENT OF COMMON FIELD'S FINAL ORGANIZATIONAL CASH ASSETS TO SUPPORT THEIR CRITICAL WORK FOR THE FIELD.THE COMMON FIELD COLLECTION AT LACA REPRESENTS A WIDE BREADTH OF DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION, SPANNING THE LIFETIME OF ITS PRECEDING PROGRAM, THE HAND-IN-GLOVE CONFERENCE, UP UNTIL COMMON FIELD'S EVENTUAL CLOSURE IN 2022. THE MAJORITY OF THE ITEMS WERE GENERATED DURING THE ACTIVE YEARS OF HAND-IN-GLOVE AND COMMON FIELD, FROM 2013 THROUGH 2022. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES A NUMBER OF ITEMS RELATED TO A MUCH EARLIER GROUP, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARTISTS ORGANIZATIONS (NAAO), AS WELL AS OTHER PROJECTS DEVELOPED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMON FIELD NETWORK.THE COLLECTION WAS CONCEIVED WITH POTENTIAL RESEARCHERS IN MINDARTISTS, SCHOLARS, AND ACTIVISTS WITH INTEREST IN INSTITUTIONAL CRITIQUE, NONPROFITS, ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES, POWER DYNAMICS, REPRESENTATION, ART AND MONEY, PRIVATE FOUNDATION INITIATIVES, AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE 2010S WILL ALL FIND POINTS OF INTRIGUE. ITEMS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO DOCUMENTS OF CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES FROM STAFF AND BOARD MEETINGS, PRESS MATERIALS, WRITTEN ARTICLES AND REFLECTIONS, TRANSACTIONS AND RECEIPTS, BUDGET SPREADSHEETS, SURVEY RESPONSES, EVENT PLANS AND SCHEDULES, TAX FORMS, REPORTS, EMPLOYEE CONTRACTS, AND PROJECT MEDIA, I.E. PHOTO AND VIDEO. WITHIN THE SCOPE OF MATERIALS NEVER BEFORE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IS A WIDE ARRAY OF DRAFTS AND COMMENTARY FROM INTERNAL PRODUCTION PROCESSES, SUCH AS THOSE RELATED TO COMMON FIELD'S 360 AUDIT, LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANNUAL CONVENINGS, THE WORDING OF MISSION STATEMENTS, AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS, TO NAME A FEW.SPECIAL ATTENTION HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE PRESERVATION OF COMMON FIELD'S FILING SYSTEM ITSELF, PARTICULARLY ITS EXTENSIVE UTILITY OF GOOGLE DRIVE AS WELL AS NUMEROUS GOOGLE ACCOUNTS OF INDIVIDUAL STAFF MEMBERS. IN OTHER WORDS, THE COLLECTION PRIORITIZES THE DISPLAY OF DATA DEALING WITH THE DAILY LABOR AND ENVIRONMENT OF COMMON FIELD, WITH FILES APPEARING AS IN SITU AS POSSIBLEARRANGED AS THEY WERE HOUSED WITHIN THE WORKING STORAGE STRUCTURES. THIS HAS REQUIRED METICULOUS MANUAL REPRODUCTION OF METADATA, WITH DATES OF ORIGIN AND FILE OWNERSHIP PRIORITIZE. THIS COLLECTION OF MATERIALS AND LEARNINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN PERPETUITY.