The Kalamazoo arts community has suffered a dearth of media coverage for the past few years, and has long worked to have its many theater, music and other arts groups stay united, collaborate instead of compete or step on each others' toes.
These are two items high on Kristen Chesak's agenda as she prepares to take the wheel as the new executive director of the
Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.
She's been a big part of the arts in Kalamazoo, as executive director for the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre for the last ten years of her 22 years at the Civic.
"I was born in El Paso, Texas, grew up in Seattle, Wa., went through high school in Seattle, then came to Kalamazoo to go to K College as a biology and chemistry major. Ended up switching to theater in my junior year. Finished up with a theater degree at K, then I got a Kalamazoo Civic internship," Chesak says. "Every time I tried to leave the Civic to go on to a different career path, something else would come up at the Civic, so I stayed."
She and Second Wave's Mark Wedel recently talked about her new job with the Arts Council.
Mark Wedel: So, how'd you get this gig?
Kristen Chesak: "I applied for this gig. I had decided about 18 months ago with the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre that I had to make a decision that I was either going to make the Kalamazoo Civic the only career that I would have in a lifetime, or it was time after 22 years to find a new adventure."
"I decided I loved the Kalamazoo Civic dearly but I needed to find a new adventure in my life, kind of second chapter. So I started looking around, and this position came available, and it meant that I could stay in Kalamazoo, that I could stay attached to the arts in Kalamazoo, and I thought it was an absolutely fabulous fit on my part."
MW: The Civic is a big family -- how does it feel to leave after so long?
KC: "It was a very difficult decision, and it is bitter-sweet, but it's not as if I'm not going to be supporting the Civic, just in a different way. I'm sure my path will cross with my staff and volunteers. Because the folks who volunteer and see shows at the Civic, they also support a myriad of other arts in Kalamazoo. So for me it'll be exciting to get out and see symphony shows, go to
Fontana, do
Art on the Mall and all of those wonderful things that this job will enable me to do."
MW: You were selected through a national search. Did they want someone who knew the town?
KC: "I don't know if that was necessarily the case as much as you never know what else is out there. So even in a national search, there was encouragement to apply as a local artist and local administrator. But I know that search was far and wide, and brought a lot of applicants in. But Kalamazoo is not a stranger on the national scene.
The Gilmore Festival ... certainly has given us a national reputation, the Kalamazoo Promise has given us a national reputation. So I think that it was definitely wise to throw that net out on a national level to see what they could get."
MW: How did you sell yourself, or did you have to?
KC: "Oh, geeze, I don't know. All I know is, I definitely have had a long history in the community, in the arts, and can talk to some of the challenges that we face in Kalamazoo, such as the lack of arts coverage, media coverage, the fact that we are no longer reviewed by an independent third party -- that, I know, is of great concern to artists in our community. And just the ever-changing media scene. Where do you go to get your news, how do you get the news, not to mention, once it is news, how do you archive it, how do we make it available to future generations?"
"So there are lots of challenges, and through the interview process we talked about those challenges. I obviously can't speak for the organization and those who were interviewing, but it felt like to me, my priorities for getting some of these things, these challenges accomplished and providing solutions to the challenges were right in line with what they were thinking in terms of a vision for what's next for the Arts Council."
MW: Is that the biggest challenge, the lack of media coverage of the arts in this town? (Full disclosure: Mark Wedel wrote previews and reviews of arts and entertainment events for the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive as a freelancer, until all freelance A&E coverage was cut from the publication in spring 2015.)
KC: "The biggest challenge for the arts scene in Kalamazoo is how much art there actually is, and learning to collaborate instead of compete. And I think some of that is already happening in different disciplines, there's a
Theatre Kalamazoo, and there are several music organizations that get together to make sure they're not stepping on each other's toes, and how they can collaborate to leverage donor dollars and also leverage audience. But a lot more of that can be done. I also think just knowing about the art in Kalamazoo, and celebrating it, is certainly huge."
MW: Kalamazoo has a lot more than other cities, as far as the arts go. And everyone seems to benefit from it. The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival benefits theaters, they both bring people downtown, and the restaurants, clubs and stores benefit.
KC: "Exactly. From an economic development standpoint, to be able to have this much culture, this much activity, this much ability to come into community with each other, it's absolutely outstanding. And it can only benefit the businesses in Kalamazoo."
MW: What is the state of the Arts Council now, as an organization?
KC: "I just had my first meeting with the staff yesterday, because I don't start until June 1, so I'm still learning about the state of the Arts Council. But from what I can tell at this point, it's actually a very healthy organization that manages several programs in town, but has gigantic opportunities for continued growth. I'm really excited to vet those opportunities, roll a few out and see how they land."
MW: What do you hope to accomplish?
KC: "First on the agenda, after I get my feet wet and kind of really get a better understanding of the structure of the organization is to be able to increase member benefit with the Arts Council, by helping the Arts Council being an integral part in bringing back the arts media to Kalamazoo. I think there's a great opportunity for the Arts Council to be a catalyst in that sense, and certainly not reinventing the wheel, but if we could find great partnerships with media organizations that already exist and are interested in making sure that the arts are front and center, then I think that's one of the top priorities."
Also, "making sure that we're celebrating artists and their accomplishments. I just found out that Monday, our orchestra up at Western Michigan University just won a national award, but (due to no arts news coverage) we don't know that. I think it's very important to be able to recognize those accomplishments."
MW: There have been rumors for a while of a new arts publication, to fill the vacuum left by our local press -- is this happening, and happening through the Arts Council?
KC: "What I can tell you right now is that there are a group of artists in town, and large arts organizations in town who have started meeting as a group to try and determine the best next approach to getting arts back in front of Kalamazoo."
MW: How long do you plan to stick with the Arts Council?
KC: "As long as they'll have me, I'll stick around. I didn't think I'd be in Kalamazoo past college, past my undergrad. I went and got an MFA from Western, too.... 22 years later I'm still hanging around. It really is a special community, a special place.”
Mark Wedel has been a freelance writer based in Kalamazoo since 1992. He can be reached through his website.
Photos by Mark Wedel