On behalf of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild Board of Directors, I am writing to extend best wishes for a Happy New Year to all members and supporters of our thriving organization. Now in its third year, ATG has been busier than ever. I am very proud of all that our hard-working volunteers have accomplished in 2009. Here are some highlights:

 
• The welcome addition of Popejoy Presents, The Dolls, the Explora Theater, RyBan Productions, SCRAP Productions, and the Duke City Repertory Theatre has brought the number of ATG member organizations to 33.
 
• The Board of Directors was reorganized to become more engaged and efficient.
 
• A handsomely redesigned website was successfully launched, and Facebook and Twitter pages were established.
 
• Two issues of “Albuquerque Spotlight on Live Theatre” appeared, along with rack cards, radio spots, links on the websites of city and state tourism organizations, newspaper wrappers, articles in several periodicals, and coverage on radio and TV news programs.
 
• Grants from the McCune Foundation and the New Mexico Department of Tourism, along with donations from supporters, augmented dues income.
 
• The Youth Theatre Scholarship Program awarded tuition scholarships to six students aged 10-16; the Mayor of Albuquerque presented the awards in person.
 
• ATG committees and circles hosted a talent-showcase audition, a workshop on stage management, readings of new plays by local writers, and a gala party.
 
• After a series of unannounced safety inspections at local theatres aroused concern, the ATG arranged an informational meeting between member-organization representatives and the Fire Marshal’s office.

Thanks to all the ATG members and non-members whose time and talent made possible these and other significant achievements.

The ATG has also been involved this year in civic initiatives within the broader arts-and-culture community of Albuquerque. Because this involvement has received relatively little attention in ATG meetings and membership communications, the Board has asked me to include in this holiday letter a summary of recent developments and the Guild’s participation in them.

In 2007 the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) issued a report entitled “The Economic Importance of the Arts and Cultural Industries in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.” The study found that these industries contribute substantially, not only to the quality of life in our community, but also to employment, wages, and revenues. The report concluded that better coordination, marketing, and funding of arts-and-culture activities, including those of small organizations, could increase their economic impact still further.

In 2008 two groups—the Arts Alliance and the Mid-Rio Grande Arts Business Culture Task Force—held meetings to devise an action plan to implement the recommendations of the BBER report. Initially, both groups tended to ignore the theatre community, but the ATG spoke up and since February 2009 has been a regular and respected participant in the citywide dialogue.

During 2009 ATG officers have attended town-hall meetings and mayoral-candidate forums on the arts, frequented gatherings sponsored by the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, met with the Director of the city’s Department of Cultural Services, and taken part in the initial planning for a state-funded Downtown Arts and Cultural District in central Albuquerque. After the election of Mayor Richard Berry in October, the President of the ATG was invited to serve on his Transition Team as a member of the committee that reviewed the Cultural Services Department.

The post-BBER report discussions have generated a consensus on several points. Albuquerque needs an umbrella organization that fosters the arts by establishing sustainable and accessible funding for them, supporting marketing initiatives, promoting arts education, lobbying state and local governments on arts-related issues, and generating a Cultural Plan that has the support of many different constituencies within the community. Such an organization should be a non-profit group that can work with city and country governments as well as with foundations, corporations, and individual donors, while maintaining its independence and distinctive vision.

Only one existing local organization seems positioned to fill this role. The Arts Alliance, under the leadership of Board President Kevin Hagen, has taken steps to reinvent itself as “Creative Albuquerque,” an advocacy group that will include film, video, new media, digital media, architecture, design, publishing, and humanities as well as more traditional arts and cultural-heritage enterprises. For further information on Creative Albuquerque, see the Sunday Journal for December 20, p. F2, and the Arts Alliance website, www.abqarts.org.

To accommodate this expansion, the Arts Alliance recently added five new members to its Board (see the Sunday Journal for December 27, p. F3). The President of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild was elected to one of these positions, thus providing a voice for small arts organizations that may lack economic clout but pack plenty of creative punch. We have said from the beginning that the theatre community deserves more respect and a stronger voice in policy and funding decisions. By showing up and speaking out as we have, the ATG seems to be moving toward that goal. 2009 may be remembered as the year when theatre people began to become players in more ways than one!

May 2010 bring you health, happiness, prosperity, and ample artistic fulfillment!

Sincerely,
Hugh Witemeyer, ATG President