Betting on art as the centerpiece of an economic comeback, Tides Institute & Museum of Art’s Artsipelago will rebrand and connect a number of established efforts as well as develop artist live/work space and studio space to drive arts participation and ultimately talent retention in this rural, multicultural, coastal archipelago.

ArtPlace recently spoke with Hugh French, Director of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art, about the sustainability of their ArtPlace supported activities.

ArtPlace: How will the work you've begun be sustained after your ArtPlace grant? 

French: Part of our ArtPlace supported activities, such as our regional Artsipelago guide, were tied to sponsorship support from the start. This sponsorship support is expanding as the second edition of the guide appears later this spring. Another of our ArtPlace supported activities, our StudioWorks facility, is only now nearing the first phase of completion. Once this happens, we can begin to partially use the facility and we can seek additional programmatic support of activities taking place there.

ArtPlace: Have new options for sustainability emerged during the grant period?

French: Increased sponsorship and programmatic support have certainly come into play. We remain the only ArtPlace supported project in Maine. This has helped us attract additional, larger, and broader support and this is something that we expect will continue into the future.

ArtPlace: Will this work live beyond the grant period?

French: Of course. We are a long term project. The ArtPlace grant is a piece of the puzzle for us and a very important piece, but it is still part of larger and longer term work. The grant has certainly expanded and accelerated our activities. But they are very much in keeping with what we have been doing all along over the past decade and will continue to do long into the future.

ArtPlace: How has this work affected the work you will do beyond the grant period? 

French: It will allow us to reach the next level of operating capacity. This is something we've been working towards. The ArtPlace award is allowing us to get there faster. But it's a logical next step for us.