From: fw, San Francisco
8/14/90
This paper is to share some of my experiences from the Cultural work in SF, how these relate to the proposed changes in the organization, and how we might function in the new period.
In the last two years, particularly the last year, we have become a visible force in the cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area. The efforts of our artists and the arts organizations we work with are reaching broader and broader numbers of people in the Bay Area, nationally and internationally and have gained a lot of positive attention in the both the mainstream and independent media. We have done this primarily through linking up the work of our individual artists with more closely with the work of the nonprofit arts organizations where other cadre have been working. In the course of the work we have also been able to successfully integrate promotion of Unity. its politics and recruit new members to the organization.
In my opinion, we were able to move our work forward because:
1) We adjusted our view of cultural work, recognizing it as a distinct arena of struggle that is strategic to the revolution; and that there is a sector of artists who are doing revolutionary work and generally uphold the legacy of progressive and revolutionary artists. On this basis, the organization made it possible for more people to develop this work and formed a cultural work unit to begin to collectively assess the situation and make plans.
2) In forming the cultural work unit we began to implement adjustments in the policies in order for people to function in the organization and pursue cultural work as their priority. The approach to functioning, internal consolidation and plans was based on who was in the unit and what people wanted to do, not necessarily the “minimum standards”. In the past few months we have cut our number of unit meetings based on everyone’s schedule and limited how much specific guidance the unit as a whole gives to each individual’s work. We are trying to deal with larger political questions such as the implications of the proposed changes, the issues of multiculturalism and empowerment and what role people want for the unit.
3) In developing our role and political leadership in the movement, we had to recognize that we were pretty new, had a lot to learn and because of organization priorities, would not get much leadership from either the district or national leadership or be working that closely with other areas of the organization. Normally, this would be quite isolating. In some ways, however, we became more “connected” with the people we work with and in some ways it was healthier because we were not necessarily dependent on the DC or the center for guidance. It became necessary to develop more of a peer relationship within the unit and with the people we relate to in the cultural movement, perhaps more so than with other people in the organization in other areas of work.
Based on this experience, the majority proposal is welcome. Overall, the new organization will allow us to work more closely people in the art and culture movement and recruit. We have strong ties with really dedicated people in media, film, music, theater, the visual arts, etc. who are revolutionary minded, have unity with our practice and with what we want for society but do not see ML as the guiding view for their own work nor the basis of their unity with us. Why shouldn’t we all be in the same organization as peers? In making these changes we would send a message to these folks that they are welcome in our organization for who they are and what they are trying to do with their life, not whether or not they necessarily uphold or even support ML or communism.
I also generally agree with the proposals for change in the functioning of the organization. On a basic level, moving away from the “vanguard” approach allows us to view functioning, internal consolidation and leadership in a pretty different way. In some ways we have the potential to make functioning more collective because the demands of being leadership in the organization can be redefined. In the past, the uh, the section leader or do ultimately was responsible for making sure detailed plans for the collective work were developed and implemented. In the new organization, ultimate responsibility should be on the individual member to figure out what he or she wants to do and whether and how he or she wants to work together with other comrades. We can all help each other figure things out and make suggestions, but it will be up to the individual. In this way, political unity and collective work of the organization, which is already pretty highly developed, will move forward more organically and built on a more realistic foundation.
At our last unit meeting we discussed how we wanted to function. We voted to have meetings once a month, to have a steering committee for the unit that would change every 4 months and to have someone different chair the meeting each time. Our unit has musicians, film/video makers, visual artists, a radio programmer, arts administrators, and we did not think we needed to have everyone get together more than once a month. We will have to see how such a large group is going to work out but I feel its good to have a large group in order get a better sense of part of a “movement”. For now the plan is for the unit tackle defining our stands on various issues in the cultural arena. Other, smaller meetings can be called in order to get specific work done (fundraising for Unity, etc.). We also are planning periodic potlucks and share our work with each other and develop ties within the circles of contacts we have. The role of the steering committee is to facilitate administrative tasks and communications as well as plan out the monthly meetings. We also wanted to give everyone a chance to be in the steering committee and to chair/organize a meeting in the course of the year.
In the course of the discussion, one of the newer people in the unit asked, “Why do we have this unit?” This, of course sharpened up the discussion and people layed out their views what role they wanted for the unit and we agreed on some directions. However, we should continue to ask this question, because staying in tune with how everyone thinking about this is probably the key to our internal consolidation.