On September 22, 2013 PRELUDE FESTIVAL and BROOKLYN COMMUNE join forces for a tour de force afternoon of drinking, mingling, discussion and the launch of the 2013 Performing Arts Census!

To start off the day, Andrew Simonet (Artists U, Headlong Dance Theater) will give a presentation on “Why Artists Are Poor and Why They Shouldn’t Be”, in which he shares a few of the many things he’s learned throughout his career as a successful performance maker and over the past 8 years as an artist educator with Artists U (artistsu.com) and Creative Capital.

After an interlude of drinks & mingling,  join in a Long Table discussion about the relationship between aesthetics & the economics of cultural production with super special invited guests including Clyde Valentin, Carla Peterson, Gelsey Bell, Annie Dorsen, Shonni Enelow and Arthur Aviles. Drinking, mingling and discussion to follow. Beer will be provided, anything stronger you’re on your own but feel free to bring it & please bring snacks to share.

There will also be a presentation on the Performing Artist Census, a community-driven effort to aggregate real, meaningful information (anonymously, if so desired) from performing artists about their financial reality. The census will be available online from the 22nd until early November and these numbers will inform  Brooklyn Commune White Paper to be published in January, 2014. We hope that this data, in context with substantial anecdotal evidence, will support a fuller picture of the performing artist’s life – how we spend our time, how we spend our money, and where we get our money.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!! Together we can provide quantitative evidence to support our case for reform and reinvention in the arts.

The Brooklyn Commune General Meeting will be held from 2PM-6PM at The Invisible Dog at 51 Bergen St. in Brooklyn.

PRELUDE + BROOKLYN COMMUNE + DISCUSSION + DRINKING = A GOOD TIME!

And make sure to join us for our completely informal Monday Meetings & Happy Hours (schedule subject to radical revisions!):

September 30: THE BAUMOL EFFECT – Work, Wages & Whiskey

October 7: The October Revolution Vodka Party

October 14: MAD SKILLZ: A Peer To Peer Skillshare Session

October 21: Independent Artist-Run Spaces Summit

October 28: FROM INTERN TO ELDER: Examining The Life Cycle of the Artist

November 4: TBD

November 11: CREATIVITY, CAPITAL & COMMUNITY: A Conversation on Gentrification @ University Settlement

November 18: TBD

Informal Meeting/Happy Hours start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated, venue TBD so check back often!