Martha Zola (photo provided.)

On the afternoon of December 4th, I conducted the following interview with Martha Zola, who is serving as interim Director of Cultural and Economic Development for the City of Newburgh.  She replaces Kendal Henry, who recently vacated the position.  On Friday, December 5th, the Times-Herald Record ran an article about this position, “Is the arts czar position for real in Newburgh?” which clarifies that the position still exists – for the meantime.

Jane Johnston: The first question is, I read the article in the Record that the Cultural and Economic Development Director position had been voted down,

Martha Zola: Yup.

JJ: and I’m just wondering, I wasn’t sure that that happened, having attended the meetings.  And I just was wondering if you had any update about that.

MZ: Well, now that I’m not a commissioner, <laughter> I know there’s some discussion going on, and it’s really important for me not be in the middle of that.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: So I really… I’m going to stay focused on my agenda, which is to do as much for the arts community for as long as I can.

JJ: Right.

MZ: And I really need to leave this to other people to deal with.

JJ: Okay.  So you don’t happen to know if this position is still existing?  Or, has it been voted down?

MZ: What I need to do, is say you need to get that from Jean-Ann [McGrane].  It’s just not comfortable for me to get in the middle of that.

JJ: Okay.  Okay.

MZ: I’m just going to do what I can <laughter>.  That’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I stepped in for…

JJ: Right.

MZ: In my mind, I have stepped in in some interim way, and for whatever interim time I have, whether it’s long or short.  And in any case, even if it is in, there will be a regular full search, and I don’t know if I’m participating in that or not.  You know, I have a life!

JJ: Right.

MZ: But I was able, because of my knowledge of stuff, to step in and keep this thing going because it’s a huge amount of work.  I mean, I go in there, and I’m, believe me, I’m working more than part-time <laughter>.

JJ: Wow.

MZ: There’s just a lot to get done, and they know I’m committed to helping to get it done, so there I am.

JJ: Yeah.  Yeah.

MZ: So that’s probably as much as I want to get involved in that issue.

JJ: Okay, sure, sure.

MZ: There’s too many passions there and “yuk”! <laughter>

There’s so many people who really want the best thing for Newburgh, so I wish they could all get on the same page and be happy.

<laughter> I believe in being happy.  Very strongly.

JJ: Good!

MZ: And I hope everybody gets to figure out by the time they get to be my age that that’s really all that matters.

<laughter>

MZ: My answer is, I’m just going to give it my best shot, for as long as I can.

JJ: Okay… And in your view, what is most important about the position?

MZ: Well, it’s a linchpin to all that Percent for Arts stuff for one thing, and that is a huge asset to the city.  I mean, that’s a huge incremental introduction of funds and – what’s the word – it’s a huge economic driver, and anybody who looks into Percent for Art programs where they exist across the country, and all the data on those programs, it is plain as a nose on your face that it absolutely is an economic driver.  It attracts tourists, it attracts business…

It attracts the kinds of tourists who spend money in the town on, you name it, food, art supplies…

It attracts the kinds of tourists who spend money in the town on, you name it, food, art supplies…

whatever it is you’re trying to sell.  Framing, theater, opera… And the more density we have the better, and Newburgh could definitely use that kind of bump-up in the aesthetic environment.  So here we have this money that is dedicated to doing only that, you can’t use it for police, you can’t use it for anything else.  That’s the nature of the law.  And so here is this dedicated money that’s supposed to help drive our economy and do good for everybody who’s trying to earn a living here.
So if this position is not there, there’s nobody to do the work, and there’s a huge amount of work, I can tell  you that right now, because I’ve been doing it for a couple of days.  It’s just – there’s a set of processes that you have to go through that’s a mile long.  So I’ve been working, for instance, on getting the jury together, notifying the artists, we have to open the submissions – there’s 36 of them sitting in the office that have to be opened with the comptroller and the commissioners.  It’s just – the list is like a mile long of things that have to get done.  So somebody has to do it.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: Commissioners are volunteers.  They have day jobs, mortgages, children… They could not handle that level of – it’s just leg work.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: It’s just a pile of legwork.  So that is why the position kind of goes with having that asset for the city.  It’s worth hundreds of thousands of dollars not just this year, but ongoing.  Every year!

JJ: Oh, with the Percent for Arts?

MZ: Yeah.  And so, and that’s not the only thing.  So when the commission comes up with other stuff, like this Impressed Ink that they were doing and other programs that they put together, somebody needs to be there to do the legwork.  Somebody needs to get the publicity out, and write the forms, and write the grants.  We’ve got some grants in, we want to get a lot more grants.  We want to partner with all kinds of arts entities in the city, and continue.  We already got some grants, but…. Somebody has to be in that place to write them.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: And do the networking and the legwork and the phoning, you know, all the stuff that goes with that.

JJ: Right.

MZ: So that person is really the chief grunt.

JJ: Right.

MZ: And if the grunt isn’t there, it can’t happen.

You know, you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but somebody has to do the labor.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: So the folks at the commission can dream the stuff up, you know… Like this Percent for Art program.  You have no idea of the hours of work that went into that.  Research, interviews, writing.  Drafting, re-drafting, reviewing with lawyers.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: This is not an event, it’s not a show, you know, where you attract a crowd and there’s a lot of publicity because there’s theater.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: This is just hours of back room work.  And then, to actually get the thing passed…

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So it was passed by other councils, and they did all this work with those councils.  Getting the data to them, the information… It was just a lot of work.  And it’s not showy work.  So then somebody says, “oh, the commission’s not doing anything,” they don’t see that work.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: It’s not like theater.  It’s not like a festival.  But it’s a huge amount of work.  And it’s a lot of very intelligent work, because you have to be able to write, you have to be able to do internet – these guys were up doing internet research till 1 o’clock in the morning!

JJ: Oh, wow.

MZ: Because they were… researching the Percent for Art programs all across the country…

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: To see how they got them in place, and how they were written up.  And there are Percent for Art programs… Well, there are whole lots of documents on the internet… there are cities… I think Seattle’s document is like 65 pages long.

JJ: Oh, wow.

MZ: So they get very elaborate.  We did what we could.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: And anytime you do something like that, whether its acquisitions or Percent for Art, if it’s a public program, you have to write up procedures.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: There has to be an open call.  There has to be jurying.  It’s not like a person going and asking for funds for an event.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: You have to have an open call, you have to say it.  You can’t have somebody go and say, “give me $5,000 to do this event.”

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: You have to have – “We’ve got $5,000.  Please submit your ideas for how to spend it.”

Because everyone has to have equal access to the money.

JJ: Right.

MZ: – who has ideas.  So then you spend a lot of time writing procedures, developing jurying processes, all this kind of back room stuff.  It’s not very showy.  But it is a lot of work.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So a lot of work the commission does, doesn’t have that kind of visibility.

But nothing – nothing you can think of, will produce what the Percent for Art program can produce for Newburgh.

JJ: I’m just curious about some of the projects coming out of that.  I know there’s the courthouse…

MZ: The courthouse is the first one.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So we’re working our way through.  You know every time you do something for the first time, you have a learning curve.  So we’re walking through the steps of getting that done.  And as I’ve said, we’ve had 36 submissions.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And next week we will be sitting down with the comptroller, you see you have to do a process where we all sit in a room with some commissioners, the comptroller’s office, and me, and we open them.

JJ: Ah.

MZ: And we inspect each one to make sure it complies with the RFP (request for proposals).   In other words, there are a certain set of pieces that we requested, and we have to go through all 36, and we accept all the ones that have all the pieces in them.  And any one that’s missing pieces, we have to send it back.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?

JJ: Yeah. <laughter>

MZ: And that’s before you even get to the jurying.  So, you know, every time you do a public process like that, that’s what you have to do.

JJ: Right.

MZ: But I think your question is, are there more?

And the answer is yes, there’s like six or seven more.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: Just this year.  There are six or seven more development projects that are eligible for the Percent for Art program.

JJ: Okay.  Are those public projects or are they private projects?

MZ: You know, I’m trying to see, I only had one quick look at the list and we have a meeting next week to actually really look at them.

JJ: Okay.  At the arts commission meeting?

MZ: No no, not at the arts commission meeting.  That has to be done by City Hall.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: City Hall develops the list, and they execute the list.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And all they do is inform the commission that you have X number of projects, this is the budget on those projects, here’s the budget for the onsite.  You know, whatever, this is the one per cent of the budget.  Here’s how much is going to the on-site art, which is what we’re working on at the courthouse.

And then there’s 30% that goes to the city in general.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And then the commission has to develop a budget for that 30%.

JJ: Okay.  What kinds of projects would be eligible for that?  Is it – can you give an example?

MZ: The only constraints on that is that they be arts related projects.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And as I understand – and this is a general statement, because I have to really have to go and inspect the details, I’m so focused on the 70% in the courthouse, that I haven’t begun really examining how the 30% is processed.  But I’m sure, you can bank on, that that has to be an open competition.

There has to be some kind of open application.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: Something has to go out that tells people that we’re evaluating projects…  I doubt that this goes out, “we’ll take any kind of project at all,” they may say “we’re looking for this category of project.”

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And anyone who would like to apply for that category of project… And it can be anything from – as I’ve seen the literature on One Percent programs and the 30% it can be anything in the arts, from performance to technology to visual arts to… you know, the definition is very broad, the definition is arts.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And I think, I was going to say I think it needs to be something that is permanent in the environment, but I know that’s not right because I think I’ve seen moneys used for like dance performances.  So the answer there is, I don’t know.

JJ: Okay.  Would the Impressed Ink, was that funded by…

MZ: No.  That was done entirely on our budget.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: When I say “our” I mean, when I used to be a commissioner.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: They did that entirely on, every year the commission puts up a budget with the city, it’s a very modest budget.  But the guys basically paid for it out of that budget.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And given that all the work was volunteer work, and given that all the authors, except one, because he gave a lecture – came down on a volunteer basis, the costs were very low.

JJ: Okay.
MZ: And that’s part of what they were dealing with in putting this together.

It’s amazing what they put together, on a shoestring.

And it’s because they have good contacts.  I mean, the commissioners as a group… we have a lot of academics in there this year, and a lot of the had contacts with these authors.  But some of them, they just called cold.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: And since these guys and gals are into selling books, I think they regularly go on some of these things, to get out there and  market there stuff.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: But that’s the answer.  That was a very modest expenditure, and it came out of the budget.

JJ: Does the commission do anything in terms of promoting arts in the schools, or engaging the youth of the community?

MZ: That’s, it’s on the roster, and in fact, there was a whole children’s book section in the Impressed Ink, for example.  That was nothing but children’s books, and it was very well attended, it was child book authors.  And I gather they had a very good time, there were like 40 kids there.

So the youth are an interest.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: And I’m sure that they… We have some of the commissioners, I certainly think of Clay Buchanan as a past commissioner was very interested in the children’s programs.  So it kind of goes with, what’s this group of commissioners interested in working on…

JJ: Right.

MZ: And what direction they want to go.  You know, we had Kevin White on the commission at one point, and he works with kids all the time.  He’s been very supportive, he continues to be supportive on a lot of stuff, he’s just a great guy.  So the answer is, yes there is an interest, on the other hand, with the amount of resource that’s available, it’s not like they can go and launch big programs in the schools.

JJ: Is it something that – I was just thinking of when you were talking about the 30% – is that something that could support community projects?

MZ: In the arts?

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: Yeah!  I mean, that’s my first, I would think that’s natural.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: That’s the whole point, <laughter>, is community, it is in Newburgh, it’s community, you know.  So it is community projects.

Community – Arts – Projects.  I think that’s the definition.

JJ: Okay.  Another question was, I don’t know if the commission does anything to develop or encourage additional art venues?

MZ: Sure… Certainly I have every intention, and that is the topmost thing on my agenda, to get out and embrace the entire arts community.  And promote the entire arts community.  Every little store, and every big institution.

JJ: Right.

MZ: And that’s what I will be working on.  And I will be getting that message out as fast as I can.

JJ: Right.

MZ: And I hope to be very proactive about that in whatever time that I have. And they’ll all be hearing from me.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: I’ve already had a request from the Orange County Arts Council, to take Susan Linn around, and take her to a nice array, so she gets familiar with all that we’re doing in Newburgh.  And I intend to work on setting that up within the next week.   We got so backloaded on the courthouse stuff, but I’m just about to take a breath on that.  So that’s, for instance, something I will be setting up and a lot of people are going to hear from me.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: You know, whatever I can squeeze into a day.  From the arts store to the Dutch Reformed Church.  So that’s definitely the agenda, to embrace and involve and promote, and to try to… we can’t keep feeding from inside.

We’ve got to impress the region, with the idea that there’s enough here to attract people from outside of Newburgh to add to this economy.

And the best way to do that is to convince them that we have a density of institutions and places to go, and see, and do.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So I want to create and develop that sense of density, of attractions.

And it is the arts audience that we want to attract.  Those are the ones who spend money.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: That’s what the data say! Those are the guys who spend money.  So we want to haul them in.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: I hope I can convince everyone of that!

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: Because the more I can get everyone else working on that agenda along with me, the more effective we’re going to be as a unit.  As a community.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: It’s like, what do you want to do? Let’s do it!

JJ: <Laughter> okay.  Do you have any projects planned in terms of the Quadricentennial?  I don’t know if there’s any planning with them?

MZ: Again, it wasn’t done up until now,

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: As I look at my particular focus, I feel like, now this is the first blush, I feel like the historic thing is getting a tremendous amount of attention, by a large group of very capable people.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: There’s no question in my mind that my focus is going to be on the arts.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: I encourage and applaud all those hard working people on the historical side, but I feel that the arts side is the part that needs an infusion of attention.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: That’s where I’m going to be putting my energy, no question about it.  I applaud all the history people.  And another part of that is, it’s the arts people who spend money more.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: It is!

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: People will come for historic events, they’ll come with their families, and there’ll be a lot of them,

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: And they’ll spend some money, but if you want people who really go for good meals and arts things, you want to get the arts crowds in here.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So it’s not either/or.  I’m very thrilled with what those folks are doing.

But I feel like it’s the arts community that needs that attention.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: I want to bring people in because of the arts.

JJ: Okay

MZ: Itself. For the arts! <Laughter>

JJ: Okay.  Has there been… I’m just thinking about the artists already in the community of Newburgh.

MZ: Right.

JJ: Has there been like a survey or… How do we know, is there any way we can measure or get feedback that they’re being served?  How do they fit into the arts commission, or the arts as a whole?

MZ: Well let me say two or three things about that.  When I first got here, which was like, a little over three years ago, when I started working with the arts commission, you have to know my whole background is strategic planning that is data-based.  And so I’m a measurements expert.

JJ: Oh, great!

MZ: And I’m a statistician and I did every kind of survey and research work for hospitals and higher education that you can imagine.

JJ: Oh, wow.

MZ: So it was one of my first questions.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So, several things come out of that.  First of all, I found out, I was very well-informed that before I ever got here, there was a big community thing here that included a survey, so they have all kinds of information about what artists would like and what they’re looking for.  And that was not done in a scientific way, but it was done in a pretty thorough way.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So it’s not like we’re going to uncover a whole lot of brand new information.  And the second part of that is, I’m sure that whatever we do, we’re going to continue to find vehicles – I certainly am – for feedback.  But launching a scientific survey is a very expensive proposition.  If you want to be able to talk about the representativeness of the sample, for instance.

JJ: Yeah, yeah.

MZ: The whole issue of sampling comes up, and the whole mechanism for data collection becomes very complicated.  It’s not simple.  E.g., nobody can do it online.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: I mean, that always sounds like it’s very simple.  It’s not…

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So the issue of doing a big scientific survey, that’s probably not helpful.  The idea of wanting to get feedback from artists is a good one, and we should be…

I will always be looking for ways to get data.

Because if you’re not getting constant feedback, you don’t know if your doing what needs to be done.

JJ: Right.

MZ: It’s that simple.

JJ: Right.

MZ: So I would definitely look to do that.  At one point I had started a survey process and I developed a form, and the form picked up a lot of issues and things that we were going to measure and get out there.  When people looked at the actual labor involved in that -

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: – it kind of faded <laughter>.

JJ: Oh.

MZ: That’s a very labor intensive thing to do.  And it’s hard work.  And it’s not the kind of work that artists do.

JJ: Yeah.

MZ: So they’re not happy or comfortable doing it.

JJ: Yeah… okay.

MZ: So that’s not going to be my… Doing a formal survey is not going to be at the top of my list, but getting feedback loops is going to be.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: So I might find venues and people who could serve as a place to collect some of that information, and provide some of that information.  So it’s a good question and a good thing to be creative about.

It’s always good to get feedback.

JJ: Yeah.  Okay.  I remember some time ago, I don’t know what’s happened to this, there was going to be a show, and I believe the theme was global warming?

MZ: Yes.

JJ: I just wondered what happened to that.

MZ: Ultimately, the resources weren’t there.

JJ: That won’t be rescheduled, or there’s not a…

MZ: I wish it could be, and I hope it will be, but we’ll see!  It might depend on how long I get to do what I’m doing <laughter>.

JJ: Okay.  I’m just wondering about the art park project? Or the pocket art project?

MZ: Yes, in progress.  It is a work in progress, and it’s definitely going to happen.  The commission will have partners that are interested in working on that.  And that will result in some kind of call for artwork, because that’s a sculpture park.  At the very least, it could involve other things, too.

JJ: Okay.  Is that something that has already been budgeted?

MZ: Yes, they have CDBG money.

JJ: Oh.  How much, do you know?

MZ: $40,000.  And more money will need to be raised, because the ultimate cost for doing what they have in mind will involve…. so I’m sure they’re going after additional grants and so forth for that.

JJ: Who’s planning that?

MZ: That’s a commission project and Greg Wilson is chairing that committee.

JJ: Okay.  I just was wondering, how many of the commission members are full-time residents of the City of Newburgh?

MZ: The ordinance for the commission… this is a guess… I think the ordinance requires two thirds, and Stuart would know for sure.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: But it is definitely within the ordinance.

JJ: Okay.  Two thirds have to be city residents?

MZ: Except, when I say to you two thirds, I’m not sure that’s the number.

JJ: Okay.

MZ: I’m guessing.  That seems to me an approximation.  You can read it in the ordinance.  And I know that they meet that.   At the moment, I can’t think of anyone in there, except perhaps Garin, who is not a city resident… So essentially, it’s very representative, as it’s meant to be, of Newburgh.