Stuart Fullerton: Candidate for President

 

The office of president at the P&C holds one vote, just like every other board member. Its only privilege is chairing the board meetings. I want to motivate the entire board to revitalize the P&C. I hope we can recruit more new (as well as younger) members, in order to foster the next generation of P&C artists.

  It's important that the board represent the majority of our members. One thing we can do is to conduct a survey. I don't know when this was last done, but it may be the best way to hear from our current members, who attend open studios and contribute financially (by taking classes and workshops). 

 With an active board, we will be exploring the use of committees to ensure that everyone's interest gets a hearing. Open communication will facilitate that.

 Regarding open studios and classes, there is no exact proportion that would be perfect forever. I'm committed to the tradition of open studios but recognize that it's a matter of compromise and adjustment, based on the financial needs of the P&C and members' wishes. Canceling open studios for classes and workshops rarely happens. Members need to understand that the classes, too, have been a vital part of the P&C community from the beginning--and they finance more open studios. One of our best ways to recruit new members is through their enrollment in a class. That's certainly how I was introduced to the P&C, and I believe it's true for many of us. 

 Social media--we do need to revise our website and focus on social media promotion. The board will be discussing ways to do this. 

 Building/grounds--it's a good idea to form a committee to keep an eye on building issues.

 Curated shows--periodic curated shows would be a helpful way to get the P&C more visibility and raise its profile. We're grateful for your work on this.

 Art donations--I don't mind the idea of having some guidelines on donating or displaying one's own artwork in the common spaces.

 Staff evaluations--this is the responsibility of the board. Annual performance reviews are standard throughout the professions. They can only help.

 Private studio conversion--the private studios are a source of steady income and have been a tradition for a hundred years. We should think twice about upending this tradition, but if there is a way to find extra space to convert into a classroom or a Zoom room without offending current renters, it would be great.

 Board candidate recruitment--something for discussion by board and membership. Addison Xu, whom I endorse for the board of directors, is a good example of recruitment by the membership. 

 Community outreach--artists who have connections with those communities should be encouraged to do so. Outreach to the city, in a broad way, is one thing that I really want to do, and I have some ideas about how to reach out to these communities in particular.

 Board training--education for board members on their responsibilities might be helpful.

 Finance committee--let's get a treasurer elected. I'm endorsing Alisa Kannett for the position and believe she will bring great integrity to the job. We will see if a committee would be useful. Overall, I believe we can be more transparent with the membership about our finances. We could do this once a year at an annual meeting. 

 I hope we share similar views about what can and should be done at the P&C. These things can only be achieved with the effort of the entire board and the support of the members. 

 

 

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Some questions by Joan Stack:

 

Hi Stuart, I received your mailing regarding your run for President of the P&C. Thanks for running. It's a big job to take on. I do have a few questions for you (most related to use of space in the building). 

 Would you step back from teaching any classes or workshops if you are elected, to avoid any conflict of interest? 

 How would you address space allocation between classes/workshops and open studios? Open studios have been cancelled or sometimes moved to a less workable space to accommodate a class or workshop. As an example, the Saturday afternoon open studio (Quick sketch, which prior to COVID was very well attended) was moved permanently to the second floor to accommodate a class (sorry, I know it's yours). While I understand the need for generating revenue, at times there seems to be no consideration for members when these changes are made. I would think the open studios are what attracts most members to the P&C. 

 In a continuation of the question above, would you propose specific criteria to determine where a class should be held (eg, figure vs portrait class, painting vs drawing class) or cap enrollment so that the second floor classroom could be used for most offerings? Or would you consider looking for offsite space for classes and workshops? 

 What, if anything, would you propose doing with the second floor private studios in the main building, in an effort to maximize space utilization; could some of these be converted to classrooms for classes or workshops (either in person or via Zoom)? 

 And would you propose that the Board of Director be balanced, with half or fewer being non-teaching members, so to have a majority as non-teaching members? ? 

Some answers by Stuart Fullerton:

  At the P&C, the composition of the board--the election of instructors as directors or not--is up to the membership. The vote of the membership, as board seats come up for election, should be and will be honored. 

 

 Having instructors on the board is helpful to the P&C. Instructors have a direct connection with their students, who are often P&C members, and of course students are our best source for new members. Instructors recruit new members for the P&C and they should be encouraged to do so. At the same time, I would highly discourage any instructors who are on the board from putting the interest of their own classes ahead of the P&C as a whole. I hold myself to this same standard.

 

 I will never undervalue the importance of open studios, and it is my intention to protect them. But classes are also important--financially, of course, and as a source of new members, but also to many of our existing members. The P&C has been offering classes to its members almost since it began, 128 years ago. There is a substantial portion of our membership which works and cannot attend open studios. Classes are important to these members, who seek instruction in their artistic development. I want them to enjoy their experience at the P&C as much as possible, with the limited time they have. I will be proposing to have a survey of the membership regarding what they see as priorities. We can use that as a guide for the balance of classes and open studios.

 

 As far as the balance of usage between open studio and classes, I'm hoping we will see more collaboration and less competition. Classes and open studios, after all, mutually support the P&C. Regarding the 3d floor studio, for years it was reserved for a Saturday afternoon class, then taken over by the quick-sketch open studio. Adjustments such as this are done out of necessity, whether the teacher is a board member or not. 

 

 Most classes are limited to a reasonable maximum number for the sake of the students. Finding more space would be the ideal solution. I will definitely look into that possibility.