Arts Activities Support

Educate audiences: 95% of those surveyed expressed a new appreciation for art as a vehicle for exploration and understanding. Advocate for creating new art: 100% of the audience at the 4th Salon were moved by the new work and want to hear more of the composer’s music. Create new audiences: 80% of the attendees want to follow Salon artists in the future (e.g. attend performances, gallery openings). The Rimon Artist Salons in the 2015-16 season were artistically among the strongest Rimon has presented. They encompassed a broad spectrum of art forms and artists—from glass arts, mixed media sculpture, and photography to theater and music. The featured artists themselves spanned several generations—from emerging millennials to seasoned, well-known artists. This variety in the participants and the quality of the dialogue were among the chief strengths of the Artist Salons. Another notable strength was the outstanding commission for violin and piano which received its premiere at the fourth Salon. The piece of music was of exceptionally high quality, and its performance was riveting. It has already received a repeat performance outside of the Artist Salon which is an indicator of its appeal. An enduring outcome from the commission is a strong, new relationship with the composer Ofer Ben-Amots. Some of the unexpected challenges that presented themselves during the season related to changes in personnel. Two of the moderators (Salons 1 and 3—“Sculpting Light: The Art of Glass” and “From Selfie to Groupie”) changed jobs mid-year and thus were unavailable to participate in the Salons. They were replaced with very satisfactory substitutes. One of the artists (Salon 4—“Copyright or Birthright: The Music of Ofer Ben-Amots) was obliged to withdraw but was replaced with two outstanding musicians. Another challenge was uneven performance by some of the community partners which resulted in somewhat smaller audiences at those Salons than anticipated. Rimon’s staff has learned in this process that some community partners, no matter what their initial level of enthusiasm may be, are unreliable, and Rimon will be more circumspect about working with them in the future. Attendance at the Artist Salon series in 2015-16 was somewhat lower than projected (225 instead of 275), although age and cultural diversity goals were met. The first and last Salons were very well-attended, but the middle two attracted smaller audiences, although still within the desired audience size of 40-70 participants. In the case of the second Salon (“Backstage at the Adoption Play Project”), there were two obstacles—Super Bowl Sunday and a modest effort on the artists’ part to reach out to their own fan base. The audience that did attend was treated to an exceptional experience. The third Salon (“From Selfie to Groupie”) had been developed with the Russian-American community as a key partner and intended audience. Rimon was surprised when modest numbers from that community attended, possibly related to an unreliable community partner who promised more than she delivered. Again the event itself was quite strong, but attendance was lower than projected. Over all, Rimon’s leadership was happy to see an increasing number of younger adults attending the Artist Salons in addition to the usual cohort of adults over 40. There were a significant number of non-Jewish audience members which was a key outreach goal. This was accomplished by emphasizing the universal appeal of the ideas embedded in each Salon topic. Rimon continues to reach out to the disabilities community, but no one who might have used the advertised services of a sign language interpreter registered for a Salon.