By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
The August Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Eggs “N Issues discussion focused on why the arts matter to the people of the region.
A panel of local arts organization leaders explain why the arts matter at the NKY Chamber of Commerce Eggs ‘N Issues discussion Tuesday. From left, moderator Pat Crowley of Strategic Advisers, Karen Etling of the Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Laurie Risch of Behringer Crawford Museum and J. R. Cassidy of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (photos by Mark Hansel).
The discussion at Receptions Banquet and Conference Center in Erlanger Tuesday included panelists from three organizations that highlight the diversity of the arts in Northern Kentucky.
Laurie Risch is executive director of Behringer-Crawford Museum.
Known to many as the place with the two-headed calf and the awards of the same name, Behringer-Crawford is much more.
Opened in 1950, the “William Behringer Memorial Museum” showcased the collections of a late world traveler.
An early attraction was the elegant streetcar “Kentucky,” built in 1892.
The museum reopened as the Behringer-Crawford Museum, following some upgrades in the early 1990s. An outdoor amphitheater was built as a venue for the annual freshART auction and a weekly summer concert series.
The Museum continues to focus on its mission to preserve the regional history of Northern Kentucky and as a center for the collection, presentation, and study of the region’s natural, cultural, and visual and performing arts heritage.
Karen Etling is operations director at The Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center on Greenup Street in Covington.
The Center is named for Margaretta Baker Hunt, who established the Baker Hunt Foundation in 1922, to encourage the study of art, education, and science and to promote the good works of religion in Covington.
The Center campus now includes the Baker Hunt Mansion and Family Museum, the Kate Scudder House, an auditorium and a studio.
Its mission is to provide professional art instruction for the enrichment of studies in the Arts and Humanities. Its goal is to make a difference in the lives of people in the communities it serves through art education and cultural enrichment.
The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1992, as the Northern Kentucky Symphony. Its mission, then as now, is to make classical music attractive, accessible and affordable to people in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area.
NKY Chamber members and guests mixed a little fun in with Tuesday’s discussion. The group provided some footage for a video to be shown at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner on Thursday, Sept. 20.
Music and Executive Director J.R. Cassidy joked that when he first pitched the idea of a symphony to a colleague at a local watering hole, it was suggested that he have another drink.
Despite that early skepticism, the KSO has demonstrated the ability to make the concert experience relevant and entertaining to its audiences while maintaining high-performance standards and integrity.
The word “arts” covers a wide range of skill sets and abilities, but Cassidy said he believes they are best defined as what societies throughout history are remembered for.
“That’s what we really associate with different societies, and great quality things last,” Cassidy said. “Everything else tends to go away.”
Risch said the arts have always been defined traditionally through performance and visual arts, but they are so much more than that. They help define a community.
“There are the cultural arts, there are the cultural traditions that we experience with all the different family members in our community,” Risch said “There is the literary, there is the architectural, it’s all part of the arts. It’s more than beauty, there is an emotive side to it, it’s how you react and how you appreciate and how you learn and tolerate different cultures because of learning about the arts.”
Etling believes the arts are what enriches peoples’ lives and provides a sense of enjoyment and achievement, from a very early age.
“Just by having them in your life, it leads to a better sense of accomplishment for having acquired art (or) having made art,” Etling said. “Those are all parts of a very important time, for a young person learning about art to the time you become a true artist having practiced over and over.”
Things as simple as an art project in elementary school or a drawing on a family refrigerator can evoke memories that last a lifetime.
The panelists agreed that art is as important as traditional learning to the education of young people.
Etling expressed disappointment that some still focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, instead of STEAM, which includes art.
“Art adds to all of our scientific leaning,” Etling said. “It gets into all of these other wonderful pieces of education. We need to continue to make sure children get STEAM education and not just STEM education.”
Risch echoed that sentiment. She said Behringer-Crawford, along with United Way, Children Inc. and other organizations in the region recognize how important it is to start at preschool, kindergarten or early elementary and engage children in the arts.
“You can see the reaction on their faces, the curiosity, the excitement that they have done something, and it’s all part of STEAM,” Risch said. “If there weren’t the arts and there weren’t the children’s educational programs that are offered, not just in the school, but within community organizations, I don’t think it would be the same. Children learn in many different ways, and instructional value and the classroom is one thing, but with them coming to community organizations and getting different people to help them, embracing them and teaching them, it’s a totally different learning experience”.
She shared the story of a child from Bellevue who came to Behringer-Crawford while his family was in transitional living. Because of the personal turmoil in his life, the young man did not want to participate in any of the programs that were offered, but Risch said art changed that.
“By the end of the session, he learned valuable skill trades and we ended up teaming him with welders,” she said. “They created a sculpture…and he was so proud of that, he became the class spokesperson when the reception was held to introduce all of the pieces. That’s how kids, no matter how old, can change and their whole lives can change because of the activities that our organizations provide.”
Cassidy, who taught high school for six years, said offering exposure and context provides an opportunity to experience an ongoing appreciation an education of the arts.
“That’s not just the young,” Cassidy said. “When we create programs, outside of departments, we think people should walk away from a specific performance having learned something. It’s because of how we programmed it and how we presented it. You are taking away something that you can share.”
The next Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Eggs N’ Issues meeting takes place Tuesday, Sept. 25 and will include the State of Northern Kentucky Address, featuring the judges/executive from Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties. For more information on Eggs N’ issues click here.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
