It is exceedingly difficult to get funding for arts projects of any kind. Smaller companies have difficulty getting the kind of money that bigger apparatuses do. The established system of acquiring funds can be really, really difficult to work with when a company or an indie project is struggling to get off the ground. With clever new avenues opening like Kickstarter, there are interesting alternatives emerging.
The latest I'd heard about is The Battery Factory. Founder UWM assistant Professor of Acting Rebecca Holderness has developed what they are referring to as a "cultural reactor."
From the website:
"Artists, performers, directors and producers mingle with real estate developers, urban planners, entrepreneurs, business leaders and community stakeholders to power the growth of Greater Milwaukee as a lifestyle destination."
Sounds like a very, very interesting idea. It is so very, very difficult to have good ideas meet with the kind of means they need to really get off the ground. I'm looking forward to the potential of the Battery Factory.
The website goes on to say:
"Milwaukee is rich in arts education, and TBF seeks to help the graduates of these programs, including BFA and MFA programs at UW-M or MIAD (for example), decide to stay in our community post-graduation."
Marquette too, please. There's some good talent coming out of Marquette as well. Yes. I really, really strongly agree with this. Some really great onstage talent has left for the coasts in recent years. There's a little marble memorial in my heart for all of the great theatre actors and actresses who have left town over the years.
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The resources of TBF could run in many different directions. New theatre companies can be get off the ground, but I'm actually hoping for a steady stream of indie theatre projects to come out of the Factory, but it sounds like TBF is set up with much more than just that in mind.
The Battery Factory's next project has been aiding Fly Steffens' production of Love Is A Horse With A Broken Leg Trying To Stand While 45,000 People Watch at the Red Dot September 3rd - 11th.
For more information about The Battery Factory, visit them online.
