http://www.w3seattle.com/
The Plan for Walden 3
It all started with a very simple idea. We need an art center in Seattle. And not some anemic, struggling center that mirrored all of the non-profit models of the past or the DIY temporary spaces that sprout and disappear like mushrooms – we need an art center that is formidable, sustainable, long term and risk taking. Conversations were held, questions were asked, old models analyzed and new concepts considered. And through these conversations, key points were defined:
We talked about the best way to export this talent, this wealth of ideas and creative energy. A person could crate it up and ship it to another gallery in another city, it could be documented in a book and distributed through retail outlets, it could travel like a carnival… But the more we talked, the more it came into focus that film was the most effective and economical way to export ideas, our culture, our artists and their work.
Walden Three is a contemporary art center that uses the medium of film to document, present and export Pacific Northwest culture to an international audience. This visual documentation is packed for export and distributed in three ways:
The goals and directives of the W3 staff is three fold:
It all started with a very simple idea. We need an art center in Seattle. And not some anemic, struggling center that mirrored all of the non-profit models of the past or the DIY temporary spaces that sprout and disappear like mushrooms – we need an art center that is formidable, sustainable, long term and risk taking. Conversations were held, questions were asked, old models analyzed and new concepts considered. And through these conversations, key points were defined:
- It needed to exist in the city center, and feed from, and fortify our existing cultural district.
- It needed to be designed as a long term, sustainable project, with a chance to grow and foster a creative community. A permanent home that was not threatened by developers and short term leases.
- It should be defined as a for-profit business, not subjected to the fickle and dwindling budgets and grants allocated for the arts, but something dynamic and revenue generating, something that is self-sufficient and able to create experimental and progressive programming without the red tape and politics of public funding.
We talked about the best way to export this talent, this wealth of ideas and creative energy. A person could crate it up and ship it to another gallery in another city, it could be documented in a book and distributed through retail outlets, it could travel like a carnival… But the more we talked, the more it came into focus that film was the most effective and economical way to export ideas, our culture, our artists and their work.
Walden Three is a contemporary art center that uses the medium of film to document, present and export Pacific Northwest culture to an international audience. This visual documentation is packed for export and distributed in three ways:
- Live broadcast. Walden Three will live-feed broadcast educational lectures and studio classes, artist interviews and day to day operations of exhibition development and activities happening in and around Walden Three.
- Edited short films and educational content. Walden Three will film and edit 3-30 minute segments capturing the projects, exhibitions, opening and lecture series at W3, to exist on the W3 website, Youtube, Vimeo and other online platforms to share the ideas and creative content of W3 to an international audience. These videos propagate the artists and their work to create sales and exhibition opportunities outside of Seattle and to inspire other arts enthusiasts around the world.
- Feature length documentary. The story and progress of Walden Three, from inception to build out to operations is captured and documented much like Hoop Dreams – as a 5 or 10 year project, capturing the successes, failures, disappointments and unimaginable consequences of this ambitious hybrid. As a success or as an utter failure, the documentary film will capture the arc of the producers, artists, media and citizens of Seattle – ultimately seeking to answer the question: can a creative renaissance be a premeditated act, or is it a purely organic, mysterious and random phenomenon?
The goals and directives of the W3 staff is three fold:
- To promote the exhibiting artists and their work as dynamically and effectively as possible, to as wide of an audience as possible. This includes the sale of work, securing out of state exhibitions, pushing promotional visual content and assisting in their creative process, production and exhibition.
- To document the creative processes of artists and curators, and the educational programming and lectures, and package and export in the most compelling way possible.
- To constantly energize the campus of Walden Three through events, meta-curating, parties, arbitrary art grants, special guests and programming that is cross-disciplinary, controversial and thought provoking. As a private venture, W3 is designed to take sometimes unpopular risks in the name of personal growth and artistic exploration. It is allowed to fail in ways that other institutions and galleries cannot afford, and is championed for its risk taking ideology.
- Successfully export the artists and creative class of the Pacific Northwest to an international audience, measured by sales, out of state opportunities, online traffic and content consumption and celebrity.
- To inspire regional participation and solicit creative talent, arts patrons and cultural tourism from around the world to visit Seattle, as well as solicit creative talent to migrate to the Pacific Northwest.
- To create a profitable and enduring art center through art sales, product placement, endorsements, naming rights and film and video sales.
- To create an incredible documentary film.
- A profitable art center and a profitable archive of film content.
- A profitable art center and film content of little commercial value.
- A non-profit generating art center but an exceptional documentary.
- A non-profit generating art center and failed film project, which is the least likely scenario, as the film becomes dynamic as a success story or a massive collapsing dream.
