09/18/2015
!!!Deep Ellum musicians/artists/venues/promoters/business owners/supporters¡¡¡...let me know what you think...it's long, but I'm serious about this, and am willing to spearhead the initiative, if I can please get feedback. I've done my homework, and this IS technically possible, but only with a community behind the idea. Please read, and you'll either agree, or have a good laugh.
It has become overwhelmingly obvious that our community within a city has had a recent boom in artistic and musical performance which involves the cooperation of, sometimes dozens, of individuals who work hard and with great skill, in order to bring entertainment and commerce flowing through our community.
However, not all of these individuals are able to work a full, "traditional", 40-hr work week, while still keeping up with a motivated artistic schedule that Deep Ellum craves. Most live with the constant threat of employment-termination hanging over their heads from employers that do not support their artistic endeavors, and high turnover rates plague the reputation of these individuals, who are attempting to make ends meet as traditional workers, while still doing what they feel compelled to do.
Hundreds are suffering from serious physical and mental illnesses, and are unable to work in order to pay necessary medical bills. This causes artists and musicians to attempt to work traditional jobs, uncomfortable as it may be, in an attempt to pay for these accrued debts, thus causing show cancellations, and a marginal, but definite decrease in interest for the area on any given day or night. The vast majority of these individuals also do not qualify for, or simply cannot afford, medical insurance, private or public, due to low wages or preexisting ailments. This leaves the local community with the task of providing as much charity to individuals who are need of help with hospital bills, but much to our own pleasure of simply helping one another; however, it essentially stands as a colorful bandage on a bleeding wound. Many musicians/artists who are suffering are also reluctant to hospitalization for sickness/injury for the simple reasons of A) not having the money, and B) not wanting to interrupt the social contracts made for upcoming or confirmed shows. The artistic community understands it's role in Deep Ellum in the same respect as a traditional worker does for their job; playing sick (I'm sure most of us have played with the flu), and sometimes putting themselves in harm's way by performing injured and while being advised to rest: performance equals a pay day, so most will play through the pain...but should we allow our artistic community to run themselves ragged, to the point of physical and mental exhaustion? Our cultural preservation needs to begin with those who start from the bottom, and work our way up in perspective.
Subsidized wages and benefits are not taken seriously or even recognized by the State of Texas, or the political legislation governing it. State-level assistance has been dissolved for musicians, and Federal assistance is one of the only hopes of keeping our artistic community healthy, happy, and more importantly, flowing with potential patrons and paying attendees at shows.
Deep Ellum has seen it's peaks and troughs, but with younger artists and musicians moving to the city at an astonishing rate, this seems like a peak never seen before; one that seems to actually be endeared (finally) and supported by the City of Dallas. With such a large influx of artistic and musical ability, we find ourselves lost in a new arena, which should be organized between ALL members of the cultural community. We are doing fine on our own as a community, but in my conversations with individuals involved in Deep Ellum's daily culture, I can see we are quietly suffering, sometimes greatly.
I propose starting a NON-PROFIT union that acts as a "platform proxy" or a lobby for musicians and artists struggling with bills and debt, that live in and around Deep Ellum, with the intent of circumventing the lack of Texas welfare, in order to reach the Federal conduits that can allow musicians and artists to stay healthy, thus ensuring the long life, and future generations of Deep Ellum's culture to proliferate.
This is not a proposal for a basic musician's union, but instead a "Cultural Preservation Society" that focuses on serving the BASIC needs of those who PROVIDE the culture with the ability to expand and thrive, while also helping the neighborhood itself, by keeping it healthy, and active.
I'd like the idea to spread to Fort Worth and Denton as well, but those cities require an entirely different approach, when it comes to what matters most. In Dallas...it is us simply keeping our artistic community healthy!
Federal support is out there, but research is slow-going for me, so if anybody has links, tips, angry rants, cat pictures, or preferably, cited legal material that I can reference, please leave it in the comment section. Thanks!
