Short Straw

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to curate Short Straw, an exhibit featuring artists reflecting on the emotional and professional impact the recession has had on their lives. Curating Short Straw has allowed me to dive into the local arts community and been an amazing journey.  When I began my position at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) and learned that I would have a chance to create a personal project, I immediately knew I wanted to find a way to explore people’s personal struggles in this economy. I had just moved back to Cincinnati – my home town – to reevaluate my career options after a frustrating and fruitless job search in New York.  I felt powerless as Wall Street crashed and banks failed.  Short Straw explores these feelings of frustration, and also turns them on their head, finding whimsy, delight and inventiveness in addition to challenges and closed doors. New graduates, young professionals, emerging artists and designers are searching for work and opportunities in the poorest economy in generations.  I was shocked when I discovered an article in the Wall Street Journal by Sara Murray  titled “The Curse of the Class of 2009” discussing research which shows that entering  the job market in a poor economy impacts your career advancement and wages for a decade or more.  The title of the show reflects artists’ alarm at having drawn the short straw for opportunities.  Since we might not “catch up,” many of us are finding ways around the rat race.  As I engaged artists around this theme, I began to learn more about their struggles to continue to pursue art as a career and lifestyle and not just a hobby.  Many young people are staying in school, freelancing, doing public service or starting a new career they never imagined.  I hope that Short Straw will intrigue, inspire, and illuminate these talented artists’ journeys.  A Master of Fine Arts diploma transformed into a paper airplane, a series of intimate illustrations inspired by  weekly trips to sell plasma, and a triptychdepicting three figures interacting with life-sized slot machines/booby-traps reveal the how the artists in Short Straw are combating frustration and despair with playfulness and  inventive thinking.   The exhibit features 15 local and national artists, and will be on display at CCAC from April 3rd through April 30th.               -Erin Deters, Short Straw Curator,               CCAC Program Coordinator & Public Ally,               April 2, 2010

Andrew Dailey Chris Collins Shannon Werle, Nicole Desender and Melissa Back of COAT Design Jarrett Jamison  Justin Kemp Lauren Collins Leif Fairfield Nathan Krier Nathan Turner Nina Caporale Olivia Hamilton Pat Olding  Stacy Searcy Tim Gold Zachary Calardo  Contact erin.deters@cliftonculturalarts.org for more info about the artist.

portfolio site: http://www.artst.com/profile/ArTisAn