Comments on CoCA, On the Ropes Again

You gotta pay those bills, guys! Not just to the landlord but to the curators and artists as well. Some intrepid arts reporter should go through their exhibition history, contact all participants, determine if they got paid, then add up all these folks are owed. The number would be staggering, I assure you.

I just heard from my friends at CoCA and feel the need to apologize and set the record straight.

My comments were not intended as a reflection upon the recent board or staff of CoCA, it was based upon what I had heard from people involved in the organization ten years ago when it was on Cedar Street. There had been a pattern of the organization not paying its bills, the staff leaving after not being paid for months, guest curators not receiving their fees, and evictions from temporary venues. A new group would take over the CoCA name and non-profit status, set up shop in a new space and the same thing would happen again within a few years. But this was no one's fault -- it is just how small arts organizations have gotten by in recent years.

Because I have not really followed what has gone on behind the scenes since the move to Dexter, my statements seem, in retrospect, out of line. I don't want them to taint those individuals who have put so much time and effort into CoCA these last few years.

I understand the situation they are in. Ten years ago I was the publication manager of Reflex, a not-for-profit visual art magazine that got money from the NEA, etc. We ultimately found ourselves unable to pay our bills and even our own salaries. There were a few dedicated board members, but the rest soon went AWOL before finally voting to close the organization down. Reflex was created during a time of greater government largess and could never quite make the transition to a donor-based revenue system. CoCA once had the distinction of being the only organization (save the Henry) that showed contemporary work from outside the region. Now every museum in town does so. It has been hard, in spite of CoCA's storied past, to carve out its place in today's Seattle.

In an attempt to salvage my reputation, I went back and checked a few of the ancient and anecdotal sources for my original and ill-considered comment I made above. It appears that those who complained to me were ultimately paid their fees or settled amicably with the organization. The rest seems to have been second-hand gossip and rumors traded at opening night parties nearly ten years ago.

Again, my apologies to any CoCA people whose reputaion I may have impugned. I wish you all the best on your capital campaign.

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