Rachel Hegarty/Rachel E.H. Photography
The Torpedo Factory.
The City of Alexandria will create a "stakeholder engagement plan" to make sure artists at the Torpedo Factory are part of the decision-making on making sure the center has a "vibrant and sustainable future."
City Council received the proposed Action Plan for Vibrancy and Sustainability at Torpedo Factory Art Center last week and directed staff to develop and implement the stakeholder engagement plan. The plan will be brought back to council for consideration within the next two months.
In addition to financing, other areas to explore include public-private investment and governing of the center.
"Until they [the artists] are happy people, there will not be peace," Councilwoman Del Pepper noted.
"They're the reason the center is there," Mayor Justin Wilson said.
"Don't forget that, underline that," Pepper said.
"We need to make sure they're [the artists at the Torpedo Factory a part of this," Wilson said.
"We have for 10 years, give or take, been making decisions by inaction," he noted. "The lease with the board expired and we took no action, which reverted it back to the city because that was easier...because we couldn't get consensus on an action."
"That is a bad way to make policy," he said.
"I think we know what we want. I think there is much more agreement than disagreement on what the future holds. I think we just disagree on how to get there."
"We have a moment right now," Wilson said, "that I hope we don't pass up. All the stars are aligning here."
The council also discussed other important aspects such as budget allocation, mission statement-building and creating more viable rental space, specifically utilizing the roof of the building.
However, the most pointed-out shortcoming was the lack of involvement from the key stakeholders, including the artists and the Archeology Commission, located on the third floor of the building, when developing the action plan. The city’s continued involvement in managing the art center was met with equal hesitation.
Artist Veronica Barker-Barzel, president of the Torpedo Factory Artists Association, noted during the meeting that “since the city took over management and control of every aspect of running the art center’s several years ago, we have lost much of the TFAC community’s energy and vibrancy to the expense of bureaucratic overlay.”
Since 2018, the city has also switched the TFAA’s blind jury process and implemented an open jury system which “undercuts the level of participation and the quality of work.” Artist Min Enghauser said that the artists and the TFAA were never consulted during the planning of the "study of studies," claiming that there should be “more input from the ones with the most to lose.”
Nathan Masek, a member of the Waterfront Commission, asked that the city reexamine the management of the center and advocated for an integrated approach to management and planning.
Ivy Whitlatch, chair of the Alexandria Archeology Commission, said that it is “important that a member of the commission [and other related departments plays a part in the planning of the TFAC.”
A "study of studies" came away with three directions for the art center:
Re-establish the Art Center’s Identity for a 21st Century Audience.
Curate the Building, with a Focus on the First Floor, for Improved Visitor Experience and Artist/Studio Program.
Establish Policies and Procedures that Identify the Art Center as a High Performing Organization and Rebuild the Art Center’s Role as a Leader in the Country.
Within those core strategies, there are six themes and implementation ideas, developed in a 2019 study of studies that would develop a “path to renewal and relevancy”:
Providing effective city governance for TFAC
Improving the management of the TFAC
Creating a distinct and unified vision and mission for the TFAC, recommending the option to revise the entire first floor, implement an interactive space for families, performance spaces, and an art and technology studios
Developing a sustainable financial model, plan, and operation
Forging a new relationship with the City of Alexandria and the Waterfront Art Alliance
Preserving and enlivening the physical structure
In response to concerns, Diane Ruggiero, deputy director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, Office of the Arts, says that to include stakeholders’ input, they will go forward with task forces and “monthly meetings with artists in the building…to work to get feedback.”
Also, Ruggiero commented that she “believes [the unhappiness with management] predates city management to TFACB” and that “continued relationship-building” will help strengthen the artists' willingness to work on implementing the plan.
When addressing the lack of communication with the stakeholders, she said that “everyone was involved in a different way and had check-ins with stakeholders to make sure the 'study of studies' brought in all of these plans together and to guide the action plan going forward.”
The next step in this process, according to Ruggiero, is budgeting, which will require some amount of capital funding. Within the city budget, the Torpedo Factory functions as a special revenue fund, which means the revenue it brings in is the revenue they use for the day-to-day operations such as staffing, marketing and utilities.
With all the proposed actions and more, City Manager Jinks proposed that it will cost approximately $10 million to $20 million in the next five to seven years.
Councilman John Chapman noted that without having the artists and TFAA taking on the costs, it is important to establish now “how to make the artists independent, but also understand that there is a fundamental cost to that… and trying to figure out what the relationship with the artist is... there will have to be a hard discussion about…capital costs and expenses.” City Manager Jinks noted that the current plan would be to use “city taxpayer-borne cost” to help fund the plan.
Wilson said in closing remarks that he “doesn’t know that this being a city department is the most appropriate way to do this…" and wants to see a structure that invests in the building and the artists.
