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GRAPHIC ARTISTS GUILD INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, SEATTLE 2000
When people think of artistic types, too often the stereotyped image of a
Beret-wearing beatnik splattered with paint and living on day-old bread and last month's rent spring to mind. Disheveled, manic, and overly caffeinated is an easily dismissed image. And many find, with a shock of disbelief, that the Graphic Artists Guild is a long-standing, highly organized, national activists organization. Comfortable illusions are shattered. Just think. There are social goal-oriented artists gathering in large groups, formulating and implementing immediate and long term plans that effect the very bedrock on which the media market is built. At least that is what I tell people when they say to me, "The Graphic Artists Guild Convention? What's that?"
So you have these artists. You know: designers, art directors, illustrators,
photographers, web designers, cartoonists, the whole works. They are taking active roles in protecting and extending artist's rights. We are talking more than just letters to the editor. We're talking Senate hearings, negotiating with the copyright office, lobbyists, lawyers, legal battles, political battles and union affiliation. So you have these artists and they are getting a ton done working together via long distance phone calls, faxes and e-mail (you have to love technology) to organize, collaborate and create change. And they're all doing a good job at it too. Yet, we all know there is nothing like a little face to face meeting to really kick things up a couple of notches.
That is what the Graphic Artist Guild Convention is all about. A get-together of key movers and shakers under one roof. That, and chance to check out a new city.
At the end of each convention, a location for the next conference is determined. So the SPGA/Seattle Chapter of the Graphic Artist Guild had a year to prepare. And boy is there a lot of preparation to go through. First you have to locate a union hotel that can accommodate and orchestrate functions for a high number of dignitaries over the course of four days. Then you have to locate a variety restaurants to take that large group of motivated individuals (so they can work through lunches and dinners). And then you have to give them a chance to take in the majestic air of Seattle by whisking them off to some glorious, memorable event. Thank you Paul Allen for building the
EMP, and special thanks to the EMP for the group rate. And very special thanks to Lisa Shaftel, our chapter president who did this entire task single handedly and still managed 12 hour work shifts on the set of a TV movie. Kudos.
Hosting the Guild's convention had some great benefits. The venue for this year's rockin' ArtJam at the Seattle Hilton was one of the perks. It also gave a chance for some of the visiting dignitaries to take part in the festivities. The two joined events exposed the Guild to artists who felt a desire for social activism but had yet to find an outlet.
The Guild's conference was a great way to see the realization of great
accomplishments: Legal victories, beneficial laws in the making, a louder voice, stronger affiliations, and growth of international recognition as this country's foremost defender of artists' rights. The prevalence of justice and good, and the thwarting of evil in general. The Guild's intrepid masses quickly reveled in their accomplishments and wasted no time in planning and strategizing as to how best serve those in the same industry as themselves. A lot of work went on at the conference. And come Sunday, SeaTac had a few plane loads of manic, overly caffeinated artists wondering what Chicago will be like next year.
Mark Monlux
SPGA/Seattle E-mail Coordinator and Ethics Chair
National Secretary/Treasurer
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