The Cultural Engine: Helen Toomer
Donors and collectors want to be associated with, and support, organizations and artists that are confronting and working through environmental, racial and social issues, for a better future.
5 QUESTIONS WITH Helen Toomer
Founder of STONELEAF RETREAT & UPSTATE ART WEEKEND; Executive Director of Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE); Co-Founder of Art Mamas Alliance
Upstate New York
Helen Toomer is a recognized leader in the arts, with over fifteen years’ experience organizing events, exhibitions and residencies. She is dedicated to uplifting women in the arts.
Toomer is Founder of STONELEAF RETREAT, an artists’ residency and connective space in the Catskill Mountains of New York focused on supporting women and families, and also programs UPSTATE ART WEEKEND. She is the Executive Director of Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) and Co-Founder of Art Mamas Alliance. Formerly, Toomer was the Director of the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair and Collective Design Fair in New York and PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in Miami. She lectures on art fairs and professional development at universities and arts organizations in the US and the UK and was an adjunct professor at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Toomer co-founded and managed a contemporary art gallery, toomer labzda in New York and graduated with Bachelors in Fine Arts from the Arts Institute of Bournemouth, England. She serves on the Advisory Committees for ProjectArt, Foundwork and the Baxter St Camera Club of New York.
1. As a director of artist residencies, what type of adaptation is required for these programs during the quarantined, social-distanced reality of 2020?
At AIRIE and STONELEAF, we rescheduled our artists-in-residence to 2021, as we wanted to give the artists the chance to experience the residency as it was intended. We have stepped up our online presence and have given the artists the opportunity to take over the instagram accounts, to share their unfiltered views and what they are working on.
2. This spring, you were appointed Executive Director of Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE). Stated priorities include “increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion and a heightened focus on the critical environmental issues affecting the Everglades ecosystem.” In a moment of reckoning with social, racial, and environmental justice, what is the most effective method of positioning the arts in this context?
We think the most effective method of positioning the arts is looking at justice in a holistic sense and how social, racial and environmental justice are all related and we must simultaneously address these individually and collectively. You will hear more from us about our action plan and AIRIE 2.0, as we’ve been calling it internally, this fall.
3. You are about to launch the inaugural UPSTATE ART WEEKEND, next weekend August 29-30, designed to “promote creative spaces in the Hudson Valley which provides a curated road map for those wanting to explore and enjoy art in the region”. Tell me how this came to be…
This was born out of really missing people and art. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by space and nature during quarantine and when spaces started opening up here, I knew I’d be able to bring people together safely, by connecting the dots to some great organizations in the Hudson Valley. I have been thinking about this project for years, but it wasn’t right until now and although I’m exhausted, I’m so happy to see it coming together and being connected to such a vibrant arts community!
4. You’ve worked on both the market and nonprofit sides of the arts sector. Looking specifically at collecting, cultural patronage, and philanthropy, what new strategies and processes should be developed going forward?
I think art institutions really need to look both inward and outward as they address issues of justice and align themselves on the right side of history. It is my view that donors and collectors want to be associated with, and support, organizations and artists that are confronting and working through environmental, racial and social issues, for a better future.
5. Arts Funders Forum (AFF) research has shown that the cultural sector has been experiencing a crisis of relevancy, and that many believe this is a result of underdeveloped narratives for the next generation of audiences and supporters. We believe that the events of 2020 are accelerating the changes next generation creatives, audiences, and donors. How do you think these crises could facilitate a change in society’s view of arts?
To me, art is always relevant and in times of crisis, it can uplift, educate and heal.
Helen Toomer is a recognized leader in the arts, with over fifteen years’ experience organizing events, exhibitions and residencies. She is dedicated to uplifting women in the arts.
Toomer is Founder of STONELEAF RETREAT, an artists’ residency and connective space in the Catskill Mountains of New York focused on supporting women and families, and also programs UPSTATE ART WEEKEND. She is the Executive Director of Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) and Co-Founder of Art Mamas Alliance. Formerly, Toomer was the Director of the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair and Collective Design Fair in New York and PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in Miami.
She lectures on art fairs and professional development at universities and arts organizations in the US and the UK and was an adjunct professor at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Toomer co-founded and managed a contemporary art gallery, toomer labzda in New York and graduated with Bachelors in Fine Arts from the Arts Institute of Bournemouth, England. She serves on the Advisory Committees for ProjectArt, Foundwork and the Baxter St Camera Club of New York.