Arts Organizing in Chicago – 1990-2000ish

Tom Tresser tells the story of arts and politics organizing in Chicago from the early 1990s to the early 2000’s with special attention to the work of the Advocacy Committee of the League of Chicago Theatres (www.leagueofchicagotheatres.org). Tom was an organizer for the League in 1991 and recounts the unprecidented actions taken by the League to Save the NEA (see also https://www.tresser.com/save-the-nea).

This 17 minute video re-caps my work as a poltical organizer for the arts and culture sector from around 1990 through the 2000’s.

Tom Tresser remarks at GCCA 1991 Rally

Tom Tresser closed out the performance and politics rally for Greater Chicago Citizens for the Arts (GCCA) at Club Lower Links, May 20, 1991. GCCA endorsed and supported candidates who supported the arts and freedom of expression. See https://www.tresser.com/championing-creativity. Tom’s remarks are sadly prophetic and present, perhaps, a sketch of what a progressive creativity movement might’ve looked like.

This 5 1/2 minute video covers my closing remarks from a unique arts and politics performance rally held at Club Lower Links in Chicago in May of 1991 to benefit Greater Chicago Citizens for Arts (GCCA). GCCA was the first organization east of California to endorse and support candidates who supported the arts and freedom of expression.

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OK, it was national effort. But in 1991 the fate of the National Endowment for the Arts was in grave question.

I left my job as managing director at Pegasus Players to become an organizer with the League of Chicago Theatres staffing their newly formed Advocacy Committee. Our job was to make theater patrons aware of the attack on the NEA by the Far Right and urging people to contact their legislators in support of funding for the arts in America.

We created program stuffers for theaters across the city and had house managers deliver a speech before the performance. The lights would dim and the speech would start out “If you don;t want the lights turn out on America’s arts organizations….” and called attention to the stuffers and asked folks to sign them and leave them in the lobby.
These were collected and delivered to local legislators.

We also combined (for the first and only time to my knowledge) the subscriber and donor lists from the Goodman, Steppenwolf and Victory Gardens Theaters. We pulled together a list of 10,000 and sent out a sophisticated piece asking people to sign a petition and return the piece to use as well as asking for a non-tax deductible contribution. We got an 8% return and received enough donations to pay for the campaign!

People signed and returned this response card which we then delivered to our two Senators and President Bush.

We also organized a rally in Daley Plaza to save the NEA in September of 1991.

None of this work was documented or reported on. The lessons I learned as an arts organizer changed my life and propelled me on a civic arc that continues to this day.