Chronicle: Omaha Summer Arts Festival

THE STORIES AND PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE. AND THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. I’M ROB MCCARTNEY. IT’S NEWS THAT SHOOK THE LOCAL ARTS WORLD LAST WEEK. THE OMAHA SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED THAT THIS YEAR ITS 50TH YEAR, WILL BE ITS FINAL YEAR SINCE IT BEGAN THE FESTIVAL IS INSPIRED MORE THAN JUST THE OMAHA ARTS SCENE. MANY ORGANIZATIONS AND LOVED LOCATIONS WOULDN’T BE HERE WITHOUT IT. SO TODAY WE LOOK BACK AT THE FESTIVAL’S 50 YEARS AND HELP YOU PREPARE FOR THIS FINAL YEAR. WE’RE GOING TO GO INTO OUR VIDEO VAULT AND SHARE SOME COVERAGE FROM YEARS AGO. WE’LL MEET AN ARTIST FROM THE FESTIVAL WHO’S VERY POINTED ABOUT HER DRAWING AND HER POETRY, AND WE’RE TALKING WITH THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE OMAHA SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL ABOUT NOT ONLY THESE 50 YEARS, BUT ALSO HIS RETIREMENT. AND IT WAS JUST DAYS AGO WHEN VIC GUTMAN ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT, GETTING READY TO WRAP UP 50 AMAZING YEARS OF SHARING ART WITH THE COMMUNITY. MADDIE AUGUSTINE REPORTED THE DETAILS. MURAL CUBES, LIKE THE ONE NEXT TO ME, SERVE AS AN ADVERTISING EASEMENT FOR THE UPCOMING OMAHA SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY ALSO FEATURE ARTISTS IN THE FESTIVAL, SOMETHING THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN A STAPLE OF THE THREE DAY EVENT. WHILE IT’S SAD TO SEE THIS YEARLY TRADITION COME TO AN END, OSF VICE PRESIDENT KEVIN LANGAN SAYS THEY’RE CHOOSING TO CELEBRATE ALL IT HAS BROUGHT TO THE OMAHA COMMUNITY, AND HOPES EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE DECISION TO MAKE THIS YEAR. THE LAST YEAR, IT WAS NOT AN EASY DECISION TO MAKE, BUT WITH THE COST OF HALF $1 MILLION, IT WAS A CHOICE, HE SAYS NEEDED TO BE MADE. WE’VE HAD OUTSTANDING SUPPORT FROM THE CORPORATE SECTOR. WE’VE GOTTEN GREAT SUPPORT FROM FOUNDATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS AND OTHERS. UM, BUT THERE’S JUST A POINT WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH FOLKS CAN GIVE AND THERE’S A LOT TO GIVE TO THESE DAYS. MADDIE AUGUSTINE KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN. AND JOINING ME NOW IS THE MAN AND THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE OMAHA SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL. VIC GUTMAN. VIC, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY. CONGRATS ON YOUR UPCOMING RETIREMENT. WELL, IT’S NOT A FULL RETIREMENT, BUT, UH, LIFE WILL GET SIMPLER FOR SURE. SO WE JUST HEARD KEVIN LANGAN SAY, AND THE QUOTE WAS, THERE’S JUST A POINT WHERE THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH FOLKS CAN GIVE, AND THERE’S A LOT TO GIVE TO THESE DAYS. TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT CHALLENGE. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS FOR THE BOARD TO LOOK AT. AS I HAD ANNOUNCED THAT MY COMPANY WOULD NO LONGER BE DOING THESE COMMUNITY EVENTS AFTER THIS YEAR. UH, LOOKING FOR NEW MANAGEMENT. BUT THEN THE REAL QUESTION WAS, CAN WE SUSTAIN THE FUNDRAISING? WHEN WE STARTED THE FESTIVAL IN 1975, IT HAD A BUDGET OF $4,000, AND IT WAS STILL HUGE. UH, BUT, UH, NOW IT’S ALMOST 500,000, UH, AND IT GREW SLOWLY OVER THE YEARS AND, AND FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, THE FESTIVAL HAS BEEN, UH, TOTALLY FOCUSED ON QUALITY AND, AND ACCESSIBILITY THAT EVERYONE FEELS WELCOME AT THE ARTS FESTIVAL. SO NO ADMISSION CHARGE. AND, UM, WE, WE DON’T GET A LOT OF EARNED REVENUE, SO ALMOST ALL OF OUR MONEY HAS TO BE RAISED. HE SAYS THERE’S A LOT TO GIVE TO THESE DAYS. IS THAT JUST MEAN THAT THERE’S JUST TOO MANY PLACES PULLING THE MONEY? WHAT? WELL, UH, OMAHA HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST GENEROUS COMMUNITY CITIES, UH, IN TERMS OF PHILANTHROPY IN THE COUNTRY. UH, IT’S AMAZING, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT’S, UH, YOU LOOK AT THE RIVERFRONT PARKS, THE LUMINARIUM, UH, THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM IS GOING TO BE MOVING, UH, PROJECT NEXT AT THE MEDICAL CENTER. UH, THE STREAK. LOOK AT ALL OF THESE THINGS. AND A LOT OF IT’S PRIVATELY FUNDED. AND SO A LOT OF THE FOUNDATIONS, LYONS AND THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE PHILANTHROPY SHICKLEY ARE PUTTING MONEY THERE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE HASN’T BEEN FULL RECOVERY YET BY A LONG SHOT FROM THE PANDEMIC. FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED. SO THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL UNHOUSED, PEOPLE WHO, UH, LACK A SOURCE OF FOOD ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO MONEY’S BEING SPREAD THIN. UM, ULTIMATELY, WE THE BOARD FACED THE DECISION OF DO WE GAMBLE ALL THAT MAY BE NEXT YEAR IS OUR 51ST YEAR. WE HAVE TO CUT A MAJOR PART OF THE EVENT BECAUSE WE COULDN’T RAISE ENOUGH MONEY AND THAT JUST SEEMED LIKE THAT WAS GOING TO BE A POSSIBILITY BASED ON SOME SIGNALS WE WERE GETTING. THEY SAID NO, WE WILL ALWAYS FOCUS ON QUALITY. IT WILL ALWAYS BE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. WE WON’T ACCEPT ANYTHING LESS THAN THAT. UH, TAKE ME BACK TO THE BEGINNING. 1975. WHY DID YOU GET THE IDEA? WHERE DID IT COME FROM? WELL, IT WAS NOT ORIGINAL. I CAN TELL YOU THAT. BUT I HAD DONE AN ARTS FESTIVAL IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, WHERE I WENT TO UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL, AND I’M FROM THERE, AND, UH, IN 1971 DID A HUGE ART FAIR. STILL EXISTS. AND THEN I FORMED A GUILD TO PERPETUATE IT, AND IT STILL EXISTS. SO THAT’S THAT’S REALLY A VERY REWARDING THING. UH, AND WHEN IT CAME TO OMAHA, THERE WERE ART FAIRS WHERE YOU’D HAVE ARTISTS SELLING, LIKE AT A SHOPPING CENTER, BUT THERE WERE NO ARTS FESTIVALS THAT INCLUDED THE PERFORMING ARTS, THE VISUAL ARTS, UH, ARTS ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN. UM, CULINARY ARTS. WE EVEN HAD FILM AND POETRY OVER THE YEARS. THAT’S WHAT WE WANTED. THIS FESTIVAL TO BE. AND WE GOT THE GO AHEAD FROM THE OLD MARKET ON MARCH 15TH OR SO OF 1975, AND WE PUT IT ON AT THE END OF JUNE OF 75. WOW. QUICK TURNAROUND. WE HAD 185 ARTISTS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THEY FOLLOWED ME FROM ANN ARBOR AND AND I MEAN, WE HAD A HUGE EVENT AT AND THE CITY REALLY EMBRACED IT. WOW. SO OVER THE YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN SOME HIGHS. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME LOWS. UH, THE WEATHER HAS NOT BEEN YOUR FRIEND SOME YEARS. I MEAN, WE’VE COVERED THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES. WELL, WE’VE HAD SOME BIG STORMS. UH, I THINK IT WAS 2009 THAT, UH, THE STRAIGHT LINE HURRICANE WINDS CAME IN. THEY BLEW THIS HEAVY TENT THAT WAS OVER OUR MAIN STAGE. AND IT WAS HANGING FROM THE COURTHOUSE. AND, UH, SO MANY ARTISTS HAD THEIR WORK, UH, DESTROYED. RIGHT. AND. THAT WAS ON A SATURDAY. BUT WE WERE BACK UP AND RUNNING ON SUNDAY, AND, UH, WE’VE HAD, UH, OTHER STRAIGHT LINE WINDS COME THROUGH, UH, DAMAGE TO ARTISTS BOOTHS LESS SO NOW, UH, BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE A WIND TUNNEL WHERE WE ARE. AND THEN ALSO COVID, WHICH INTERRUPTED THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF, VIC? WELL, I’M PROUD OF HOW THE COMMUNITY REALLY EMBRACED, UH, THE ARTS FESTIVAL. THERE WERE SO MANY WHO SAID, AH, THIS ISN’T RIGHT FOR OMAHA OR THE CITY WILL NEVER LET YOU SELL FOOD OUT IN THE STREET. WE WORKED WITH NONPROFITS, ETHNIC GROUPS THAT SOLD FOOD THAT FIRST YEAR. BUT IT ALL HAPPENED, UH, WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE CITY, JUST REALLY EMBRACED IT. AND AND I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OF THE, UH, PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY OF THE, UH, GENERAL PUBLIC WHO HAVE COME DOWN NOW FOR GENERATIONS, UH, TO THE ARTS FESTIVAL. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT MEANS A LOT. AND YOU HELPED SPUR THE OMAHA CHILDREN’S MUSEUM. SO THERE WAS A COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH A CHILDREN’S MUSEUM LIKE THE ONE IN BOSTON. UH, AND, UM, BUT THEY HADN’T GONE VERY FAR. BUT WHEN WHEN I HAD DONE THE ARTS FESTIVAL IN ANN ARBOR, WE HAD ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN. SO I WENT TO THEM AND I SAID, WELL, WHY DON’T YOU DO HANDS ON ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AT THE ART FAIR? AND THAT COULD BE KIND OF A START. A PROGRAMING THEY DID HAD HUGE SUCCESS. THEY THEN GOT A GRANT FROM TARGET TO GET A VAN IN AND TAKE THESE HANDS ON ACTIVITIES ALL OVER THE CITY, AND THEN EVENTUALLY WAS ABLE TO GET A PERMANENT HOME. NICE. ARE ARE YOU GETTING MELANCHOLY AT ALL? I MEAN, AS YOU SEE THIS YEAR? WELL, I, I NOSTALGIC PERHAPS JUST LOOKING BACK, IT IS SAD TO SEE FESTIVAL GO BUT I’M HAPPY TO SEE IT GO OUT ON A STRONG NOTE. UH, ALL THE PROGRAMING INTACT. WE’RE SAVING. WE’RE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF A PARTING GIFT TO THE CITY. UH, A WORK OF ART AS WELL. SO? SO THERE’S SO MANY NEW FESTIVALS AND NEW EVENTS, AND SOMETHING WILL COME AND TAKE ITS PLACE. BUT THIS WAS A REAL PIONEER EVENT. THERE WERE NO FESTIVALS IN DOWNTOWN, AND WE STARTED IN 1975. SO ANY SURPRISES THIS YEAR? JUST AS WE WRAP UP HERE? WELL, I THINK RATHER THAN SPENDING ALL THE MONEY BRINGING IN MAYBE ONE HEADLINE EARNING PERFORMER OR HEADLINER, WHICH WE’VE DONE BEFORE, WE’VE KIND OF SPREAD THE SURPRISES OUT ALL ACROSS THE FESTIVAL. YOU KNOW, JUST PUTTING A LITTLE EXTRA INTO EVERY ASPECT OF IT. AND THEN ALSO NOW LOOKING AT, UH, SPENDING A RESERVE FUND, WE MAY BE LEAVING A LEGACY OF THE ARTS FESTIVAL FOR THE CITY. I THINK THAT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL THING TO DO, I TELL YOU, I WILL TELL YOU PERSONALLY, MY HEART BROKE A LITTLE BIT WHEN WHEN I HEARD YOU GUYS WERE CALLING IT THIS LAST YEAR. BUT I’LL BE THERE. WONDERFUL. WE LOVE IT. COUNT ON IT. SO, VIC, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN TODAY. THANK YOU. ROB. ALL RIGHT. UP NEXT ON KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE, MORE THAN 130 ARTISTS ARE GOING TO TAKE PART IN THIS YEAR’S SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL. AND YOU’RE GOING TO MEET ONE OF THEM NEXT.