COMMUNITY ZEN
Dig Magazine Talks with Newly Appointed Arts Council President and CEO about Zen in the Art of Cultural Management
BY JAKE CLAPP
On April 26, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge announced that Eric Vaughn Holowacz would take over as President and CEO of the organization beginning in June.
A native of South Carolina, Holowacz has spent nearly 25 years working in diverse arts communities and developing a reputation in arts administration and community engagement. In his most recent position, Holowacz served as Arts & Culture Manager for the Mildura Rural City Council in Mildura, Victoria, Australia.
Holowacz also claims a stint as producer and director of the Cairns Festival in North Queensland from 2010 to 2012. For three years before Cairns, he worked as the founding executive director of The Studios of Key West in Florida.
“After the passing of Arts Council CEO, Derek Gordon, last September, we knew the importance of finding the right individual to build upon the incredible imprint that Derek created for the arts in Baton Rouge,” said Cheri Ausberry, Arts Council Board chair. “The Search Committee and Board of Directors of the Arts Council were thrilled when Eric Holowacz expressed an interest in bringing his creative vision to our community to continue to advance the arts.”
Holowacz still resides in Mildura, so to conquer the considerable time difference, DIGexchanged emails with him to find out more about his passion for arts collaboration, his move across the world to Louisiana, and what he hopes to bring to the Baton Rouge community.
DIG: I’m sure leaving Australia for Louisiana must be a bittersweet experience.
Eric Holowacz: Actually, I’m really looking forward to “coming home,” and reconnecting with America and the creative people, places, and organizations that have been missing from my life down under. So it’s mostly just sweet.
We’ve spent a combined eight years living in the Southern Hemisphere, and it’s a long way away from family and friends. Australia and New Zealand have been good to us, and there are unique and wonderful things about life on this side of the globe. But deep down, I miss the vibe, the ethos, the culture, the goodness of America too much.
DIG: After living outside of the U.S. for so long, why do you feel now is a good time to come back – outside of the appointment to the arts council?
EH: I’m excited about the move to Baton Rouge for several reasons. First, the Arts Council has such a strong sense of identity and mission, and there is no doubt in my mind that the organization is driven by a wonderful staff and board. Derek did an amazing job over the past six years, and his sense of profound community engagement through the arts is shared by everybody I’ve met. I’d like to be part of that continuum.
Second, the greater community and parishes have a robust and creative soul – a unique place as a distinct aspect of American identity. Working to support that sense of place is very appealing to me. On the ground and in the neighborhoods, Baton Rouge has one of the strongest community spirits that I’ve ever encountered – and that is an essential ingredient for a thriving arts organization. It’s what takes the Arts Council from good to great. And finally, as our daughters (Eva, Mila and Anais) grow up, and our parents (in South Carolina and New York) get older, my wife and I felt like we needed to reconnect with our roots and the sorely missed friends and family back home in the States. So at a very human level, I’m looking forward to getting back into the American groove and calling you my neighbor!
DIG: Your CV reads off one arts organization after another, and you’ve had such an impact on several important projects – i.e. Drive by Art, Cairns Festival and The Studios of Key West – what is it about this type of arts community work that has attracted you?
EH: This is a hard question to answer, but I’ll give it a go. I feel truly blessed to have been a part of the creative communities in South Carolina, Wellington, Key West, Australia, and (soon) Baton Rouge. Each of my previous leadership roles has been its own unique scenario, with diverse challenges, missions, partners, and resources. I got my start at the South Carolina Arts Commission and then moved on to the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. After that I spent six years directing the arts council in Beaufort, South Carolina, then five as the arts manager for New Zealand’s capital city. I had a three-year tenure as founding director of America’s newest artists colony, The Studios of Key West, followed by another three-year gig as producer and director of a diverse arts festival in the tropical Far North Queensland. Each setting has quite different from the others, but all have given me new experiences, distinct perspectives, creative connections and wonderful friends.
There are a few common threads, more like persistent questions, that run throughout my inter-continental career: how can we foster meaningful connections between artist and audience? What is the relationship between a person and his or her creative potential? How can communities and cities build sense of place through the arts? Why should they? What exactly is cultural identity? How do we define this thing we call culture?
Most of my work – whether planning a new arts center in Wellington or programming a 17-day festival at the top end of Australia – has been about answering those questions.
DIG: Derek Gordon left a significant impact in the Baton Rouge arts community. How do you hope to continue what he started?
EH: The short answer is: in every way possible. I am honored by the opportunity to follow in Derek’s footsteps and sustain the goodwill and creative platforms he engineered. My goal upon arrival is to keep his legacy intact, ensure a happy and productive team, invite new ideas and partnerships, and then use all of our combined magical powers to support local creative people and organizations in every way. The “Big Hairy Audacious Goal,” to borrow a rather humorous management term, is to leverage innovative ideas, great people, and the creative spark in south Louisiana to build America’s next great arts organization.
DIG: What do you see as weaknesses in the Baton Rouge arts community? And how do you hope to address those weaknesses?
EH: The usual weaknesses identified by the non-profit world have to do with diminished funding, audience attrition, governance and compliance, clarity of purpose and mission, staff development, and barriers to participation. These are some of the things – not really weaknesses but more like the prosaic requirements of organizational leadership – that keep most chief executives busy and on their toes.
I have a very Zen-like notion about the importance of real weaknesses. First, they are an active ingredient for learning and growing. And while I don’t usually advocate for failure, when it leads to an innovation or positive change, failing harder can actually help us overcome a stubborn weakness. Second, understanding our weaknesses can put us on the path of continuous improvement – and a process of adjustments that make ourselves better people and our communities better places.
The arts offer us unlimited opportunities to understand and address our problems, privately or communally. The creative process – a wondrous thing that resides deep within each and every person on earth – is there to help us meet the challenges of life head on, and emerge with new questions and bold solutions for humanity.
The moral of my story here is follow your Zen, don’t be afraid to fail, learn and adjust for the better, and when you run out of answers or explanations, the arts will give you new ones.
DIG: How do you hope to engage the general Baton Rouge community?
EH: I may have come up with some interesting projects in my life, but everything I’ve ever pioneered or successfully established has been a collaborative effort involving many wonderful people and contributors. The idea of Zen again comes into play in that I never try to force something to happen, and I usually don’t make any assumptions or mandates. Instead, I try to combine the right elements, engage others as mutual partners, respect the creative process, be as patient yet as sure as a monk, and then let the over-riding idea take us where it wants to go. I have learned that the archer doesn’t hit the bull’s eye: the arrow goes there, because we let it, and because the target is where it needs to be. Maybe that is the engagement metaphor I will bring to Baton Rouge.