I have known Joseph Benesh for sometime know, but this was the first year I had the opportunity to working shoulder to shoulder with him, on an event that carries much Arizona on its blood.
And that is how the interview started:
The 40th Annual Governor Arts Awards, had to go virtual (Hybrid) this year and I was invited to be a volunteer and part of the event’s advisory committee. Well, this time due to the pandemic, the small but mighty committee included local stars within the world of arts, and it was a true honor to work with the likes of:
- Patsy Lowry, Artist and Fashion Designer
- Ruby Farias, Fashion Designer, owner of Ruby Farias Designs
- Catrina Khaler, Publisher of the Downtown Phoenix Journal, owner of Urban Affair Marketing and part of the board of Artlink.
If you want to see this 1:11:49 LIVE Broadcast imagined, produced and organized by a ONE MAN show, by the name Joseph Benesh, I urge you to see the Broadcast;
The Awards bring the world of arts in Arizona together and this slide with the statistics will give you an idea of the importance of supporting the event;
As we all know, and I wanted to make sure the audience understood, The Arizona Citizens for the Arts Non-Profit Organization, to which Joseph Benesh is the Executive Director of has the solely mission of being the Lobbying & Advocacy institution in front of Arizona legislators for the world Arizona world of arts (artists, institutions, programs and foundations), with a budget of $2M dollars annually.
So, good part of our conversation was about the importance of understanding that the world of arts needs advocates to speak to legislators, so budgets fund the world of arts and artists, much more during the current pandemic times.
Now, your help is appreciated.
You can contact your legislator (click here to find your legislator) in the next few days to express your support and for them to vote, yes! on increasing the annual arts budget. The annual event Arts Congress that took place this year virtually was the annual way to find support, exchange ideas and create momentum. Check this fact sheet and stats.
Click here.
A graduated actor with several years of acting in his portfolio, he decided to use this talents to be part fo the administration side of the arts, but not leaving behind his talents and love to the arts.
Someone who truly value the world of arts, is an advocate and believe the power of arts as an expression of our emotions, left us with a “tip” of how to lobby your “pitch” when you are in a crowd and in front of a group of people;
- ” Lobbying is a one, two punch” – “First data, no matter who you are talking to”,… “Another data is to say that Arizona is 46th, and we do not want to be on that number.”
- “The second one, a personal story, the kid that goes to art classes after school, etc”.
We talked about a new way to talk to the community and build a way for all to understand the incredible challenge that is the world of arts in front of politics. AZ Uncensored, is a great podcast that dives into the details of that needed parallel that ought to intersect. Just for the good of the artists.
We even had a chance to talk about his relationship with his grand-dad, and the VW Volkswagen bus he gave him, and one that he re-furbished all on his own and one that still runs!
A conversation with someone so in-tune with the world of arts that is very sui-generis to find in our Sonoran landscape. An entire state, that is number 46th in the nation for funding (once again, call your legislators) has a face and a name.
We want to thank Jospeh Benesh for his hard work in the arts and for the arts, and look forward to checking with him in the future the results of the annual budget and where those moneys will be allocated.
In the meantime, we will continue to thrive, so we can make things happen in Arizona and for Arizonans.
if you want to see the entire conversation and understand the incredible valuable work done by Joseph Benesh and his team, I urge you to see the entire show;
Stay tuned for some changes in schedule for April and May.
Thank you for your support, your subscription, for all your messages and emails. This is a window for all of us, so please, talk about it, share it, ask others to subscribe, and if you have a suggestion of a person or an institution that deserves a one hour conversation, because of what they do for the community, please, let me know.
I am very grateful that I have created a window for us to keep ourselves up to date, and connected.
Always in style,
Oscar~
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