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Vabren Watts
Thanks for joining this week’s Health Matters. I’m Vabren Watts.
00;00;12;27 – 00;00;13;19
Ryan Tanup
And I’m Ryan Tanup.
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Vabren Watts
You know the October issue of Health Matters focuses on injury and health. Part of the problem is that we’re including artwork to accompany some content from Art Enables, an art gallery, vocational arts program in Washington, D.C. Today’s Coaster’s Ryan Tanup writes in a lead column. He makes art possible and enjoyed talking to some of the resident artists and staff.
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Ryan Tanup
Yes, that’s right, Vabe and listeners are welcome to sign up for our Health Sunday Update newsletter, and I also wanted to direct you to social media, especially LinkedIn, where we’ll meet five artists from Art Enables. We buy their artwork and display a brief description on each one and the artwork we buy.
00;01;04;11 – 00;01;14;29
Ryan Tanup
So please check that. And to continue the conversation, we’re joined today by Tony Brunswick, CEO of Art Enables. Tony, thanks so much for joining us.
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Tony Brunswick
thank you. It’s an honor to be here. I appreciate the invitation.
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Ryan Tanup
Oh, absolutely. So if we can start, what is Art Enables, Tony?
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Tony Brunswick
Yes, I’m very happy to talk about that. So Art Enables is a professional art gallery and studio dedicated to promoting the work of artists with disabilities. We do this by providing a platform for artists to create, showcase and monetize their artwork.
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Vabren Watts
So, Tony, what kind of guidance does Art Enables give artists on how to determine artwork?
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Tony Brunswick
Yes, so we do work that supports many artists in the art, the creation phase of the artwork, the marketing phase and the exhibition and sales phase. And the price of artwork is difficult for any working, budding and professional artist. And so we sit down with the artist to talk about what the DC market brings to art and how artists can value and market their work.
00;02;21;00 – 00;02;34;18
Tony Brunswick
There’s a consistent pricing band that the studio typically works within, but we want to make sure we’re honoring the artists, the time they put into the work, and the work at a respectable price.
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Ryan Tanup
And just to follow up on that, can the artists have some input on that price? yes.
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Tony Brunswick
Yes, absolutely. You know, some artists prefer to let the studio handle that sales aspect. Then we meet other artists and they give us advice and opinions about what they think the work should be valued at. And so it’s a conversation in the studio with the artists about what the final price for any individual work is.
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Ryan Tanup
great. thank you. So before you write the article, you and I will read the 2017 NPR article that we talked about earlier. And in that article, when an artist joins Art Enables in DC’s Department of Disability Services, 70% of the cost is covered by a waiver program funded by Medicare and Medicaid. Is that still the case?
00;03;33;14 – 00;04;08;12
Tony Brunswick
Yes and no. No, since the outbreak, it has affected our programming, affecting the way we work with Medicaid and the way we work with the DC Department of Disability Services. Therefore, our revenue from providing free Medicaid services has generally decreased. It is also true that even before the outbreak, 70% covered 70% of our expenses. I would say, you know, the way the economy is right now, everything is costing more and more as an organization.
00;04;08;12 – 00;04;29;02
Tony Brunswick
Retaining people costs more. Even if we pay at the same level as before the pandemic or operate with Medicaid-free programs, it will cost more to run programs that will now be less than 70 percent. If we try to fund 100% of what we get through the Medicaid partnership,
00;04;29;02 – 00;04;52;10
Tony Brunswick
We need to make some serious changes as an organization to be able to work within Medicaid funding. Under our current program model, we do a lot of external fundraising and development work to offset the costs we think are necessary to support the career development of artists.
00;04;53;07 – 00;05;13;21
Ryan Tanup
So he mentioned that the pandemic has had a significant impact on funding for art enablers. And you know, that’s the case with organizations across the board. Are we excited to hear how Art Enables has closed the funding gap? Did you have to reach out to existing fan groups or, you know, find new, fresh funders?
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Tony Brunswick
So, you know, for a lot of people, when the pandemic hit, it was just such a hard blow. And it was especially hard for people working in Medicaid-supported programs. Once the pandemic hit, we lost about 95% of our Medicaid funding. So it was a very hard blow for us. But luckily, we were able to make up 100% of those losses through other sources of income, from individuals who started giving now, Art Enables is a non-profit organization.
00;05;46;20 – 00;06;17;23
Tony Brunswick
So there were many individuals who funded the organization. We found new foundations and public funders, state and federal funders that we were able to apply for grants. And at the federal level through PPP programs and state-based relief programs at the state level, we have utilized the emergency Covid relief funds as much as we could.
00;06;18;00 – 00;06;43;16
Tony Brunswick
So it’s a combination of all that and being super helpful and trying to get more money, we’ve been able to deal with the financial impact of Covid. So we’ve been able to fully support every single person that comes through our studio throughout the pandemic, which we’re really grateful for.
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Ryan Tanup
That’s fantastic. Is there anything else you think we should know about that we didn’t ask about today?
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Tony Brunswick
For listeners new to Art Enables, I invite you to check out our website. We have very talented artists working in our studio who have built an incredible following of collectors and art buyers. And his work really stands with his peers in the field of visual arts. Art Enables has been around for 21 years.
00;07;23;27 – 00;07;42;28
Tony Brunswick
Artists sold over a million and a half dollars worth of artwork and merchandise during that time. And it’s just, it’s a really fun program and it’s an incredible showcase of talent that people want to know about, and see, and experience and buy.
00;07;44;14 – 00;08;07;25
Vabren Watts
It’s wonderful. You know, the artwork is again on the subject of disability and health. Check out Ryan’s post with profiles and backgrounds of the artists, as well as links to some more art. And if you just look at the disability and health issue, even on the main cover, there is art from Art Enables.
00;08;08;08 – 00;08;27;16
Vabren Watts
You know, Tony, thanks so much for joining us this week on health. And thanks to our listeners for another episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell a friend, leave a review, or subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. Again, for health reasons, I’m Vabren Watts.
00;08;28;12 – 00;08;29;17
Ryan Tanup
And I’m Ryan Tanup.
00;08;29;28 – 00;08;45;13
Vabren Watts
bye.
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