Spring is in the air. The flowers are in bloom, Back Bay is rife with runners wearing only the bare essentials, and USM is overflowing with students anxiously awaiting that magic moment when term papers are done and finals behind them. For seniors completing their degrees, the wonders of imminent summer are overshadowed by questions common to anyone at the final leg of a long journey: What happens next? Is that perfect job out there, the one that provides not only monetary rewards, but a higher sense of satisfaction, a feeling of fulfillment beyond simply being able to pay the bills and afford beer, pizza and the occasional romantic getaway?
For students graduating in arts-related fields, some of those questions may seem arbitrary at best. While someone with a degree in nursing or education can begin looking for a job in their area of study immediately, holding a reasonable expectation that they will be able to find said job without too much trouble, students entering the arts generally recognize that they will not be supporting themselves in their chosen field anytime soon-if ever. Says Janice Gardiner, a South Portland resident currently acting with the American Irish Repertory Ensemble, “If you plan on [the arts] being your life, you have to accept that you’re also gonna work at Home Depot.”
With a floundering economy and high cost of living, it hasn’t been easy for anyone to make a go of it in the state of Maine in the past few years, but in many fields, things are looking up. A report recently compiled by the Maine Department of Labor titled “Trends and Implications for the Maine Workforce” projects that there will be an estimated 68,000+ new jobs by the year 2012. The majority of those jobs, however, are in service-related industries. Employment in arts-related fields in the state of Maine-including the performing arts, publishing, broadcast media and the motion picture industry-make up less than five percent of that number. While the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Maine Arts Commission recently compiled a report titled “The Creative Economy,” recommending “that Maine enhance the role of the arts and culture in tourism, strengthen the creative culture, and improve and expand educational programs,” it doesn’t seem-at least according to the Department of Labor’s projections-that this will necessarily come about in the immediate future.
So, what does that mean for the nearly one hundred 2005 USM graduates receiving degrees in the arts, who will be looking to establish themselves in their chosen mediums? For many, it means leaving a home they love in favor of a more auspicious professional environment. Traci Bozentka, about to receive her MFA in Creative Writing through USM, moved to Portland six years ago; now, she is forced to return to her native Pennsylvania, as supporting herself in Maine is simply not possible. Says Bozentka, “I think at this time of my life, if I want to have a house and be on my own [in Maine], the only feasible way would be to go on Maine Care, and waitress, and write when I have the time…A lot of people who have experience in bigger cities and big-name companies move here because they can afford to live here, and the jobs go to them, whereas the person who has been trying to earn a living here for the past six years has no chance.”
Dr. Kathryn Lasky, professor of media production at USM, notes that it isn’t simply a lack of opportunity that motivates graduates to leave Maine. “It’s only natural that students who have lived here all their lives want to spread their wings and try a new venue, a new way of life.” Lasky adds, “I’m always amazed how many filmmakers and screenwriters do live in Maine, simply because they can-with advances in information technology, they can choose where they want to work from.” With that in mind, it may simply be a matter of working a little bit harder to make ends meet, if one is determined to both remain in Maine and make it as an artist.
Mike Kimball, a bestselling novelist native to and currently residing in Maine notes, “Anyone anywhere who decides?s/he wants to earn a living in the arts must know that earning a living cannot be the reason?one takes that road.?I’ve always believed that, on average, if you do good work, you’ll be rewarded. But you must be as creative in marketing your work as you were in creating it. I’m not sure that geography plays that great a role here. I’ve seen talented, artistic?people go to NYC to pursue their dreams and have a more difficult time making their mark.”
For some, going that extra mile (or 20) to get by and still keep the 207 area code is worth the struggle. Singer/songwriter Jud Caswell worked a day job until last year, simultaneously building a business in his home recording studio, playing, recording, and selling CDs. Caswell insists, however, that he “never really considered doing this someplace else…I’ve always wanted to be seen as a Maine singer/songwriter, and to be representative of Maine ideals and a Maine way of looking at the world.”
As evidenced by the number and ferocity of responses to a recent article in the Portland Press Herald regarding Maine’s economy entitled “Where Will Maine Find Its Workers?”, there are no easy answers for those seeking a future in the state. In a letter from someone calling him/herself “Exiled Mainer of Asheville, NC,” the respondent says, “The best thing I ever did in my life was get out of Maine. Lack of opportunity is the main problem for young people, coupled with low wages, high living expenses and a tax rate that is now among the highest in the country.” That may seem a bit harsh, but the words are certainly not without merit. In “The Creative Economy in Maine,” the report compiled by the New England Foundation for the Arts and Maine Arts Commission, several recommendations are made to enhance the role of the arts in Maine, including making art and culture a more immediate presence in the tourism industry, and encouraging a more cooperative relationship between the arts and technology. If that does, in fact, come to pass, will there come a time when Maine is the destination for that hapless NYU film student looking to take the creative world by storm? Perhaps not… But it might just mean that a graduate from the USM Music Department doesn’t have to wait tables, tutor neighborhood kids, and play any gig that comes his way just to make rent in a one-bedroom apartment in Portland.
For a look at the complete report from the Maine Department of Labor, go to www.maine.gov/labor/workforce.pdf; a summary and the complete report on Maine’s
Creative Economy from the Maine Arts Commission can be found at www.mainearts.com.