The Honolulu Printmakers has taken its first steps towards adopting videotelephony as a means to maintain connections with our members and the larger print community. This technology — video conferencing using such platforms as Zoom, Google Meet, and others — is familiar to many but is new to some of us, including this writer, and is proving to be a critical tool for communication within and beyond our organization. Something of a pandemic cliche at this point, the videoconference nevertheless has great potential for community building for Honolulu Printmakers.
On April 25 we held our Annual Meeting via Google Meet. I’m happy to report that we actually had a record turn out, and attendees seemed genuinely grateful for even this remote connection to their community. The purpose of these annual meetings is to approve a new board of directors (see them here) as well as for the Treasurer and Executive Director to deliver their annual reports. Google Meet allowed us to get these routine business tasks accomplished, but also provided a much-needed human element and a modicum of fellowship, however mediated. By the way, if you missed the meeting, you can get in touch for a link to watch the archived video.
The current Board of Directors has adopted videoconferencing in order to continue the governance of the organization via monthly zoom meetings. The first such meeting was on May 6, and despite a few glitches, was genuinely productive. As time goes on I think this will prove to be an invaluable tool for accessibility and inclusivity, as well as productivity, as it allows board members to work more efficiently around busy schedules and stay connected while traveling or even living off-island.
Videoconferencing has also been a handy tool as we begin to develop online content for our members. I recently conducted two interviews with past jurors and visiting artists, and was able to record the discussions, then edit them and upload them to youtube (did you know we had a youtube channel?). You can watch my zoom interviews with Sonnenzimmer (Nadine Nakanishi & Nick Butcher, jurors in 2015) and Jeffrey Dell (2019) here and here; please go check them out, and hit “subscribe” to get updates on future uploads.
There’s quite a bit of interesting work being done online right now involving arts education, presentation, and organizing, with the goal of improved community engagement in these uncertain times. Would you be interested in attending printmaking discussions, demonstrations, or other programming and “events” via videoconferencing? Get in touch with your ideas, or leave them as a comment below.
Regards,
Duncan