The humanities — the way people use art, theater, philosophy, music and words to understand our world — are essential to a free society, Steve Seibert says. What's more, he adds, they're essential to a free market.
The new head of the Florida Humanities Council is more contemporary Renaissance humanist than hard-nosed 21st century capitalist. But he's also pragmatic, and he knows for agencies like FHC to survive, he, as the new executive director, has to make the case that humanities translate into dollars.
"I'm sort of a Lincoln guy," he says, gesturing. His office in the Peter Rudy Wallace Center for Teachers at USF St. Pete is decorated in Contemporary Lincoln — pictures of our 16th president adorn the walls, as does Lincoln ephemera. These are not the common images of Lincoln, but instead, splashed with color — and life.
It's not even two minutes into our conversation before he makes the connection between the humanities, the free market system and Abraham Lincoln.
"Lincoln talked about the never-ending test of a capability of a free people to govern themselves. That's what's at issue here," Seibert says. From there, he's off, in full teacher mode — but a good teacher. Makes sense; Seibert once taught land use law at Stetson. He's also been a two-term Pinellas county commissioner, secretary of community affairs under Jeb Bush, director of strategic visioning at the Collins Center in Tallahassee, chair of the Village Square (a nonprofit that encourages civil discourse) — and now back home as the executive director at FHC (he served on the board prior to his appointment). He sits on the board of Mosaic, which might give you pause, but he's also a founding circle member of The Centrist Project. He was a lawyer for developers building out the last of Pinellas, but the Sierra Club endorsed him — twice. He helped end the "water wars" that ultimately led to the creation of Tampa Bay Water. He has strong feelings about people who make fun of Florida.
Today — and for the foreseeable future — he's championing the humanities, defending them to people who may not make the connection that their financial success depends on the omnipresence of the arts. He believes stridently that the humanities influence our freedoms, our politics — and our economy.
"Leaders in business and technology have a strong foundation in the humanities," he says, then quotes from a speech he gives across the state: "Try to run a nation or a company, or a non-profit if you have no sense of history, no respect for cultural differences, no ability to talk across our divides, and no understanding of those deeper questions related to what we think and what we value. There are certain things that people need to know in order to be engaged and informed and be a good citizen. We were humanities-driven from the very beginning; we were a nation of ideas."
But let's go back. Raise your hand if you've heard of the Florida Humanities Council. If you didn't raise your hand, well, you're not alone. The FHC is pervasive, but not always visible. They help fund cultural events, museum exhibits, performances, poetry programs, walking tours — odds are, you've attended or been to something the FHC orchestrated in the past year.
So why don't more people know who they are?
"We've always been very quiet; we've let our partners shine, which is appropriate," he explains. "But my direction now … is 'No, no, you've got to stand up and make sure people understand why this is here and that we're a partner and that you support us through your tax dollars in the state and your federal tax dollars.' We're being more mindful of branding and marketing on the things we personally do."
FHC was in danger of losing funding last year but, as Seibert points out, the governor signed a budget with the council in it. His mission is to keep that funding — and build new revenue streams.
An example: Historically, FHC produced its own programs and underwrote them. That's not exactly sustainable now, so they're looking at partnerships.
"We can't have the reach if we don't have partners." For example, the programs to help teachers offer a better-rounded experience in the classroom — something they once did all on their own — will now partner with local universities.
Moving forward, FHC will pay more attention to how much impact it has on Florida and shun the "but we've always done it this way" mentality.
"We can run really wonderful programs, but if they have no long-term impact, then why should we do them? That's a hard conversation, because we… we've done the same things we've always done, and if you do it well and people like going, then you keep doing it," he says. "But how do you measure the impact?"
He gives the example of The Telling Project, which allowed veterans to tell their stories to an audience. The one in Orlando? He's not ashamed to say he cried.
"I was deeply moved by this project," he says. Nevertheless, it can't continue: Each one cost $40,000. Despite FHC's best marketing efforts, on average, only 50 people attended, with their highest-ever attendance falling at 70, or $571 per attendee.
By contrast, the Department of State asked FHC to run Poetry Out Loud, a National Endowment for the Arts-funded program founded by the California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia. It's one part poetry, one part theater and one part oration.
Twelve thousand Florida kids participated last year.
It's an odd thing to consider, the impact of the arts. How many people will see Bekky Beukes's debris at Blue Goose? Does that make her work any less important?
Of course not. But she isn't asking for state or federal funds. Seibert is. And, by extension, Florida is. He wants to show that what FHC does matters — not to only a few, but to many. And so he has must cull the best of the humanities from a large state and make his case that our economy — and our liberty — depends on it. And then he must elevate them.
While he would love people to join FHC and come to the programs, he says the biggest thing we can do is "be thoughtful about the role the humanities play. Be thoughtful and honest about recognizing that they're part of our lives. Ideas matter. Books matter. Culture matters. History matters. All of those things, it's what gives meaning to our lives. Recognize it."
"The art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye — is the great invention of the world." —Abraham Lincoln
Contact Cathy Salustri here.
Hear more on the Creative Loafing Alternative Podcast — The Clap:
This article appears in Aug 17-24, 2017.