Kentucky-born Nancy Haragan grew up with art as a family value, but she opted initially for a career in insurance, marketing and lobbying. Before coming to Baltimore, she worked for CSX Corp., USF&G and the American Insurance Association. She debuted here as associate director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association and served on the board of the Baltimore City Fair and on the staff of what is now the Greater Baltimore Committee.
In 2001 Haragan was appointed executive director of the newly formed Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. The organization, now an association of some 95 Baltimore-area artists and coalitions, serves as a convener, a resource and an advocate for the local arts and cultural heritage community. It publishes RadarRedux.net and BaltimoreFunGuide.com and administers the Maryland Cultural Data Project.
What’s your reaction to the bankruptcy filing of the Baltimore Opera Company? Did you foresee this?
Rumors have been swirling for years about the company, but I don’t think anyone expected it to end as abruptly as it did. It’s a terrible development for all the opera lovers we have in Baltimore, but I think it will come back. What I think will happen is that the next iteration of the Baltimore Opera Company will be smaller and be set up in a way to prevent overspending.
What brought about your transition from corporate to cultural work?
I’m an accidental arts administrator. I have broad interests — in politics, policy issues and other aspects of civics — but never thought of the arts as a place to earn a living. I got involved in the arts through artist friends, in 1997, who believed that Baltimore’s cultural community would be stronger operating together than in separate silos. When it became clear that this community supported coordinated, cohesive action, I asked to be hired for the job [at GBCA]. That’s what I’ve been doing, with the support of our members, for the last seven-and-a-half years.
How has GBCA improved Baltimore’s cultural scene?
We’ve created a collective Web-based calendar with distributive content whereby members, by entering information into a central content management node, can have their events displayed on every regional online calendar. We also, with the support of the Maryland State Arts Council, brought the Maryland Cultural Data Project to the state. Here, cultural organizations can create a financial and data profile of their organization and apply to eight different funders at once. We also do market research work and development analyses on behalf of midsize member organizations.
Why are the arts important to a community life?
In many ways, the arts are an expression of our ultimate humanity. They allow you to step back and reflect on the meaning of life. And in the best cities, like Baltimore, with its parks, museums, galleries and other offerings, there is that cultural richness that keeps one in touch with this meaning and one’s emotions — things that are less ephemeral than just getting out of bed and going to work.
How does Baltimore stack up with other cities culturally?
I think Baltimore’s cultural scene, in terms of intimacy and accessibility, ranks No. 1 in the country. However, in terms of broad level of support, I think we need more work.
If you could wish into existence one thing cultural for the city, what would it be?
That all the young artists who have taken a leap of faith in our city have their efforts rewarded over the next few years.
