State of the arts.(The Arts & Entertainment)

Byline: T.D. Mobley-Martinez TRIBUNE REPORTER

Local supporters revisit accomplishments of thepast seven years and seek feedback on our cultural plan

The fold-out table was neatly stacked with the work of seven years: the Albuquerque Arts Alliance's month-old artist and venue directory; a new report on the economic impact of the arts on Albuquerque; and the Albuquerque Cultural Plan, the culmination of public meetings, questionnaires and surveys.

Last Saturday was the plan's premiere public review.

Some of the 30-odd attendees at the South Broadway Cultural Center had seen the plan. Many had not. All seemed interested in just how it would benefit them or their organization.

Alex Traube, executive director of New Mexico Culture Net, a Santa Fe-based Web site, had seen the plan. His trip to Albuquerque on Saturday was to take the temperature of the community.

"I wanted to get a sense of what people were feeling about initiatives like this," Traube said. "What people are feeling in large part directs how we are trying to function, in Culture Net's effort to support the Albuquerque Arts Alliance and New Mexico Arts.

"They're really the leaders," he said, "and we have huge respect for what they're doing."

How can it help me? wondered Shira Greenberg, founder and director of Keshet Dance Company, a local group that teaches dance to low-income children.

"We're looking to really grow, but you can't do that by yourself in a city that is just growing in the arts," Greenberg said of the city's nascent commitment to arts. "I do see the worth of the program, but I'm not exactly sure how to use it."

Michael Herrmann, who owns Albuquerque's IAC Contemporary Art and also attended the meeting, supported the intent of the plan, but questioned its real-world usefulness.

"This is more political fluff," he said of his first look at the plan, which was released in 1995. "It just didn't have any meat to it.

"I think the plan functions as a real goal for the city in a political sense, in a recognition of the value of the arts," Herrmann said. "I think …