We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Gillett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Alright, Mary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I’d like to be remembered for leaving the world in a better place and when I could help, I did. In particular, I strive to offer a hand to those who cross through my life and extend them the welcome, the support, and the encouragement others passed on to me when I was younger.. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before and have a responsibility to pay it forward for those who will follow. So, yes, I would like to be remembered for one who supported and mentored and helped those that follow me succeed.

Looking more specifically at my career and my sector, I am just now retiring from my career as an arts administrator – most recently as the executive director for the Northwest Michigan Arts and Culture Network. The Network was a grassroots effort to connect the dots among the artists, culture bearers, arts and cultural organizations, and the creative community projects throughout the ten primarily rural counties of Northwest Michigan. We move our mission forward with backbone services to connect, build capacity and advocate. My hope is we are building a legacy that values what the arts bring to our communities and quality of life, and by valuing the creative sector, our communities invest, engage, support and protect the arts for generations to come..

Mary , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been involved with the arts for my entire life in many capacities – as a creative as well as a volunteer, an arts administrator, an advocate and a community builder. In all cases, I love putting the pieces and people together to create something new. Whether that was choreography, performing, writing, programming, or collaborating on projects large or small, my greatest joy came from creating a vision and bringing it to life – from inspiration through implementation – with all the crazy details, scads of personalities and talents, cascading deadlines, and the roller coaster of highs, lows, and exhilaration as the pieces fall into place and the “magic” happens.

At its core, it’s basically creative vision, project management, and a boatload of relationship building. Regardless of scale, scope or inspiration, the building blocks to shape an idea, a story, or an art form requires the synergy from connecting many forces and many people.

What I am most proud of in recent years was creating the Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network from the grassroots with a core group of artists, culture bearers and arts administrators who believed in collective impact and the power that could come from working together to strengthen the ecosystem that supported arts and culture – individually and collectively – so all could succeed. Added to the mix was our predominantly rural region that stretched across 10 counties with well over 100 arts organizations and many, many creatives of many disciplines. What began with a flipchart, a stack of sticky notes and thoughtful conversations on challenges and ideas, today serves more that 85 organizations and hundreds of creatives with services to connect, build capacity and advocate.

What does that mean? What problems are we solving? In northern Michigan, we have a beautiful environment that nourishes the soul and nurtures creativity. It is home to many artists, culture bearers, and organizations. Yet, the economics are tough, the communities are small and rural geography spans 10 counties and many hundreds of miles. It’s easy to be disconnected from each other, from funding, supporters, resources, and even neighbors in our own communities. There were so many silos and so many shared challenges. We came together to create the Network to connect the dots – community to community, individuals to organizations, within and across disciplines, and with cross-sector champions. Connecting creatives with each other built relationships to collaborate on projects, find new ways to do more or open up new opportunities that support each other creatively and financially. Connecting with business and community champions helps open doors for other support, training, audiences, and funding. With a collective impact approach, we can be stronger together – and collectively can the environment where each can be stronger individually as well.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I think our greatest resources are the connections we have with others – because we can tap into knowledge, opportunities, support and new relationships that no one person or organization can do alone. When I was younger, I thought I had to do it all alone – to achieve, to work, to learn, to create – and if I didn’t, I was a failure. I was wrong. It’s a sign of strength to reach out, ask questions and be open to possibility, new perceptions and partnerships. Also, we grow stronger when we give back – as your journey continues, be the person, the mentor, the partner that others can reach out to. Again, great opportunities may arise from being open and taking the question. Some of my greatest projects and pursuits came from unlikely sources.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Authenticity, availability, reliability, respect. So much of my work is rooted in relationship building and that was internally with those who were part of the creative sector as well as externally to build community champions and public support. Relationship building is a long game. Meeting people where they are and building trust is key. Continually investing into those relationships, business development, and all interactions from a servant leadership approach, with consistent reliability and trustworthiness builds reputation. And – especially during these times – showing and sharing respect to stakeholders, supporters, communities and competitors is an attribute that can’t be undervalued.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sparksandstarts.com (*Note – this site is a under reconstruction, due December 2024) Network website: www.nwmiarts.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbgillett/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.b.gillett.9
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marygillett/
• Other: Just joined Bluesky – mbgillett.bsky.social