Longtime readers of Shunpike Notes know that, in addition to writing this column, I also serve as the Programs Coordinator for the Shunpike Arts Collective, which, among other things, publishes Rivet. The Shunpike adds value to individual artists by tapping into their collective spirit. In doing so, we’ve become something uniquely American: an uneasy hybrid of individual will and shared resolve. We seek to empower the individual, and we need the group to do it. It’s a very Jeffersonian ideal, full of possibility yet fraught with inevitable contradiction.

As election fever grips America, I have become nostalgic for a certain U.S. president whose ideas dominated the political landscape during the 1990s. Bill Clinton enjoyed so much success during his presidency not solely because of a booming economy but because he spoke passionately about something called the “Third Way.”

The Third Way resurfaced within the Democratic Party as it shook off the Dean catharsis and got serious about taking over the White House. One of its basic tenets, Clinton said, was to reward people who “work hard and play by the rules.” The Third Way, in effect, seeks to find a middle ground for the government, somewhere between individual responsibility and collective assistance. It was so effective that his successor, George W. Bush, offered his own spin on the Third Way: Does anyone remember “compassionate conservatism”?

I helped to found the Shunpike with one main goal: helping artists help themselves. In a lot of ways, the Shunpike is trying to be a Third Way of its own. We’re neither a company of artists nor a granting organization. We’re somewhere in the middle: an arts incubator or venture capitalist, working to help individual artists reach new artistic heights and new audiences, so that the entire community benefits. Moreover, we tap into the collective brainpower of an ever-expanding artist network to further the development of each individual.

America will never have the state-funded arts institutions that Europe and Canada have. For better or for worse, it’s not our style. This is the land of the entrepreneur, where untold riches await those who show initiative. Rewarding initiative, then, is a core American value. Americans believe in the power of the individual as emboldened by the community. Like Hillary says, “It takes a village.”

This is precisely where the Shunpike wants to be. For example, we’re negotiating with several small theater troupes here in Seattle, working to bring them under our umbrella as a fiscal sponsor, so we can guide and develop their work. We don’t seek to run the show or make the decisions on their behalf; rather, we expect them to show initiative and couple it with our knowledge base and resources. Rivet is a similar situation. Though we’re responsible for the overall health and well-being of the magazine’s distribution and finances, the most you’ll see of Shunpike’s editorial voice is right here on the back page. It’s a tenuous dynamic, where we lead from behind, so to speak. Fortunately, we’ve gotten good enough at it that 4Culture (formerly the King County Arts Commission) named the Shunpike a Designated Civic Partner for 2004.

A friend of mine interested in economics recently spent some time poring over Bill Clinton and Tony Blair’s speeches from the 1990s, seeking to discover what the Third Way really was at its core. But the definition has proved elusive. You see, the Third Way is kind of like Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ description of pornography: “I can’t define it, but I’ll know it when I see it.”

The Shunpike’s role can be equally elusive. In the end, though, it’s the most effective way to add value to the arts in our community. Giving someone a handout is helpful from time to time, but it’s no way to ensure success. So we’re going to work to create new opportunities for artists using our collective firepower but always putting the individual artist in the spotlight.

In the end, the Shunpike’s elusiveness allows us to occupy the vital center, where Clinton shot to fame and where all great ideas lie. The center gets a bum rap, but it shouldn’t. It’s actually a very dangerous place to stand. Because every time the fringes move, the center shifts twice as much. Which makes it that much harder to keep your balance.