Richard Florida - 2000
Originally uploaded by fixbuffalo.
During the campaign for mayor, Cedric Glover was fond of quoting the lessons derived from Richard Florida's book, the Rise of the Creative Class. Basically, Florida points out that the young physicians and architects of our world don't want to live in a boring city.
Part one of a Floridian solution has been delivered. Shreveport is going to be a lot more politically interesting with a young black mayor.
Part two: a small group of artists who volunteered for the task at the recent Arts Congress (Nov 3, LSUS) are ready to lobby for policies and budget commitments that enhance the city's artistic growth.
One idea that won favor at the congress: the city will be encouraged to join with arts organizations in producing a street fair. People at the congress were nostalgic for something that emulated SRAC's Neon Saturday Nights. A downtown street fair with responsibilities shared between arts organizations might be helpful in bringing factions a bit closer together across this racially-hampered community.
The implicit message to the world upon the election of Glover is that we are a city ready for change. The art producer class has never had such a good opportunity to trumpet the local imagination.
I say let's make the inauguration of Glover an artistic statement. What would you like to see at the ceremony that would tell the world that Shreveport is an arts center?
3 comments:
Please, no more downtown neon funky friday/saturday night events...bury that dead horse & buy a new one for God's sake!
Let's work on a REAL arts event - one that is hosted by the arts community, not the local arts beaurocracy funded by the government. We can do this ourselves, you know...we've got the insight, the talent, and the willingness to turn downtown Shreveport into a REAL arts center, not a City Hall/DDA-manipulated money pit.
I know that Cedric will support our efforts & do all he can for us, but he believes in the entreprenurial spirit - not dependency on government handouts. Amen, Cedric! Let's show him what we want to do, and then LET'S DO IT!
Neon Saturday Night - great idea, wrong location, tried to cover too much ground and consequently lost focus and appeal.
And I gotta ask, as a very remote outsider, how much of that describes the local "art community"?
Maybe it's all the pushin' and shovin' at the "manipulated money pit". Hey, free SRAC money probably beats none, but is that what "art" is, or has become, all about?
Layered on that is the relentless clique-ish-ness of said "community"
which in itself seems pretty fractured along clannish lines.
From where I sit (admittedly at a distance) these two thing conspire to allow the "art bureaucracy" to (inadvertently?) exploit both those who produce fine art, and those who can, or potentially can, consume it in one form or another.
Ultimately, RT's noble (and very likely do-able) vision of a role and power for art in Shrevie will be nigh impossible to obtain until a fundemental shift in these conditions occurs.
Lastly, such discourse as on this particular topic has been absent from this otherwise superb blog for way, way too long.
Anon, I agree and thank you for your kind words. Noma and Debbie, thank you for your strong opinions, too.
Please stand by for more dicing as I report my notes from the Arts Congress.
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