The ArtsBeat blog, home since 2007 to our bite-sized coverage of art, theater, literature, classical music and film, has reached the end of its road. From now on, updated and improved bloggy coverage of the arts from Buffalo News critics Jeff Simon, Mary Kunz Goldman and Jeff Miers, along with arts writer Colin Dabkowski and literary blogger R.D. Pohl, can be found on the new Gusto blog. Thanks for being loyal readers of ArtsBeat, and please join us over at the Gusto blog for a new series of regular features and updates on the local arts and cultural scene.
New York State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt. Buffalo News file photo / Derek Gee.
Much more to come on Erie County Executive Chris Collins' decision last week to slash funding for all but 10 local cultural groups. But I wanted to post some comments made today by Assemblyman Sam Hoyt at a press conference protesting yet more funding cuts (this time from the New York State Council on the Arts) to local arts education groups. Here's what Hoyt had to say (audio of Hoyt's comments is also posted above):
As a state assembly member who represents a good portion of the city of Buffalo, I can say that it appears to be an assault on the city. I did an inventory of those organizations whose funding was cut and I’d say about 95 percent of the organizations who received funding cuts were in the city of Buffalo. I hope that the mayor of Buffalo and that the county legislators who represent the City of Buffalo will stand up and express their outrage as well. Again, there isn’t a person in this room who doesn’t acknowledge that during tough times, we all have to tighten our belts. As we said about the main topic of this discussion today, when New York City is receiving virtually 100 percent funding and the City of Buffalo is receiving a 69 percent cut, that’s unacceptable.
Secondly, on top of that, the dramatic, draconian cuts that Mr. Collins has proposed for these arts organizations is the most short-sighted thing I’ve seen from this county executive, and there’s been a lot since he became county executive. Why? Because we’ve watched, over the years, our city struggle. We’ve watched the manufacturing base leave, we’ve watched our economy in a downward spiral. We’ve watched the population flee this city. And one of the most consistent and steady and stable, positive forces in the City of Buffalo is its extraordinary arts and cultural environment. It’s not just recognized here in this room; it’s not just recognized in New York State. It’s recognized nationally and internationally.
That a city of our size can have the incredible inventory and collection of magnificent arts and cultural organizations, large and small, large and small, is really something that we need to embrace, celebrate, promote and invest in. And to divest now, as has been done at the county level and at the state level through these arts in education programs, is at the very least short-sighted, at worst disastrous. Because we’re recognized as an extraordinary center of a healthy and vibrant and prospering arts and cultural community. And to strip that away, which is what you do when you cut the funding? The age old question of, 'Whoever the last one out is, please turn out the lights,' will be answered.
This morning on WECK 1230, Loraine O'Donnell interviewed a number of people on the Western New York cultural scene about Erie County Executive Chris Collins' recent decision to cut funding for 33 local cultural groups (including myself).
As I wrote in my column in today's Spotlight section, a select group of local cultural organizations have banded together to form a broad new advocacy group.
The Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance, cast by its creators as a grassroots effort to get more people to acknowledge and invest in the arts, will direct its efforts both at local perceptions about the arts and culture and at sources of public funding and policy.
The organizers of the GBCA made no secret of their intent to enlist all of Western New York's non-profit cultural groups in their ambitious attempt to weave the arts more deeply into the identity of the Buffalo Niagara region. But at this point, specifics are obviously lacking.
So what's your take on this new group? Is it an exercise in futility to try to wring more attention and dollars out of a state government already facing massive deficits? Does it even make sense to treat the arts in the same way as manufacturing, or, say, tourism? How should the GBCA get started on its momentous task?
In this week's issue of The New Yorker, music critic Alex Ross takes stock of the decline in the public appetite for classical music in America. In his column (unavailable online for non-subscribers), Ross cites a recent study released by the National Endowment for the Arts, a problematic document which I wrote about last month. The study shows, rather unsurprisingly, that audiences for classical music are in the midst of a protracted dive that, for a host of reasons, classical music institutions have not been able to stall or reverse.
Ross, not unlike like the orchestras, string quartets and opera companies he covers, seems to be looking high and low for any approach that might usher a new and younger generation of musical thrill-seekers into the art form's fold. He urged organizations to find "a deeper transformation," asking what ought to be the key question among arts groups of any kind as they search for a way to sustain themselves in the future: "There's a growing feeling in the classical business that the customary way of presenting music must evolve if new devotees are to join the ranks. But how? Can you refresh the ritual while remaining true to the music?"
The beleaguered Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County, which was thrown into a period of uncertainty after the departure of Executive Director Celeste Lawson earlier this month, is intent on getting back in the game immediately.
Board member Daryl Rasuli, who has effectively become the organization's spokesman in the wake of Lawson's firing, e-mailed today an infomercial-esque recruitment pitch for future Arts Council board members, which follows below:
Have you been just sitting around watching the TV and really wanting to do something meaningful in your life?
Now is your chance. The Arts Council of Buffalo and Erie County is embarking on its vision to regain its position as a protector and provider for the cultural arts community. It’s expanding its board. If you have a passion for protecting and developing the cultural fabric of the community and can commit some time and expertise to re- building this important art institution please call 856-7520 or email a brief bio/vita/resume to Info@artscouncilbuffalo.org.
There you have it. Proof positive that the Arts Council is not yet quite beyond saving. The powers that be at the AC, such as they are, at least recognize that a wholesale reorganization of its long-weakened board is necessary before any private or public source will even entertain the idea of tossing money the Arts Council's way. Even with that realization, it's going to be a steep climb for the organization to return to relevancy and, one hopes, genuine effectiveness as an multi-functional advocacy group.
Anyone under 40 who works or is interested in working in the arts sector is invited to the launch of Buffalo's chapter of "Emerging Leaders in the Arts" at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The event, organized by Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County's Lauren Albrecht, aims to create a local community of current and aspiring arts professionals.
The event, which takes place at Sample Restaurant in Allentown, will be facilitated by Kimberly Billoni, the chief executive of SPLiCE, a product licensing company.
The text of a release about the event follows after the jump.
I've been doing a little reasearch for a forthcoming piece about downtown Buffalo's architectural treasures and came across this beautifully shot preview for a documentary about Louis Sullivan, one of the most important architects in American history. Sullivan, as many know, designed Buffalo's Guaranty Building (or Prudential Building), widely considered a seminal piece of American architecture and an important prototype for the skyscrapers we know today.
The documentary, called "Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture," according to the YouTube description, is slated for late 2010. Check out the preview:
Federal and state regulators (who are not really the people you want offering up proposals for pieces of architecture), have released five possible designs for Buffalo's fabled "signature bridge."
What's your take? And if you had to pick one, which would it be?
This has been available for a couple of weeks now, but I want to post up the page of Erie County's proposed 2010 budget that outlines funding recommendations for arts and cultural groups. In all, the county has allocated $5,066,500 to 43 arts and culturals.
Check out the recommendations in a PDF below, or download it here.
