So last weekend I went to two meetings about making the city better. On Saturday, I attended part of the 5th Annual Neighborhood Summit downtown at the Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community. This was organized by The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. I was not able to be there for the entire program but did attend a workshop on "Creative Spaces: Arts in Community." Monica Campana from Living Walls was scheduled to present in that workshop but wasn't able to attend. That was too bad because there was a lot of interest in Living Walls among the attendees, and in her absence the moderator, Eddie Granderson from the City's Public Art Program, ended up trying to answer them as best he could (more about that later). The speakers who did make it were Ruth Bracewell from the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center and David Burt from the Hapeville Arts Alliance.
Ms. Bracewell described an amazing array of programming and other activities that the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center provides in Madison, Georgia. The Center has staff and a budget and although I am sure that money is always short and volunteers with a passion for the arts and for the community help fill the gaps, the Center is part of the city's cultural landscape and presumably has been for some time.
Mr. Burt, on the other hand, told us about how he and two other people started the Hapeville Arts Alliance from nothing. It was a great story about how people who care can make the most of the resources that are available and create something really valuable for their community. Hapeville now has the Norton Arts Center, with gallery space and studio space for artists, and the Alliance recently hosted a very successful Arts Walk. It was really impressive what a small group of passionate volunteers have been able to do.
When the discussion opened for questions and answers, there were a couple questions for Ms. Bracewell and Mr. Burt, but at least half of the question the audience had were about Living Walls, and they asked them, even though Ms. Campana wasn't there. The first questions were from people with concerns -- what is the process for getting approval? How are neighborhoods involved? Mr. Granderson answered those in a very evenhanded way, acknowledging the challenges last year and the lack of clarity in the past about what the City's requirements were, but there were still more questions. A woman from the Pittsburgh neighborhood said that the neighborhood had been treated with disrespect by Living Walls, that there was no need to bring in artists from other countries, that her grandson was an artist.
But they were not the only people who had come to learn more about Living Walls. There were people who were interested in having Living Walls bring art to their neighborhoods, there were people who wanted to know how to volunteer (I raised my hand to answer that question, when Mr. Granderson could not), and some skepticism that the City actually had the authority to keep private property owners from putting murals of their choosing on their buildings. (Mr. Granderson was very careful about his choice of words in answering this question, but I do wonder if the City's requirements would stand up to a serious court challenge.)
The next day I attended part of the colab summit at Woodruff Arts Center. The highlight of the day was Susan Booth's talk on how the arts aren't just an extra thing, an ornament, something for when company is in town, but if an integral part of the life of city can make the city and its people better. It was one of the best talks I ever heard. Ms. Booth made the case that we need to see the arts as something that is not a separate thing but something that is important to our city and its future. Serious engagement with the arts builds empathy and the ability to see multiple points of view ("multiple truths," as Ms. Booth put it) and makes us better people and better citizens.
Ms. Bracewell described an amazing array of programming and other activities that the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center provides in Madison, Georgia. The Center has staff and a budget and although I am sure that money is always short and volunteers with a passion for the arts and for the community help fill the gaps, the Center is part of the city's cultural landscape and presumably has been for some time.
Mr. Burt, on the other hand, told us about how he and two other people started the Hapeville Arts Alliance from nothing. It was a great story about how people who care can make the most of the resources that are available and create something really valuable for their community. Hapeville now has the Norton Arts Center, with gallery space and studio space for artists, and the Alliance recently hosted a very successful Arts Walk. It was really impressive what a small group of passionate volunteers have been able to do.
When the discussion opened for questions and answers, there were a couple questions for Ms. Bracewell and Mr. Burt, but at least half of the question the audience had were about Living Walls, and they asked them, even though Ms. Campana wasn't there. The first questions were from people with concerns -- what is the process for getting approval? How are neighborhoods involved? Mr. Granderson answered those in a very evenhanded way, acknowledging the challenges last year and the lack of clarity in the past about what the City's requirements were, but there were still more questions. A woman from the Pittsburgh neighborhood said that the neighborhood had been treated with disrespect by Living Walls, that there was no need to bring in artists from other countries, that her grandson was an artist.
But they were not the only people who had come to learn more about Living Walls. There were people who were interested in having Living Walls bring art to their neighborhoods, there were people who wanted to know how to volunteer (I raised my hand to answer that question, when Mr. Granderson could not), and some skepticism that the City actually had the authority to keep private property owners from putting murals of their choosing on their buildings. (Mr. Granderson was very careful about his choice of words in answering this question, but I do wonder if the City's requirements would stand up to a serious court challenge.)
The next day I attended part of the colab summit at Woodruff Arts Center. The highlight of the day was Susan Booth's talk on how the arts aren't just an extra thing, an ornament, something for when company is in town, but if an integral part of the life of city can make the city and its people better. It was one of the best talks I ever heard. Ms. Booth made the case that we need to see the arts as something that is not a separate thing but something that is important to our city and its future. Serious engagement with the arts builds empathy and the ability to see multiple points of view ("multiple truths," as Ms. Booth put it) and makes us better people and better citizens.
Imagine a city informed by the twin tenets of emotional empathy and comfort with multiple truths. Imagine a town square where dialogue replaces rhetoric, where compassion displaces rush to judgment, where because we exercise the well-honed skill of holding multiple truths, we are able to sit with people whose voice, values, and lives are different than our own. We are able to lean in and listen and talk *with* the other, not just *about* the other.Do your civic duty and make the city a better place. Grab a friend and go to a performance. Art on the Beltline is in full swing, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra season has started. Go on an urban treasure hunt to find Living Walls' murals. Check out what's happening at your favorite theater. Go somewhere you've never been. Do something.
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1 comment:
So glad to know about your blog with its insightful observations and informed suggestions. I certainly agree with your reaction to Susan Booth's energized and intelligent remarks about the intrinsic value of theater and the arts! Thanks, Linda
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