Thursday, February 16, 2006

community

i'll be honest..when i hear the word "community", it makes me cringe. maybe it is the forced community service i had to endure (in school, not prison), where teaching children "wasn't community" enough? or the idea that community somehow has to be connected to underpriveleged? ok, enough of that rant.

the point is that obviously all community is not bad, and this made me think about it a little more:

"Yet, not everyone buys into the lifestyle of the urban nomad. Many people I've known here in Eugene came here and stayed here precisely because they reject the values of the urban nomad life. People who have historically had a deep connection with a place resist leaving no matter how tempting the offer is at the other end of the phone. By virtue of their commitment to their place and their community, they are the bone and sinew of community life....
Local culture, as an expression of the community's authentic voice should tantalize people with the flavor of the place. It should epitomize local life aware of itself. It should celebrate and chronicle in tangible and vivid ways a community's journey towards its communal vision.
To accomplish that celebration, local culture relies upon artists and companies within the community. And those artists have a responsibility to create works that serve the community's need to hear its own stories told and to sing its own songs."
Neill Archer Roan

Artist responsbility? not so sure. i'm a believer that artists do what they do because they love it. if it helps other people, that's good, but certainly not necessary.

Then, I read this and thought about a presenter's responsibility to engender a cohesion amung artists and community:

"I'd now like to speak to something nearest and dearest to my heart-the role of cultural institutions in reinventing local culture. First and foremost, I believe that places like the Hult Center must reinvent themselves. They are not vending machines of arts and entertainment. They are not palaces of the elite. They are not music, dance, and theater factories. What they are-what we all should be- is cultural animators. Our role is the animation of the cultural, and arguably, spiritual, landscapes of our communities."
Neill Archer Roan

maybe there is more to that?
having worked for both "factories" and "cultural animators", i can tell you which i prefer being a part of.

then i read this news about the danspace project at dance insider. raising artist fees and commissioning fees is certainly one way to make artists happy in their community and about what they do.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

podcasts

maybe podcasts are the future of audience engagement? they sound a bit too much like audio museum tours, which i can't really take. i much prefer a lecture/dialogue, but that's just me.
here is bill t.'s on blindate. he can sure talk the talk.
also, see this podcast post