A Midwesterner Returns to Her (Disappearing) Roots
Due to a link on the UnConvention homepage, this blog had a 300% increase in visitors yesterday. Thanks, UnConvention! While I have your attention, let me ask for your help:
From September 24 through October 8, I will be visiting cities in the Midwest (Wichita, Kansas City, Des Moines, Rochester, Twin Cities, St. Croix Falls, Sioux Falls, Omaha) in search of visual artists and writers who live and work there. I’ll be bringing my podcast gear and scouting for interviews to post on this blog.
The goal is to highlight the work of some talented artists, and to collect stories about the opportunities and challenges of working artists in “little cities” (outside the top 20 metropolitan areas). Yes, I realize the Twin Cities are #16. I am also traveling to places I lived and reconnecting with my artistic roots—the Pillsbury House, Masque Youth Theatre, the …
…well. As I am writing this, I thought I would link to the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse, but I see it closed in 2002. And the Jeune Lune, where I had my first professional audition, closed this summer.
Philanthropy is changing, demographics are changing, economics are changing. What does this mean for artists in little cities? If you know a working artist who lives in one of these cities, send me their name, contact info, a link to their website or images of their work … or have them contact me directly at lex@lexleifheit.com.
And please, pass this on!
Tags: Little Cities, Midwest, Theater, Visual Art
August 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Kurt Anderson did a feature on Omaha (his hometown) for Studio 360 a few months back, interviewing artists and musicians and talking about the city’s artistic renaissance. There’s even an interactive Google Map of the trip on the Studio 360 website.