Patrice Walker Powell has been named acting director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Read all about it in the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
Badass dog of the day—5lbs with lion's mane. #obpic http://t.co/TErnVVRX
Archives for January 2009
Hygienic Art celebrates the 30th year of its Salon des Independents this weekend with what will surely be a cast of thousands, roaming the snowy streets of New London in search of art that won’t be hard to find. I’ve always loved the Hygienic’s can-do spirit, as in YOU can do—the Hygienic is an arts organization that truly lets everyone in, and the theme of the annual Hygienic Art Show is “No Judge, No Jury, No Fees, No Censorship.”
To that end, I was seriously excited to drop by hygienic.org and see that they have adopted a new ning website! I’ve had a few discussions with emerging arts leaders about whether or not ning is the way to go (requires users to become “members” to use many features–too much commitment?). But now I can see that for the Hygienic, this is perfect. The Hygienic is all about participation, and doesn’t it make sense for an organization to embody its real-life essence online? This is done to brilliant effect with the Hygienic’s new site. AND, as an added bonus, Hygienic expats like me can participate from afar.
XOXO, Hygienic, and happy XXX!
One of the benefits/drawbacks of growing up near Minneapolis was taking for granted the beautiful sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center. I always thought of it as a Claes Oldenburg installation, but it turns out his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, was very involved in what she called “The Large-Scale Projects.” Spoonbridge and Cherry (obscured here by a goofy vacation photo) was an icon of my youth.
Thanks to the Walker’s Off Center blog for the tip.
Opens tonight at SOMArts. Featuring work by Sue Averell, Seamus Berkeley, Laura Buss, Jack Freeman, and Mona Miri.
The competition could be stiffer, but for what it’s worth the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has some of the most thoughtful local arts coverage around. And—no doubt as a result—some of the most impassioned reader comments. At the time of this post, Rohan Preston’s article about Guthrie Director Joe Dowling’s salary had 161 comments.
Sidenote: Preston is an alum of the O’Neill Critics Institute.
While I am discovering some of the ups and downs of living in a big, famous city (fantastic art—yay! high rent—booo … cool like-minded folks—yay! all the good library books checked out—booo), one of the things my long-time San Franciscan friends may not appreciate is that no one has ever—or will ever—erect a billboard that says “Come to San Francisco … I Swear, It’s Fun.” As was done in Hartford not so long ago.
I love Hartford. I miss Hartford. Hartford still has a growing economy (!) and is woefully underappreciated. Of course, low expectations are often accompanied by opportunity.
In many ways I am reminded of the diversity, determination, activism and liberal spirit of people I met there on a daily basis as I explore my new city. So I was excited to read this tribute to Mayor Mike, written by Helder Mira, which captures the spirit of both a Hartford progressive and a Hartford legend.
Lex Leifheit is the Executive Director of SOMArts Cultural Center, co-host of Feast of Words: Literary Potluck, and has an insatiable appetite for art. She lives in San Francisco.
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