arts culture
Written for Marinites
and their friends who love the arts
I
t feels like summertime is finally
here! And as the days grow
longer and the weather grows
warmer ... well, maybe not ... my
attention is focused on September
and beyond. Marin Arts & Culture
will continue to explore what it
means to be an artist in Marin
County, and to discover the myriad
of opportunities that we, as a
community can share, as together
we support the “softer” side of life.
Recently, I came across an
interview with Sir Peter Bazalgette,
former chair of Arts Council
England, in the Guardian.
(Remember when we had our
own Marin Arts Council?) He
was speaking about a wonderful
piece of sculpture that had been
unveiled at Heathrow Airport,
and commented that “the primary
reason we make both public and
private investments in the arts is for
the inherent value of culture: life-
enhancing, entertaining, defining
of our personal and national
identities.”
“Imagine society without the
civilizing influence of the arts
and you’ll have to strip out what
is most pleasurable in life—and
much that is educationally vital,”
4 MARIN ARTS & CULTURE
he continues. “Take the collective
memory from our museums; remove
the bands from our schools and
choirs from our communities; lose
the empathetic plays and dance
from our theatres or the books from
our libraries; expunge our festivals,
literature and painting, and you’re
left with a society bereft of a
national conversation ... about its
identity or anything else.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Why are the arts not seen as
important as science, technology,
engineering or math? Aren’t the
arts what make us human? I think
so. And yet, the assault on arts
funding is in full force ... both on
a national level and locally. I give
great thanks to those wonderful
artists who have stepped up in
Marin to start their own workshops,
classes, and supplemental programs
for schoolkids who might not
otherwise have the opportunity to
express themselves through music,
painting, drama, dance and writing.
I will be featuring more of you
come September, along with more
kids who have hopes, dreams and
talent.
It takes a village to produce each
issue of Marin Arts & Culture, and
Meredith Griffin,
Founder and Publisher
we want it to be your magazine.
So think of yourselves as board
members—please continue to share
your suggestions, opinions, contacts
and donations.
July and August are planning
months for us, but In the meantime,
celebrate summer with the link
below. I’ll wager that you’ve never
heard “Summertime” from Porgy
and Bess expressed in this way.
See you in September!