The importance of critics to the arts community

Each Friday and Sunday, as I sit down with the Denver Post, I am grateful for all the arts coverage: the theater reviews, the art show reviews, the architecture discussions. I also like thumbing through the arts section in Westword.

I am much more likely to go to a music show than a play, but it makes me feel good that local media covers all aspects of the local arts community because it gives me a sense of being in an exciting place.

Below is an excerpt of an article written a Minneapolis actor who talks about how important critics were to his career and how they aren't covering the smaller venues these days.

I suppose that if art criticism in print declines or disappears, the Internet will take up the slack. Lots of bloggers are happy to offer their opinions. But still, there is something rewarding in seeing local papers devote space to the arts. Plus by being in the paper, these events are visible to people who are casually thumbing through the pages, whereas they might not see them in niche online sites.

Michael Kennedy: The fading away of the critics is a blow to us all - Minneapolis Star Tribune 6/18/07: "These days, all we seem to hear about is the Guthrie, recently so overpriced that nobody can afford to go. The Fitzgerald may as well be the only arts organization in this city -- if you listen to MPR. As far as art goes, we have the Walker and Minneapolis Institute of Arts. When the folks in the media want to get funky, they mention Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Children's Theatre Company or the Weisman.

Yes, we have the smaller venues, but do you hear about them very much? Not really. We hear more about television shows, movies, traveling Broadway shows and what to wear to a nightclub than we do about the fine arts in the Twin Cities.

This city is in a quiet artistic crisis. With all of our small theaters, small galleries, music groups, dance companies and literary venues, we should be getting clear, serious criticism. We should have people working full time covering all of the theaters they can seven nights a week. There are tons of art galleries that most people have never heard of. Musical groups are everywhere.

We need the critics. Their opinions are one thing, but the fact that they can go into these small places, consider these artists and watch these performances says that the arts are a serious part of this community."

Making music about places

An article about a band that understands the importance of place.

The Hold Steady - New York Times: " ... surely it can’t be a coincidence that, just as the Hold Steady is starting to reach a few more of the boys and girls in America, Mr. Finn has refocused on Minneapolis. He’s clearly obsessed with the link between small stories and big ones, between local favorites and national successes, between punk-club stages and dive-bar jukeboxes, between bands no one’s heard of and songs everybody knows.

"This, maybe, is his idea of what it means to be an American band: singing about Minneapolis, and all the Minneapolises across the country. A dull street corner gets transformed into a rousing refrain; a fictionalized town inspires its real-life counterpart. That album title, 'Boys and Girls in America,' really isn’t so misleading; it’s a salute to the neighborhood kids in the songs, and outside them too. The Hold Steady’s made-up map of the country is looking a little bit less imaginary."

Rolling Stone's Best College Town Music Scenes

In 2005 Rolling Stone published the book, Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide. Here are the 10 best cities. If you go to the article, you can get more info by clicking on each city.

1. SEATTLE

2. CHAPEL HILL/RALEIGH/DURHAM, NC

3. DETROIT

4. AUSTIN

5. NASHVILLE

6. ST. LOUIS

7. SAN FRANCISCO

8. ATHENS, GA

9. MINNEAPOLIS

10. PORTLAND, OR

American Idol auditions deliver value

Evidently it's a very good thing when American Idol comes to town for auditions. This article mentions that cities like Minneapolis and Birmingham actively courted American Idol to win auditions for their cities, working at it for at least a year in advance. In one case it was the local Fox affliate doing the wooing and in another case it was the marketing manager of the local arena. Producers were courted the way any large event would be: phone calls, goodie baskets, presentations about local support and capabilities.

Ledger-Enquirer, 7/29/07: American Idol auditions music to ears of host cities financially: "[Birmingham, Alabama] The city that gave the wildly popular FOX television contest two winners in five seasons will host 10,000 to 15,000 entrants at an audition Aug. 21, one of seven cities where the flood of would-be Idols are expected to bring upbeat exposure and ring cash registers.

"'You're talking millions between hotels, rental of the facilities and then the intangibles of when you see your city, your facility highlighted like that on a number one show,' [Scotty] Colson said. 'How much is that worth?'...

"'You can't buy advertising like that,' said Scott Johnson, deputy director of North Carolina's Greensboro Coliseum, which hosted season five auditions. 'It's a tremendous amount of advertising value that's great for the community, and of course to have all those kids come out here and go on to the show, every time they talked about them, they said they auditioned in Greensboro.'...

"'Trot out the stuff to them that's the best. We show them the barbecue, we show them the music, we show them the restaurants. Put your best where it does the most good,' he said.

"But he also has a few words of caution.

"'They're having fun, you might be getting great exposure. But they're going to poke a little fun at people trying out (who weren't) very good,' Johnson said. 'You've got to take the good with the bad and you can't really control that. But the good far outweighs any bad you might have.'"