Roanoke Mayor David Bowers calls for a look at the sustainability of Roanoke arts organizations
Hat tip, Dwayne Yancey. I note that David Trinkle was one of the original advocates for what become Roanoke’s Arts and Cultural Plan and that David Wine serves as treasurer for the Taubman Museum of Art.
Here’s the excerpt from Bowers’ speech:
I’m pleased to announce that former Vice Mayor David Trinkle and Roanoke philanthropist David Wine are organizing a local committee to address the financial and organizational demands facing the sustainability of our many cultural and arts organizations in the future.
If we do not address the crisis, that some of our cultural
organizations and museums are facing, then we will lose them and their doors will close.
It is imperative that we ACT/Now to build a sustainable foundation for Roanoke’s cultural economy. These cultural and arts organizations and museums contribute immensely to our quality of life and economic vitality, and we in this entire region need to understand that and support a solution to this challenge.
July 19, 2012 - 4:15 PM
Glad to see the mayor has the right attitude about supporting the arts.
Well, I have to wonder if his comments translate to “Let’s work together to make sure The Taubman and MMT stay afloat” or whether he is actually referring to all the little guys in the downtown area. You know, the little guys that can run for multiple years, if not decades, on the amount of funding going to the big guys. While I’m excited to see attention on culture, I just hope that it is more inclusive look at what makes downtown an interesting and diverse place. Furthermore, if a foundation is built that can assist various organizations, is it going to place guidelines similar to the Taubman grants which effectively cut out most of the organizations from even applying? And yes, I’m whining and sounding bitter. My apologies for that.
We have around 30 pieces of Harold’s work. There are some of the more famous etchings, and several oils. Call 800-969-2459.
Over thirty pieces available. Oils and etchings.