July 8, 2009

Following our meeting, I am curious about those communities that support vital art programs and those that don't. What makes the difference? Further, how do we get from being in the one category to being in the other?

We note that those communities with strong support for the arts are not necessarily in big cities, are not funded by federal grants, have not been created by some Big Name. This leads us to wonder if we, in the western piedmont of North Carolina, might oneday achieve a comparable atmosphere for those who make art and those who buy it (these groups are not mutually exclusive).

We are a charming little town at the foot of the Blue Ridge whose public celebrations center around automotive collections (the antique car show) and what you can eat in your hands (funnel cakes). But there are some human impulses that seem to be hard wired into all of us: the hunger for beautiful things in our lives, the drive to make them, the need to talk about them. This is true for the privileged residents of River Oaks, Houston, as well as the not-so-privileged on the outskirts of Mexico City.

I think we should be able to enjoy the antique car show and a gallery reception. These are not mutually exclusive, either, thank God. There are a few of us just waiting for the good idea that will move us toward the creation of the larger dream.

PW