THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509080169
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
A focus on the arts in Hampton Roads in today's Currents is good reason to turn an admiring eye to people and events that keep Portsmouth artistically and intellectually alive.
The moving force for people is, of course, the knowledge that the arts make a difference in their own lives, and they want to share that excitement. Although there are many non-believers who put down aficionados, the hard-core supporters know in their hearts what it's all about.
Arts touch people in different ways.
Classical music is my tonic. Without a daily dose, if only on the wake-up alarm and the car radio, I am a grouchy bear. Sustained withdrawal can result in depression.
Paintings and sculpture, dance, theater, jazz or big band have the same effect on others.
People who have been touched by the arts keep the programs going. They understand the importance of making arts available in the community.
Having arts events in the community makes them feasible for people who cannot afford to buy expensive memberships and tickets to go elsewhere for concerts and shows.
For 58 years, volunteers in this city have been determined to keep the Community Concert Association going. In the face of great odds, times when the economy is bad or the organization has lost key members, it has managed to make ends meet and to keep the quality of this series at a respectable level. There have been times when Community Concerts were about the only thing going on at Willett Hall.
The Seawall Art Show passed its 25th anniversary this year alive and well. After a period of decline, the Portsmouth Museums took over the show a few years ago and, with the help of dedicated volunteers and some fine Portsmouth artists, put it back together. However, without some diehard volunteers who worked through thick and thin, it would have passed into oblivion and the city would not have cared.
Over the years, Portsmouth has been fortunate to have church musicians who have kept a variety of activities going. We are especially lucky to have several churches that have brought wonderful music to town. School music and visual arts teachers certainly have been factors in successful programs outside their school responsibilities.
The most recent efforts to get people involved in the arts have come from Maury Cooke's Portsmouth Community Development Group. The steel-drum bands and dance groups are the most visible symbols of these programs aimed at getting young people, especially minorities, involved.
Add to all this the intellectual discovery primed by Louis Brenner's Tuesday Forum series. The forum begins it third season in October with an appearance by Ralph W. Cowan, the Portsmouth-born artist known for his portraits of the rich and famous. The free, public series has attracted full-house audiences to hear first-rate speakers on the arts, science and philosophy. It is an immensely successful volunteer project started by Brenner after he attended similar programs in another city.
Some people are critical of any public expenditures on projects to feed the mind and soul of the community. Some say the money should be spend on social ills, and some say it shouldn't be spent at all.
Actually, spending money on the arts generally is a good investment. Usually public assistance to the arts is small, but it attracts hundreds of volunteers and thousands of private dollars to augment every arts program in the city.
Those who would starve the souls of the city should listen to those who have labored long and hard to keep the arts programs viable and available to all citizens. They are doing the work because they understand the difference the arts can make in life. by CNB