Taking Art to the Train or the Train to Art?

After my long entry of yesterday, I thought I would be brief today. Just wanted to link to a cool event in San Diego covered by Spearbearer Down Left.

San Diego Dance Theatre teams up with the Metropolitan Transit Development Board and presents site specific dance at trolley stops. Folks from NYC my be a little blase about this since you can see busker performances at every subway stop.

It seems like the dance company struck upon a good partnership with a municipal organization to bring a little art and enjoyment into people’s lives. The activities may also not only increase awareness of the dance company, but also about the physical spaces at each trolley stop. It is easy to steam along through a station to and from a train without being cognizant of one’s surroundings. Suddenly these people are integrating stairs, platforms, support beams into their performance and one sees the building with new eyes.

Actually, learning about programs like this makes me look at my surroundings with new eyes and wonder what I might make work.

About Joe Patti

I have been writing Butts in the Seats (BitS) on topics of arts and cultural administration since 2004 (yikes!). Given the ever evolving concerns facing the sector, I have yet to exhaust the available subject matter. In addition to BitS, I am a founding contributor to the ArtsHacker (artshacker.com) website where I focus on topics related to boards, law, governance, policy and practice.

I am also an evangelist for the effort to Build Public Will For Arts and Culture being helmed by Arts Midwest and the Metropolitan Group. (http://www.creatingconnection.org/about/)

My most recent role was as Executive Director of the Grand Opera House in Macon, GA.

Among the things I am most proud are having produced an opera in the Hawaiian language and a dance drama about Hawaii's snow goddess Poli'ahu while working as a Theater Manager in Hawaii. Though there are many more highlights than there is space here to list.

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