Arts Wire CURRENT is a project of Arts Wire, a national computer-based network serving the arts community. Arts Wire CURRENT features news updates on social, economic, philosophical, and political issues affecting the arts and culture. Your contributions are invited.
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Current's work as a whole is made possible by a generous grant from The Nathan Cummings Foundation.
FCC APPROVES NEW NON-COMMERCIAL LOW POWER FM RADIO SERVICEWASHINGTON, DC -- On January 20, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved two new classes of low-power, noncommercial radio stations (LPFMs) designed to allow a greater diversity of voices and viewpoints to be transmitted over the nation's airwaves -- enhancing community-oriented radio broadcasting."Every day, it seems, we read about a bigger merger and more consolidation, all of which leads to the perception that the interests of small groups and individuals are being lost, and that important voices and viewpoints are being shut out," the Freedom Forum's FREE! quoted FCC Chairman William Kennard as saying. "The possibility of opening up available spectrum in the FM band has sparked creativity." Kennard hopes that hundreds of low-power radio stations -- offering everything from open forums to regional music -- will pop up on FM radio by the start of summer. The FCC reports that broad national interest in LPFM service was demonstrated by the thousands of comments received from state and local government entities, religious groups, students, labor unions, community organizations, musicians, and others supporting the introduction of a new LPFM service. "A noncommercial service will be the best way to bring additional diversity to radio broadcasting and serve local community needs in a focused manner with LPFM stations," the Commission states. In authorizing the new services -- LP 100, with power from 50-100 watts and a service radius of about 3.5 miles; and LP10, with power from 1-10 watts and a service radius of about 1 to 2 miles -- the Commission said it is adopting interference protection requirements based on distance separation between stations in order to preserve the integrity and technical excellence of existing FM service and to not impede the ability of existing radio stations to transition to digital transmission capabilities. Eligible licensees include noncommercial government or private educational organizations, associations or entities; non-profit entities with educational purposes; or government or non-profit entities providing local public safety or transportation services. LPFM licenses will be awarded throughout the FM radio band and will not be limited to the channels reserved for use by noncommercial educational radio stations. Moreover, in order to further its goals of diversity and of creating opportunities for new voices, no existing broadcaster or other media entity can have an ownership interest, or enter into any program or operating agreement, with any LPFM Station. LPFM stations will be required to broadcast a minimum of 36 hours per week, the same requirement imposed on full power noncommercial educational licensees. They will be subject to statutory rules, such as sponsorship identification, political programming, prohibitions of airing "obscene" or "indecent" programming, and requirements to provide periodic call sign announcements, and will be required to participate in the national Emergency Alert System. To foster local ownership and diversity, during the first two years of LPFM license eligibility, licensees will be limited to local entities certifying that they are physically headquartered, have a campus or have 75% of their board members residing, within 10 miles of the station they seek to operate. During this time, no entity may own more than one LPFM station in any given community. After two years from the date the first applications are accepted, in order to bring into use whatever low power stations remain available but unapplied for, applications will be accepted from non-local entities. However, according to Free!, the license plan, which the FCC approved by a 4-1 vote, may face legal obstacles from commercial broadcasters. "The FCC has chosen advancement of social engineering over spectrum integrity. It's a sad day for radio listeners," Free! quotes Edward Fritts, president of the National Association of Broadcasters, (NAB) as saying. "NAB will review every option to undo the damage caused by low-power radio." FCC COmmissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, who voted against the entire plan, is concerned, according to the Free! that potential stations could interfere with existing stations, and that although rural areas may support dozens of low-power radio stations, large urban radio markets have no room for the new stations. Additionally, Free! reports that Commissioner Michael Powell, who approved the overall plan, dissented from the plan's statement that low-power stations will increase diversity. Powell is concerned that the Commission failed to examine the effects such stations might have on existing stations with smaller audiences and limited budgets, particularly those owned by minorities and women. However, in "Civil Rights Forum: Microradio Matters to All of Us", a 1998 paper which points out the overall benefits of microradio for nonprofit organizations, the Media Access Project commented that microradio holds the potential to diversify the current concentrated ownership of radio which "reinforces the economic barriers keeping women and minorities from entering the broadcast industry, both as professionals and as owners." Sources/resources:
Phillip Taylor
"FCC Approves New Non-commercial Low Power FM Radio Service"
"Civil Rights Forum: Microradio Matters to All of Us"
A NATIONAL AGENDA FOR ARTS EDUCATIONIn 1999 -- as U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley wholeheartedly endorsed the arts and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Bill Ivey made strengthening the role of the arts in the educational system and encouraging K-12 and lifelong learning in the arts a national priority -- at its annual retreat, Americans for the Arts adopted a NATIONAL AGENDA FOR ARTS EDUCATION that focuses on building alliances at the local and national levels; establishing a clearinghouse for arts education; disseminating the latest research on the impact of the arts; and raising public awareness about the value of an arts education.In a National Agenda for Arts Education document -- now available on its website at http://www.artsusa.org -- Americans for the Arts details agenda initiatives including: YOUTHARTS USA PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, a multi-year public service campaign targeting parents, caregivers and kids and builds on existing broadcast media partnerships; MOBILIZING LOCAL ARTS EDUCATION PROJECT, a long-term initiative that includes a national inventory of arts education alliances, a learning institute to assist communities in sustaining successful partnerships and research and dissemination of information on arts education issues, an on-line Clearinghouse for arts education, creation of alliances among arts and non-arts partners at the local and national level, national conferences and summits that respond to the technical assistance needs of the local arts organizations and that unite professionals involved in arts education; and YOUTH ARTS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, an arts-based youth intervention program that includes publishing and dissemination of the latest research and information on at-risk youth arts issues; advancing partnerships with the Office of Juvenile Justice, Americas Promise, community-based organizations, and funders in order to provide technical assistance and planning support for YouthArts Toolkit. Sources/resources:
"National Agenda for Arts Education"
"Arts are 'essential in this Information Age' Says Education
Secretary"
"NEA Chairman Says Arts Education is High Priority;
ConferencesBEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIAFebruary 1, 2000 6:30 PM Four Seasons Hotel, 300 S. Doheny Drive MUSIC MARKETING, DATA COLLECTION & PERSONAL PRIVACY ONLINE Sponsored by the ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION (EFF) and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RECORD INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS Recent changes in the record industry--including Time-Warner's upcoming merger with America Online and growing predictions that MP3 downloads will become the predominant means for retail music purchases--will serve as backdrop for music industry professionals and privacy experts to discuss the potential for abuse regarding music buyers' private information from online purchases.
SPEAKERS: Jim Griffin, CEO, Cherry Lane Digital and Co-Chairman, Evolab LLC Thomas A. White, Consultant, Record and Music Publishing Industries Lori Fena, Chairperson, EFF and TRUSTe Wendy Schlesinger, VP of Marketing, BMG Distribution and BMG Central.com
For more information, contact: the EFF at tel: 415-436-9333 CAMBRIDGE, MA February 25, 2000 Conference: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Concert: 8:00 PM and on! Berkman Center for Internet and Society BCIS Pound Hall 511 1563 Massachusetts Ave THE FUTURE OF MUSIC ON THE NET The Berkman Center, in conjunction with the EFF is hosting a conference to explore the intersection between digital technology, music, and public policy. The day-long event begins with panel discussions, demonstrations of cutting-edge musical technologies, and addresses by leaders from business, law, technology, music industry. It culminates in an informal dinner, happy hour, and a concert at Boston's House of Blues, featuring bands enthusiastic about digital distribution. Panels include:
MODULATING MUSIC ONLINE
CYBERMUSICOLOGY plus Welcoming Remarks by Charles Nesson and Tara Lemmey, Executive Director, EFF; CODE=LAW, moderated by Jonathan Zittrain; COLLABORATING VIRTUALLY, a demonstration by Willie Henshaw, Chairman/Founder, Rocket Network; and EMPOWERED EMUSICIANS, moderated by Alex Fowler/Robin Gross. For more information, visit http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/netmusic.html
Arts Wire Special Technical Reportby Doug Cohen, Arts Wire Systems Coordinator With the mega-merger of AOL -- http://www.aol.com -- and Time-Warner -- http://www.time-warner.com -- and the additional fees and time limitations imposed by ISP giants like AT&T -- http://www.att.net -- we explore some of the alternatives for connecting to the Internet today. What do you want, and what should you expect to pay? If you are looking for an economical 56 K modem connection to the Internet, expect to pay less than $20 per month for unlimited access, one email address and 5 MB of Web space with 50 MB of traffic or less per month. For a slightly higher monthly fee, some ISPs will offer additional email address and/or Web space. If you want to pay less than $20 per month, many ISPs -- for example Concentric Network at http://www.concentric.com -- offer substantial discounts if you are willing to pay from six months to one year in advance. Assuming you're using a reasonably current version of your platform's operating system, installation is usually very simple with any of these services. Most offer a CD for PC and Macintosh computers with a setup program that connects your computer to the Internet and installs software correctly configured to read email, browse the Web and make use of their other Internet services. In many cases the software can also be downloaded and installed directly over the Internet. Most ISPs now offer faster dedicated connections to the Internet as well. Some use a telephone technology called DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) while others work with cable TV providers to deliver Cable Modem access. Both technologies provide an "always on" Internet connection at usable speeds similar to an office of networked computers connected to the Internet with a T1 line. Home users should expect to pay from $40 to $70 per month for a fast and reliable connection using either technology. Packages often include from 3 to 5 email addresses and limited Web hosting. These faster services aren't available everywhere, yet, and installation by your ISPs telephone or cable company will be necessary. It may also be necessary to install a network interface card (NIC) in your computer, although it is becoming more common for computers to already have them installed, especially the new "Internet" models. Given the fact that both DSL and Cable Modems offer full time access to the Internet, a user might be tempted to setup their own Web server, or more likely, email server using that connection. Although there are ways for home users to do this, one will often find that such usage is forbidden in their contract. A small business version of the service will be necessary in those cases, and the technology of choice is SDSL. (SDSL is a variation of DSL where download and upload speeds are identical. Home DSL, a.k.a. ADSL, and Cable Modem services have faster download speeds than upload.). Pricing for SDSL varies by region. In New York City, a 384K/384K connection appropriate for a small office is around $200 per month. Again, web hosting and email hosting is offered with these connections, but more important when setting up your own email or Web server, hosting of one domain name and a block of 8 static IP addresses (5 usable) are usually provided. (IP addresses are the numbering system used to identify computers on the Internet. Each computer must have a unique IP number in order to communicate with other computers on the Internet. Since the number of available IP addresses is limited, most ISPs dynamically assign you one of their IP numbers each time you use the Internet. When you aren't connected that number becomes available for other subscribers. With an always on Internet connection you should be able to use the same IP address all of the time, however some ISPs continue to assign them dynamically, and rotate the numbers on a regular basis, to prevent users from setting up their own Internet servers.) For a small additional fee, many ISPs will offer dialup Internet access with their DSL or Cable Modem connection. This can be helpful for connecting to the Internet while on the road. If you are looking for a DSL connection for business, here is a link to 10 questions to ask your ISP: http://www.concentric.com/products_services/dsl/10_questions.html What Resources are There for Finding an ISP? The most comprehensive directory of Internet Service Providers worldwide is simply called "The List" -- http://www.thelist.com Using The List, it's possible to search for an ISP by area code within the US and Canada, and by Country Code for the rest of the world. This is especially helpful if you are looking for an ISP local to your area. If you prefer to work with a national ISP, there is a section called "United States" for ISPs with a presence in each of the 50 states and a section called "Canada" for ISPs in every one of Canada's provinces. The following user satisfaction surveys may be helpful in selecting an ISP: ZDNet Inter@ctive Week's THIRD ANNUAL ISP CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY: http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2405959,00.html PC MAGAZINE READER'S SURVEY ON ISP SUPPORT AND SATISFACTION: http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/reviews/0,6755,2279070,00.html What about the "free" (advertising/marketing research supported) Internet Access Providers? While looking in The List for an ISP, one will occasionally run into an ISP who has a listing of "free" under the fees section. By and large these are ISPs who generate their income through direct advertising to their subscribers and by the marketing research their users provide them. NetZero -- http://www.netzero.com -- is an example of one such service. For the slight inconvenience of having their "ZeroPort" advertising window open the entire time you are on the Internet, they offer a free Internet connection with Web access and email. The advertising you see in the ZeroPort will be targeted to you -- based on your Web viewing habits. They do this by observing your usage of the Internet. Everywhere you go while using their system is tracked and recorded. This should lead to less annoying advertisements, but it's also an issue for those concerned with privacy and freedom of expression. For light usage of the Internet, and where privacy isn't an issue, free ISPs are a viable alternative, although it should also be noted that since these are relatively new services and since it's unclear whether the advertising-supported model for ISP access is an economically viable one, there's no guarantee that these will be stable. However, freedom from the constant push of advertisements and the knowledge that your every action on the Internet isn't being monitored makes the nominal cost of a dialup Internet connection well worth the investment.
Funding/Opportunites for OrganizationsNEA APPLICATION DEADLINES -- GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONSFY2001 guidelines and application materials are available on the NEA website at http://www.arts.endow.gov/guide/Important2000.html
Postmark deadlines for FY 2001 applications are: The postmark deadline for ArtsREACH -- which provides direct grants to communities in targeted states to create or implement community cultural plans which represent partnerships of arts and non-arts organizations working together to ensure that the arts are an integral part of achieving community goals -- is April 1, 2000. ArtsREACH application is limited to organizations and community agencies in the following 20 target states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming. 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Applications are now available for the next round of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, which was established by Congress to award grants to rural and inner-city public schools, or consortia of such schools, to enable them to plan, implement, or expand projects that benefit the educational, health, social services, cultural and recreational needs of the community. The authorizing legislation for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program states that schools "should collaborate with other public and nonprofit agencies and organizations, local businesses, educational entities (such as vocational and adult education programs, school-to-work programs, community colleges, and universities), recreational, cultural, and other community and human service entities, for the purpose of meeting the needs of, and expanding the opportunities available to, the residents of the communities served by such schools." The program is designed to target funds to high-need rural and urban communities that have low achieving students and high rates of juvenile crime, school violence, and student drug abuse, but lack the resources to establish after-school centers. For example, this December it was announced that (among many other awards) PROJECT C.O.R.E (Cerritos, CA) will receive estimated first year Funding of $161,850 for 4 Inner City Centers to serve 330 students and 200 community members in after-school learning centers in partnership with Cerritos Performing Arts Center, Future Scientists and Engineers of America, California State University and other community organizations; and HENDERSON COUNTY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS (Henderson, KY) will receive estimated first year funding of $389,519 for 2 Rural Centers to serve 300 students in an after school program and 75 students in an extended day intercession program. Community partners will provide enrichment classes on topics ranging from job skills to music, arts and drama. For more information and applications, which are due March 1, visit the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WEB SITE at http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc/ MUSIC OF THE HEART LESSON PLANS AVAILABLE 'We hope you have taken the opportunity to visit a local theater to see the inspirational Miramax film "Music of the Heart", starring two-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Gloria Estefan in her movie debut and two-time Academy Award nominee Angela Basset," writes Brian Dickman, SVP Promotion Services, Miramax Films. "It is a unique opportunity for educators and students alike to experience the enthusiasm and joy that music can bring, while drawing encouragement from the true story of one woman who, against all odds, was determined to keep the values of music education alive for young individuals, families and their community." In an effort to help music educators effectively share the message, Miramax Films has developed a free teacher's aid and activity worksheet. Quantities of this learning guide can be obtained by sending an e-mail to Brian Dickman at bdmail@mailcity.com or by calling 212- 965-4746. Please leave a mailing address where the learning guide can be sent. An online bulletin board has been created at http://www.egroups.com where educators and community leaders can post ideas and comments, or perhaps share how they have used this film to inspire students by taking groups to see the movie. To participate, logon to http://www.egroups.com After registering at the site, enter music-of-the-heart (use the hyphens) into the "search" function and a link to the "Music of the Heart Online Bulletin Board" should appear. "It is our hope that this online billboard can encourage dialogue between teachers, community leaders and students that will continue the growing use of this film as a tool of action on a local level," Miramax states. Sources/resources:
American Music Conference
"Music of the Heart Stars Support Music Education"
Opportunities for ArtistsSFMOMA WEBBY PRIZEThe SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) Webby Prize for Excellence in Online Art will offer $50,000 to an artist or artists for a body of work whose primary focus is to be experienced online and that explores and expands the distinctive capacity of the online medium. Winning artists will have their work exhibited in "e.space" SFMOMA's new online gallery, to be launched in mid-February 2000. The Webby Awards, the leading international honors for Web sites, are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), a global organization dedicated to the creative, technical and professional progress of new media. The call for entries will open February 21 and close March 14, 2000. Winners will be announced at The Webby Awards 2000 on May 11 in San Francisco. More information on guidelines and entry procedures will be available soon at http://www.sfmoma.org dancers - California, THE IRVINE FELLOWSHIPS IN DANCE writers - stories set in Niagara Falls, 701 NIAGARA Deadline: February 2, 2000, artists, writers, musicians. dancers who work with technologies, SIGGRAPH 2000 ART GALLERY Deadline: February 4th, 2000, writing by artists and black & white artwork, SARASVATI Deadlines for 2000: February 22, May 16, August 15 and November 2, short-term project assistance to Los Angeles County artists, DURFEE FOUNDATION Deadline: February 25, 2000, Web-based work by artists in the New York metropolitan area, REEL NEW YORK Deadline:March 21, 2000, master musicians in Los Angeles County to teach their craft to advanced students, THE DURFEE FOUNDATION Deadline: April 21, 2000, Poetry: Haiku and Senryu, 3rd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE'S HAIKU AND SENRYU CONTEST Details about these and other opportunities are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/calls.html Please note that (this week only) the "calls" pages will be updated on Thursday to include new listings. To submit "calls" for either artists or organizations, send email to artswire@artswire.org
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, CALAA, (San Francisco, CA) PRODUCTION MANAGER, About Productions, (Los Angeles, CA) PROGRAM ASSISTANT, The Legacy Project, (New York City, NY) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, Caravan StageBarge, (aboard ship) OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR, Globalvision, (New York City, NY) ASSISTANT BOOKKEEPER, Globalvision, (New York City, NY) Details about these and other jobs are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobs.html To submit jobs to ARTS WIRE CURRENT JOBS, send email to artswire@artswire.org Details about these and other jobs are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobs.html Please note that (this week only) the "jobs" pages will be updated on Thursday to include new listings. To submit jobs to ARTS WIRE CURRENT JOBS, send email to artswire@artswire.org
A growing list of links to job resources for artists and arts administrators is available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobres.html
ARTS WIRE WEB REPORTSARTFIT.COM"We're trying to make this the kind of place where conversations about art can happen, where delight or passionate curiosity or desire are the reasons to show work; where people who need the richness of the multisensory world can find things to fill that need," writes on Ann Klefstad on www.artfit.com Klefstad continues that "We're working on developing the sense of place that makes a site some kind of mental or spiritual home. We've found, in doing this, that selecting artists whose work relates passionately to place can help. Many of the artists you'll see in this site live, by choice, in places that are not art centers. Their relationship with place--whether a small industrial port city on the edge of the wilderness, like Duluth, or a rangy Western metropolis within sight of the mountains, like Denver--is often intense, idiosyncratic, and productive of work that's not centered on artworld questions, even though it can be sophisticated in its use of artworld references." www.artfit.com -- an online gallery primarily representing painters, printers and photographers, including Homare Ikeda, Sharon Ely Forsmo, Scott Murphy, Stephen Lubovich, Stanley G. Grosse, and Elizabeth Doherty -- includes a selection of "Art For People With Smallish Apartments." Arts Wire's website at http://www.artswire.org is a central place to visit the cyberhomes of the diverse artists and art organizations who are Arts Wire members. This week CURRENT invites readers to visit the home page of The Near NorthWest Arts Council. THE NEAR NORTHWEST ARTS COUNCIL -- http://www.chiart.org -- was founded in 1986 as an inner city neighborhood arts council, directed by artists to create and protect healthy, affordable space for creative work in the Near Northwest Communities in Chicago. NNWAC programs include research, workshops, publications, exhibits and special projects. NNWAC services -- which extend to West Town, Humboldt Park, Bucktown, Logan Square -- connect artists with resources city wide to help artists to achieve affordable space through cooperative enterprise; collect and analyze information that affects artists; investigate and survey for economic impact, assessment for potential marketing cooperative linked to cultural tourism; develop quality arts education programs with local partners including the Park District and Public Schools. Projects include the Acme Artists Community, a 25 unit condominium project that stresses cooperative values; WEST TOWN WORKING TOGETHER, a neighborhood arts economic impact study; international artists exchanges with Cuenca, Ecuador, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Hamburg, Germany; and classes/events such as Performance Poetry workshops for teens with David Hernandez, of the Street Sounds Media Group and a Public Art Mural Workshop in Humboldt Park with Gamaliel Ramirez. "We believe that our communities are under served in terms of art, creativity and culture and that it is our responsibility as professional artists and arts organizations to identify and promote the creative talent that exists within them," NNWAC states on their website. "As a group we cover most of the major disciplines including theater, visual art, dance, architecture, media, music, writing and much more. We work with children, adults and people from all sorts of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Now if you want to dance, act, write, draw, do a TV show or treasure hunt in our architectural urban landscape then read on!"
ELSEWHERE ON THE NETby Judy Malloy, Arts Wire Network Coordinator EL SOBRANTE, CA -- Last Saturday morning, a story about the FCC's approval of two new classes of low-power, noncommercial radio stations (LPFMs) lay unfinished on my laptop, as I drove down Valley View Avenue. Increased low-cost community accessible microradio could bring back neigborhood radio access for musicians, artists, and community activists. I was looking forward to working on the story when I got back from the store. At the bottom of the hill, Flutie, a white feral kitten, lay in the middle of the road. He was about 5 months old with a calico tail, and dark smudges under his blue eyes. I had managed to catch Flutie's two feral siblings, and they are being fostered by Community Concern for Cats. But Flutie was always too wily too be trapped -- preferring to show up at mealtime or to play in the flowerpots out of my reach. This morning he did not show up for breakfast. I had last seen him setting the wings of a plastic bird twirling with his paw. (after his dinner on my deck the previous evening) I stopped my truck and picked up Flutie's still warm body. Took off my sweater, wrapped him in it. Because I am disabled, I was not sure that I could bury Flutie. So I drove to the closest "safe house" -- my ex husband's and his wife's house, where I asked for help in making sure that there was no chance that Flutie was still alive and in burying him if he wasn't. He wasn't. We buried Flutie under a newly planted willow tree in their back yard. There is a view of the Pacific Ocean from the hillside where Flutie lies. Back home, I worked on the events section of Current which this week was to include a conference to explore the intersection between digital technology, music, and public policy (hosted by The Berkman Center, in conjunction with the EFF) and the SUPERMODEL show of architectural photography at the new MASS MOCA space in Western Massachusetts. I also spent some time on the home page of the Near NorthWest Arts Council -- the very kind of committed, community-based local arts group which might benefit from the new classes of low-power, noncommercial radio stations. I was looking forward to reading Doug Cohen's incoming article on Internet Service Provider options. But in the late afternoon, after I fed the feral cats (River, Rover, and Betsy) and my two house cats, (Tessa and Creek) it was not possible to concentrate on anything but Flutie's dish, which -- like the archives of so many deceased arts organization -- was now seemingly unneeded. Perhaps a sugar rush would get me through the many hours of work still needed to produce Current. I did not feel up to driving, so I headed down the hill on foot to buy a candy bar. It had been raining. The path was muddy and strewn with wet pine needles. My leg slipped and doubled under me in a way it has not bent since I was run down by a car in July 1994. For about half an hour I yelled for help as loud as I could but no one came. I managed to drag myself very slowly back up the hill. When I reached the parking lot, someone heard me. With the help of neighbors and the Contra Costa community ambulance, I got to the hospital. My femur was seriously fractured, but because the excellent surgeon who usually works on my already imperfect leg was on vacation, it could not be pinned and plated for several days. The hospital had to temporarily cast it, (awkwardly as it lay) and it was not possible to get in a position to use my laptop. For the first time in since I began editing it in April 1996, Arts Wire CURRENT did not go out. My leg was set late Tuesday afternoon. Friday, I managed to get up on my lockstep crutches, and I asked to go home. The physical therapist wanted to know why. Among other reasons I said that I needed to get out Arts Wire CURRENT. "Is it successful?" she asked. It had been an effort to demonstrate that I could transfer to the crutches and use them. I could not think of how to respond. All I could think of when she asked the question was Flutie's little body in the middle of the road. Later I remembered dancer/choreographer Mark Morris' words: "Each night that the lights are turned on, the tickets sold, the programs printed, is a miracle...." THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OF ARTS WIRE CURRENT This issue of Arts Wire CURRENT is last week's issue imperfectly completed. If the potential for new arts voices on the radio, the teaching of the arts and music in our schools, the death of one white kitten are important to communicate and to hold in our hearts, so are the (regretfully relatively unreported) loss of the San Antonio Mosiac; the loss of the Charlotte's Web Community Network; the impending destruction of the historical Raymond Theater in Pasadena -- and the purring in my ears of two black and white cats on the first night on which I was home from the hospital. Sources/resources: Information about the SUPERMODEL show at Mass MOCA may be in an upcoming issue of Current. Meanwhile, visit the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) web site at http://www.massmoca.org The SAN ANTONIO MOSAIC was conceptualized in 1979-80 by Tom Stell Jr. and completed, at the dying Stell Jr.'s request, by Charles Francis Winans in 1981. Since that date, it has been damaged by a leak from worn out seals on the Losoya Street bridge overhead. For more information, visit chwinans@yahoo.com CHARLOTTE'S WEB COMMUNITY NETWORK -- http://www.charweb.org -- was scheduled to close down as of January 31, 2000. "The demise of Charlotte's Web means more to me than the closing of a wonderful community resource that brought the Internet and loads of terrific and unique local content to the Charlotte region," wrote Sam Eneman. It also means that CW's Open Studio will cease training artists in NC and SC. :-( " More information is accessible through Open Studio: The Arts Online -- http://www.openstudio.org For complete details about the historical RAYMOND THEATER in Pasadena which the Raymond's current owner plans to gut for "adaptive re-use" as a retail, office and apartment complex and the battle to save it visit: http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/raymond.html
Mark Morris: "Each night that you open your theatres is a
miracle"
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