Flute mural painted black -- like bummer man!

Maybe my favorite public mural in Chapel Hill-Carrboro was on the side of the Franklin Street building  that houses Andrea Reusing's expanding Lantern Restaurant. You probably know it well:

Not any more as someone painted over the mural with black paint.

The News & Observer had a big article about it, lamenting the loss and noting artist Michael Brown's disappointment. Local officials like my friend Jeff York, public art director for the city, were dismayed. As I am.

But I can't say I approve of the innuendo from the article that Andrea Reusing had something to do with it. Here's the opening line of the article:

The artist is sick about it. The town is upset about it. And the restaurant owner isn’t talking about it.

Later we learn that Andrea hadn't returned calls. Excuse me but she's pretty friggin' busy these days, being a James Beard finalist and running a famous restaurant. Instead of sensationalism, the article should have stated facts without the snide insinuations based on basically nothing.

And if it turns out that Andrea and the restaurant had something to do with it, I'll be pissed, even though it's the owner's legal right. At this point though there is no reason to make unsubstantiated accusations about someone who has a been a valued member of the community and a wonderful chef for the last decade or so.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/21/2766542/franklin-street-girl-with-flute.html#storylink=cpy

Triangle Artworks, Arts NC and me

Tomorrow, March 14th I  will be on a panel for a regional arts summit sponsored by Triangle Artworks and the arts advocacy group Arts NC at PlayMakers Repertory 250 Country Club Rd on the UNC campus. (FYI I joined the NC Arts Council in December as Senior Director for the Creative Economies team). Meg McGurk (Downtown Chapel Hill) and Jody McLeod  (Mayor of Clayton) will join me with Beth Yerxa of Triangle Artworks moderating. We'll be discussing and telling stories of how the arts matter to cities and towns in terms of both economic development and community building/placemaking.

We'll start at 4 pm. More info here and below the agenda:

4:00 Arrival and Networking
4:30 Introduction of Panel and Moderated Discussion
  Panel: Moderator – Beth Yerxa
                  Chris Beacham – Senior Program Director, NC Arts Council
                  Meg McGurk – Executive Director, Downtown Chapel Hill
                  Jody McLeod – Mayor, City of Clayton, NC
6:00 Networking Wine and Appetizers
6:30 Embracing Change – The Arts Prevail
  Karen Wells, Arts North Carolina
7:45 Doug Borwick – Building Communities, Not Audiences
8:00 Adjourn

Join the discussion.

Cultureshed (kul'cher-shed)

From the Public Art Review magazine:

CULTURESHED (kul'cher-shed)

1. A geographic region irrigated by streams of local talent and fed by deep pools of human and natural history.
2. An area nourished by what is cultivated locally.
3. The efforts of writers, performers, visual artists, scholars, farmers, and chefs who contribute to a vital and diverse local culture.

- Jay Salinas, Wormfarm Institute

Sounds a bit like Carrboro, yes?

PS. Yes I have been under a rock for, oh, 5-6 months now. I have crawled out and have rejoined the cyberworld. Look for more posts soon both here, my art blog, and also an update of my website