The Art Counselor Blog

Last Thursday Politics

Posted on 08.18.08 11:30PM under Last Thursday

The August 14th in PORTLAND Oregonian insert gave some important coverage on the scale of the recent Last Thursday events on Alberta. Not only did the article acknowledge the size of the crowds and the logistic problems that have evolve with the monthly festival, the political implications were touched on. Public comment from the Portland Police, TriMet, neighborhood businesses, black community groups and mayor-elect Sam Adams all shared space in the article.
Adams, the Police, and TriMet are all on the record with positions of co-operation and support for the event and the thousands of enthusiastic participants. However, some businesses and the black community feel that their voices and opinions have been left out of the discussion. The biggest concern by all involve is with the injection of alcohol into the mix from the many watering holes that line the street and see grand profits from the huge crowd that flock to the event.

This level of attention serves as a clear indication that Last Thursday has evolved into much more than the intimate little art walk in the funky little alternative art district that began over ten years ago. I suggest that this increasingly organized monthly Mardi Gras has become a lightning rod for a discussion on how we create synergies between community and our diverse local art scene.

The evolution of the event offers proof of a significant portion of the population want to make art and culture available to the largest possible local audience; quality cultural opportunities that avoid the opulent pretense of the mainstream gallery scene.

The natural course of events on Alberta seems to be making room for these kind of opportunities as a central issue in the discussions about our local art scene. The critics tend to pan the quality and consistency of the art seen on the street, yet the event offers an entry point for people who aren’t comfortable with the glitz of the traditional “white cube galleries”. How easily we forget that many of those who find their first strong connections with art on the street eventually move on to the more traditional venues.