Pitty the poor Joyce Theater, which seems to be the last political football still in play for the arts district of Ground Zero. According to a recent New York Times article (subscription likely required) the Governor is back in the game just as it seemed the City was to carry the ball. And the performing arts center is one of the few elements of the project still open to influence and gamesmanship.
It is, perhaps, an extreme but natural progression for a development project that’s equal parts commercial, political, and metaphorical. The role of the arts in that mix has been plagued by the persistent tension between honoring loss, celebrating freedom, and the inconvenience of actually fostering free expression about that loss.
What will likely emerge from this intense political focus and the clash of the development titans? An unsustainable venue with extraordinary operating costs that doesn’t fit the art, doesn’t suit the artists, and distorts the vision and passion of whatever resident company remains when the doors are finally open.
So much work has been done to integrate the arts into the political process of cities, counties, and states. From time to time, one has to wonder (as Sir John Tusa does in the London Times) whether arts policymaking is honestly about advancing the arts.
