{"id":3610,"date":"2024-10-18T06:14:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=3610"},"modified":"2024-10-18T06:14:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:14:58","slug":"vibrant-sic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2024\/10\/vibrant-sic\/","title":{"rendered":"Vibrant (sic)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 90s I lived in Regina, Saskatchewan. When I moved there I had never been before, but I had been looking for work, my PhD in-progress dissertation was a bit of a train wreck (I finished it eventually), and the university there was kind enough to offer me a position. Our lives go through stages, and for me a bit of moving around, but when I look back on my Regina days, the thing I remember most fondly was the group of friends I had who were all very interested in contemporary culture, who liked to take it in, and talk about it at the pub. There was really only one art gallery to speak of, which specialized in showing prairie artists, but when there was the opening of a new show, say every six weeks or so, we all went, made a night of it, and, when funds permitted, bought stuff. In my home now, having left Regina 22 years ago, I have more original art from Saskatchewan than from everywhere else combined. There was one small bookstore – I know people with bigger kitchens than this store – who specialized in good contemporary books. We all went there too, read the new stuff, and more conversation. There was just one non-multiplex place to see movies, a film series at the public library, but, again, we all went. This all might be a matter of the era – who I was at the time, and the state of culture more widely: smart phones had not yet come along to wreak havoc on our lives. So, caveat lector<\/em>. But that\u2019s what I remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Portland is looking at its public funding for the arts this year, reviewing its controversial (and, to me, unwise) poll tax for the arts – here is a good write-up<\/a> of the issues. When I clicked a few links, I came to the discussion of their new plan, which is to combine arts and parks into a new administrative unit called \u201cVibrant Communities<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That word (no, not \u201cCommunities\u201d – that\u2019s for another day) Vibrant. Can we talk about moving on from it? The DataArts folks at SMU provide an annual ranking of \u201cArts-Vibrant<\/a>\u201d cities. Their method (they call it \u201cmethodology\u201d – but that\u2019s for a different another day) is given here<\/a>. They take data of three types – artists and presenting organizations; money spent on the arts; and government funding for the arts – all per capita, and then assign various weights to these figures. I have a lot of problems with it. Government funding is an input<\/em> to the arts system, but the variable of interest is what comes out the other end. The weights assigned are purely subjective, though with a veneer of serious objective quantification of the arts. And measuring the arts offerings of a city per capita<\/em> is odd. If I really<\/em> like live theatre, and a city of 100,000 people has two theatres, and a city of 400,000 has seven, I\u2019d likely prefer, on theatre-going grounds, the bigger city, though the smaller one has more theatres per capita. Is Cincinnati really more arts-rich than Chicago?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a bigger question is to ask what \u201cvibrant\u201d is meant to capture. The measure from SMU seems to be: lots of arts places. But is that what matters? Jackson, Wyoming is the most vibrant small city by this measure, and here\u2019s what they\u2019ve got<\/a>. A lot of tourist art, but if that\u2019s the focus (and I don\u2019t blame artists for trying to sell to tourists!) what would it be like to actually live there? Chacun \u00e0 son go\u00fbt<\/em>, but you couldn\u2019t pay me to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City planners adopt the \u201cvibrant\u201d mindset, which I will place at the foot of the mania for attracting the \u201ccreative class<\/a>\u201d that began in 2002, but it comes down to: we need to build buildings and have an \u201carts district\u201d. Now, sure, sometimes a city really\u00a0does<\/em>\u00a0need a new building, a venue to host things. (The\u00a0cover of my book<\/a>\u00a0is of the \u201copera house\u201d in tiny Mitchell, Indiana – at the beginning of the last century the state of Indiana, in its wisdom, thought every county should have at least one place to host lectures, recitals, plays, art, and whatnot. It was a great policy.)\u00a0But a cultural\u00a0life<\/em>\u00a0– how people in the city or town actually live – cannot be bought that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actual cultural life depends on at least a part of the population that is really involved in enjoying it, that is willing to entertain the new, that make it an important part of their lives. I don\u2019t think this can be measured – \u201carts participation<\/a>\u201d asks if people showed up at stuff, which is not the same thing at all – and I don\u2019t really see any way it can be purchased by a city government. But what the arts policy field insists on calling \u201cvibrant\u201d doesn\u2019t really give us much, certainly not a sense of vibrancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross-posted at https:\/\/michaelrushton.substack.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 90s I lived in Regina, Saskatchewan. When I moved there I had never been before, but I had been looking for work, my PhD in-progress dissertation was a bit of a train wreck (I finished it eventually), and the university there was kind enough to offer me a position. Our lives go through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image-2.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-We","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2738,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2022\/05\/book-diary-may-9-how-did-i-get-here-some-biography-econ-101ism\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":0},"title":"Book Diary – May 9 – How did I get here? Some biography, Econ 101ism…","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I am writing a book about The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts. My first diary entries are here and here. How did I come to be writing on this topic? Let's go way back... In high school I was one of the band room kids: French horn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"just a singer in a rock and roll band","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Elygra-rotated.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1110,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/economics-of-deaccessioning-a-bit-theoretical\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":1},"title":"Economics of deaccessioning (a bit theoretical) (updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is it so wrong that a museum would sell works from its collection? More specifically, why is it wrong to sell works where the proceeds from the sale would not be committed to the purchase of other works for the collection? I know of the policies of the Association\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sounds tempting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3806,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/05\/on-the-frontiers-of-ai\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":2},"title":"On the frontiers of AI","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Prelude, from The Onion: https:\/\/theonion.com\/pragues-franz-kafka-international-named-worlds-most-ali-1819594798\/ Now then. A few days ago, my son googled \u201cFranz Kafka Airport\u201d and here is what Google AI came up with: Being a public spirited sort, son informed Google that they might want to tweak this a wee bit. And so I had to check\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-2-scaled.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1018,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/01\/pricing-at-the-met\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":3},"title":"Pricing at the Met","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"January 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Today the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times report on statements from the Metropolitan Opera regarding recent changes in prices and box office revenues. The WSJ reports, under the headline \"Met Opera Suffers Budget Shortfall From Pricing Backlash\": \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Metropolitan Opera's $311 million budget fell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"not just a theory, it's the law","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/demand.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2664,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2021\/05\/do-we-know-how-changing-prices-affects-the-income-diversity-of-audiences\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":4},"title":"Do we know how changing prices affects the income-diversity of audiences?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In the very first few weeks of Econ 101 students are introduced to the \"demand curve\", relating how changes to the price of a product affect the quantity demanded of the product, all other things held equal. I've spent many years drawing these on blackboards, but they are a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2021\/05\/do-we-know-how-changing-prices-affects-the-income-diversity-of-audiences\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/price.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/price.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/price.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2051,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/07\/today-in-mathiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":3610,"position":5},"title":"Today in mathiness","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Suppose I suggested that we can think about how the plot of a work of fiction is progressing according to whether the emotional valence is rising or falling. 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