I just got back home from WNYC‘s Soundcheck Smackdown and I’m very glad to be back in the company of my husband, who occasionally DOES let me get a word in edgewise.
It appears from the comments posted on New York Public Radio’s website that I won by a knockout (or rather, that the loquacious challenger, Nick Gillespie, lost it). I haven’t listened to myself yet, but I know there’s at least one smart move I made in this slugfest: I highlighted Nick’s passing remark about his opposition to federal support of the arts.
With that did-he-really-say-that? moment, he lost all his points with most of the listeners who are involved in the artworld or who care about the future of the arts. Still, we agreed on one crucial point: Initiatives for specific cultural programs abroad should come from the bottom up, not the top down. The concepts and programming should emanate from artists and cultural institutions, not the government. As I said near the beginning, it should be CULTURAL diplomacy, not cultural DIPLOMACY. The culture comes first.
I may have more to say about some of the posted comments later. But for now, let’s listen together, shall we?