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e h t n o S U C O F Each fall, we round up some of the best upcoming arts-related events, whether pop culture or fine art, including operas, plays, gallery exhibitions and even rock bands, and place them into the Focus on the Arts calendar. Fire up, culture-lovers, this listing gives you our picks through the rest of 2013.
The State of the Arts
Addressing the future of Toledo's most important commodity by Joseph Schafer
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s of this writing, it has been two and a half years since Detroit, and the automotive companies headquartertered there, embarked on the greatest re-branding campaign in recent memory. Readers may remember the excellent “Imported From Detroit” Chrysler commercial, which starred rapper Eminem and aired during the Superbowl. Chrysler is sticking with their slogan, even after Detroit’s bankruptcy filing. The post-industrial midwest is experiencing a deficit of more than just money—the region has an identity crisis. Neighboring cities, like Detroit, are asking themselves: what will we produce now that the age of the American factory is over?
Toledo has no such crisis. We know what we will produce: art. Lucas County residents enjoy easy access to a surplus of artistic experiences. Fine art thrives at our internationally-renowned museum, with its cuttingedge Glass Pavilion, as well as at smaller local galleries. On stage, the Toledo Opera and The Toledo Ballet’s events, as well as productions by the Toledo Repertoire Theater and The Village Players prove that America’s oldest forms of entertainment flourish here. Meanwhile, private studios abound—those in the Secor Building, for example—relatively new and unknown artists, many of them graduates from Bowling Green State University or the University of Toledo, are pumping out high-quality work.
Toledoans are, perhaps, spoiled. As proof, consider The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo’s biannual Artomatic 419!, which assembles hundreds of creatives of every style in one location and accompanies them with live music, poetry, and smallscale theater performances. The only other event of its kind, the original Artomatic, resides in Washington D.C.
economy around, and because of that, they are easy to ignore and mistreat. Detroit, immediately following its bankruptcy filing, had the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection assessed. An assessment is not a sale, but it’s enough to lead people to breaking a sweat. Great art venues close all the time—R.I.P. 20North—and our opportunities to cherish them can be brief. The arts give communities a sense of identity. Our museums offer windows into the history of the world. Events like Art-o-matic and the annual Art Walks give people of all ages, ethnicities and tax brackets a reason to leave their homes and interact. Art levels the playing field, because anyone can appreciate beauty, or ugliness—after all, everyone has an opinion.
S b September 12
Thursday Final Art Walk Bicycle Bonanza
During the Toledo Arts Commission final Art Walk of the year, there will still be plenty of art, food and music, as well as a Bicycle Bonanza. For more information see our Art note on pg.28. 6-9pm. UpTown, Adams Street. 419-254-2787. theartscommission.org
The easiest way for anyone to support the arts is also the most simple: spend money on them.Want to own a completely original piece of art? Consider that minimum wage is only 7.85 an hour, and that composing sculpture or painting, from sketch to final realization, can take hours. Imagine a piece sold for $300 after forty hours of work—not to mention the materials used, the talent and skill the artist would have made slightly less than minimum wage. The price for something local, and completely original, is almost always more than fair. The state of the arts, in Toledo at least, is strong. It will take continued and increasing support to maintain it. In 2013, it is easier than ever to connect with artists, and purchase art, through social media like Facebook and Pinterest, as well as through face-to-face interaction. Here are some of the choicest arts-related events in Toledo for the remainder of the year. Thursday, September 12 provides the perfect opportunity to start your own collection: the final Art Walk of the year. Introduce yourself to an artist and support Toledo’s precious commodity by owning a piece of it, imported from nowhere—made right here.
Our art scene, in all of its disciplines, is precious and needs to be safeguarded. The arts will not turn America’s
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September 11 • September 24
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