Remember this episode – one of the events boosters of Downtown Minneapolis have hung their hat on as a symbol of their commitment and capability?
It’s the 1999 move of the historic Schubert Theater [1] – a $14 million move that was part of a $42 million (in 1999 dollars – call it about $73 million today – as part of one of the various downtown revitalization efforts that happened before downtown got devitalized. The Cowles family pumped a pile of money into turning it into a community art space – home to a dance theater and other arts companies.
Well, Downtown Minneapolis is gonna downtownminneapolis:
The Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts announced Wednesday that it would end its dance programming at the Goodale Theater as of March 31. The downtown Minneapolis center’s educational and community programs will, however, continue through the end of the 2023-24 school year in May.
“It became clear, probably several months ago, that Artspace, our largest donor and administrative partner, was having their own financial troubles, which wouldn’t allow them to sustain their level of giving to the Cowles,” said Joseph Bingham, co-director of the Cowles Center. “We’ve been working in the background to kind of figure out what that meant financially and figure out either a Plan B or whether that meant potential fundraising or another partner in the picture.”
According to Bingham, two weeks ago, Cowles staff found that Artspace’s financial picture couldn’t sustain the performing arts center.
It’s unlikely that financial disarray in an arts organization is directly connected to the crime and economic malaise that’s been Downtown’s dominant feature this past four years.
But for at least some people – in this case, Libertarian Burnsville City Councilwoman Cara Schulz – one other social and literal contagion had something to do with it:
I wrote Cara to clarify. There was literally an email saying “good riddance and a pox on your house, as it were”, or words to that effect.
But yet another unused building certainly isn’t going to help things.
So – here’s the current plan:
- Some major network picks up my show. Maybe weekday afternoons.
- I turn the building into a broadcast studio (a la Keillor at the Fitzgerald) and conservative event center.
[1] Ho Lee Crap. 25 years?
I find it worthwhile if irritatingly slow that non-DemoCommies find out just how much they are hated.
What?
What?
What?
An “arts group” going broke?
Isn’t there some tax money laying around somewhere – or did Education Minnesota, Feeding Our Future or similar ilk vacuum it all up?
^ Easy there, Greg. That comment sounds like a great excuse to raise taxes.
look the legislature is about to convene and if they’re going to justify the $11.3B tax increase the Democrats say is so desperately needed it is important to illustrate for the public how much pain truly worthy organizations (NGOs) are feeling – the Cowles Center is just this year’s sacrificial goat.
come on all you squish conservatives/Republicans get on board – surely you support The Arts™?
Regarding proof of “V” (vaccination?), it strikes me that greeting everybody with Deine Papiere, bitte. is not exactly the mood that arts groups used to strike. When your greeting works better in the original German….
Regarding the shows, very typically “progressive”, but that shouldn’t have caused problems with the state arts fund, which I know from experience does not discriminate based on the quality of production, and does discriminate based on ideology and worldview in favor of progressive productions. And it certainly wasn’t high heating bills this winter. I’m going with “the productions and presentations stank up the place really badly.”
jdm,
As if they need an excuse…..
🙂
Things that never fail to surprise me…the hubris of the left. They are simply amazed when they realize that there’s a conservative (or any opposing candidate/opinion) present. My neighbors included. I love them, but the wife carries on about the evil right while just stand there and take it in, amused that she just assumes that I am in line with the state sanctioned bullshit.
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The idiocy of the DFLeftist knows no bounds. Fokking COVIDvax-does-nothing-or-very-little-at-best card to get in? How long did that last? Purple haired maskers…the absolute worst.
So – here’s the current plan:
Some major network picks up my show. Maybe weekday afternoons.
I turn the building into a broadcast studio (a la Keillor at the Fitzgerald) and conservative event center.
It’s a plan. Just be sure you have good fire insurance, and your premiums are paid up.