Power To The Art!!

Who should control how people, institutions, schools, and investors view the creative visual arts industry and practices that have proliferated since the late 20th Century? Will it be the traditional museums & institutions? Will it be upstart and vintage collectors and their organizations? Will it be educational establishments and the focus of their curriculum? Or will it flow from innovative visual artistic geniuses and their dedicated outreach & practices.

Curiously there was a panel discussion on the 5th floor of the Bridgeport Art Center Oct. 22nd forChicago Artists Month that danced around this topic. The panelists included a museum founder/executive, a City Arts Administrator, an emerging collector. Not only did the undercurrent of the dialog seem to reduce the stance or value of "the Artist" to how they related to being an asset to the needs of these entities but afterwards they left the premise without visiting the massive Artists Studios Open House and Gallery Exhibition called "Creative Cornerstones"on the 4th floor given by the Artists of East Bank, who had invited the panelists in the first place. They left on a crowed elevator. When it stopped on the floor below and the doors opened revealing part of the art on exhibit only one enlightened collector walked out to visit this important showcase & open house.