"Furious Improvisation" Looks at History of Federal Theater Project

"Furious Improvisation" by Susan Quinn recounts the history of the Federal Theater Project from the 1930's. "It is a vivid and engrossing portrait of the turbulent 1930s, rich in humor and anecdotes which combine to tell not only the story of the theatre project but also of the Great Depression and government intervention in a time of national peril, a time when the still-pressing issues of discrimination, injustice and the meaning of liberty commanded center stage. "

NPR book reviewer Maureen Corrigan reviewed the book and said the book was full of "goose bump raising anecdotes," such as the dramatic moment when President Franklin's political strategist Harry Hopkins, and WPA director, addressed a hostile crowd in Iowa City in 1935 after a performance. "Who," they demanded, "is going to pay for this?" Hopkins answered, "You are. And who better? This is America, the richest country in the world. We can afford to pay for anything we want. And we want a decent life for all the people in this country. And we are going to pay for it."

Wow. Imagine a top aid to the current president passionately defending the public funding for a controversial cultural event and claiming that the arts and culture are part of the basics of "a decent life."And then further claiming that we have the funds and should fund the arts as a national public good.

Listen to an interview with Susan from WILL-AM.

Where Women Rule

How creative can America be if women continue to face barriers in economic participation and political representation?

According to a 2004 issue of Ode Magazine, America ranks 25 out of 50 countries surveyed in terms of percentages of elected representatives who are women. Saudi Arabia is in last place with 0 out of 120 seats. America, with 14.3% (62 seats out of 435 in the House) is behind Canada (21%), South Africa (34%) , Denmark (38%) and Number One - Rwanda where women fill 49% of the seats. A more recent study placed the U.S. 69th in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments out of 188 countries with direct elections.

The good news is that in the 110th Congress, women hold 16 of the 100 Senate seats and 71 House seats - both up from the prior Congress. Nine women are governors, 24% are state legislators and 21% are state senators. 17% of the mayors of cities with more than 30,000 residents are women.

International Conference on Creative Tourism Comes to Santa Fe

The Santa Fe International Conference on Creative Tourism is the first global gathering of its kind. Taking place in santa Fe, September 28 to October 2, 2008; the conference will provide the skills and knowledge necessary for developing creative tourism programs by experiencing practical applications and through sessions with some of the world’s foremost leaders in the field. Key to the learning process will be the participation of UNESCO Creative Cities Network representatives; a group of international experts who will share background information, advice, and lessons from their own creative tourism programs. This concept of cities helping cities is fundamental to the Creative Cities Network charter.

Join the New Creativity Champions Community

If you write about, research, teach, train, celebrate or value creativity - then you're a Creativity Champion. Now there's an online community made for you...


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Art The Vote Says "Vote!" (Creatively)

Art the Vote is a nonpartisan, arts-driven effort to engage, register and mobilize young voters and the creative community in the political process prior to the November 2008 election. Using contemporary artists' original works on billboards throughout the state of Missouri, from early September to early November 2008, Art the Vote hopes to elevate the importance of registering and voting in the November election. Art the Vote was launched by a committee of artists and arts supporters in January of 2008. It is a Missouri-based unprecedented effort. Using original art, Art the Vote will build awareness through its billboard campaign and take action through voter registration efforts targeting young voters and members of the creative community.


I really like this design by David Stephensen. His statement: "I am 19 years old and just graduated from Sumner High School in St. Louis. I work as an artist's apprentice at Boomerang Press, the social enterprise of St. Louis ArtWorks. We work after school and through the summer doing graphic design and learning other disciplines. During the 2008 spring program, our writing group created poetry about democracy and we illustrated their ideas. They wrote of both the positive and the negatives of living in a free country, and what that means to us as urban teens, many who will be voting for the first time in this fall’s presidential election. I was asked to create an illustration for the cover of the book we published of their work, and this image is a modified version of that cover"

Take a Survey on Going to the Theater

The League of Chicago Theatres asks you to participate in an important study of arts and leisure activity in the U.S . The study, which is being conducted through Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg School of Management and funded by Boeing and a national arts organization called Leveraging Investments in Creativity ("LINC"), takes a new approach to studying how and why people participate in the arts. If successful, this research promises to help arts organizations understand and serve their audiences better.

Your answers and identity will be kept separate and used only to create an aggregate picture of participation and engagement in theater and other activities. Your answers, though part of a group, are essential to the program's success. It is a big study, and a large a group of thoughtful participants is needed.

The survey generally takes just 15-20 minutes of people's time, and gives you a unique chance to share your opinions and experiences with the people who really care about the arts. As an incentive for participating, the League will enter any participant who wishes in a drawing for a chance to win $100 in Play Money gift certificates, which can be used to buy tickets to 75 Chicago theater companies. If you win, you can use the Play Money yourself or give it to a friend who you'd like to join you at the theater more often. It's up to you.

To participate in this study, simply click the hyperlink below and answer all of the questions in the survey. Upon completion, you will be able to enter to win $100 in Play Money gift certificates.

Thanks for your time and support of this important effort. Please click here to take the survey:

http://kellogg.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_esqji7A63E7tCQc&SVID=Prod