As most of you already know, the mayoral elections for the city of Atlanta will take place tomorrow. Although the AJC and other local news outlets have been covering the election, there is a dearth of information on the web, making it difficult to form a clear idea of candidate’s platform at the last minute. I did find something very interesting regarding their outlook on culture and arts in Atlanta. This subject may seem a little removed from GMOA affairs, but concerning ourselves with the future of the Atlanta arts scene and its funding may help us gain some perspective on what could happen with art exchanges, joint programs and museum collaborations. The candidates include Lisa Borders, Peter Brownlowe, Tiffany Brown, Kyle Keyser, Aaron Ford Duke Lewis, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed and Jesse Spikes. Borders (president of the Atlanta City Council and very involved in Atlanta health care foundations), Norwood (councilwoman for the city of Atlanta), Reed (Democratic member of the Georgia state senate), and Spikes (Atlanta attorney) participated in a cultural Q & A September 24. The gist of the interview has to do with funding, with some variations on the question. Although the Metro Atlanta Arts & Culture Coalition’s website does not give specifics as to where and how this interview happened, the answers to these questions are still illuminating. On October 12, the same four candidates gave more detailed answers on issues of arts funding and cultural awareness at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta for the Arts and Culture Mayoral Forum, videos of which are posted on the Web sites of Metro Atlanta Arts and the Culture Coalition.
There is not much variety in answers, and not much turbulence in their opinions, but I still find the vicissitudes in the slightly varying answers still interesting and worthwhile. If you’re based in Atlanta, be sure to vote!
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