Bigger May Not Be Better For The Arts

The city of Richmond, Virginia, is contructing a beautiful new performing arts center as part of an effort to revitalize its downtown. But not everyone is happy about the project – two local writers have created a weblog called SaveRichmond.com, which takes aim at the PAC as an expensive plaything for the elite, and asserts that the city “should work with its artists, musicians and entrepreneurs to build a vibrant and diverse ‘street-level’ arts scene.” The critics also claim that the planners of the PAC don’t know anything about arts administration, and accuses the center’s board of using “dodgy finances” to hide its inability to raise money.