Cutting D. Eric Bookhardt's column: another least favorite thing

The Gambit Weekly has decided that art criticism is not important.

WOW! It's hard to imagine that art critics would be cut, now, right after New Orleans was the center of the art world, however briefly, the first weekend of November. Our city was also briefly the center of the theatre world in November for the Fringe Fest. But theatre and visuals arts are still in the back seat, judging from the news that one or the other critical columns will be cut in the new "redesign" of the Gambit, starting this coming week.

I guess it's news to those not in the arts that critical response is important. Artists need to be written about. We need to see our work from other eyes - we learn and grow from it. We also use reviews to put in our grant and job applications. Reviews show that we are part of a community, part of a dialogue that extends beyond ourselves. Our arts community is experiencing a huge boom right now. This is not the time to cut art criticism!

We don't know what the redesign will actually look like, but we think that there will be more "blurbs." "Blurbs" are not an acceptable substitute for art criticism! Don't be fooled by the Gambit response you will get if you write them, stating that "we are not eliminating arts coverage, we are actually adding it..." "Blurbs," like the current ones we see in listings section with the small photo, will not be an acceptable substitute for thoughtful arts criticism.

Karen Kern of the New Orleans Arts Council wrote this brief and elegant letter to the Gambit. I wanted to post it here and encourage those who have not yet written the Gambit to write and demand Eric's column back:

I'm writing to urge you to keep the "Inside Art" column by D. Eric Bookhardt. The dramatic post-K rebound of the local arts scene and it's impact on our economic and spiritual recovery have been hard to miss. The boom has been evident across the arts spectrum - from the explosion of high art (new arts districts such as the St. Claude corridor, Prospect.1, the amazing array of new public art all over town) to the overwhelming number of arts activities presented by a slew of local groups. For arts enthusiasts, it's been nearly impossible to keep up with the wealth of offerings. The positive effects of all of this have touched business owners, school children, and neighborhoods. It has brought New Orleans positive attention in national publications and media.

At this time of unprecedented local arts activity and notoriety, we need more critical review, not less! Eric Bookhardt's "Inside Art" column is vitally important to our burgeoning, internationally-recognized local arts scene. And, our arts and culture are vitally important to our economy and our future. To eliminate the column and Eric's important critical review is short-sighted; it’s not only a disservice to the arts community and to the Gambit readership, but to the city.

Please reinstate "Inside Art" and Eric Bookhardt!

Karen Kern
Grants Manager
Arts Council of New Orleans

Here are the addresses:
Gambit main email address:
response@gambitweekly.com

Editor:
Kevin Allman:
kevina@gambitweekly.com

Publisher:
Margo Dubos:
margo@gambitweekly.com