In Tuesday’s (9/28) Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), Jeffrey Sheban writes, “President Barack Obama’s colorful and controversial point man for the arts—alligator boots and all—touched down yesterday in Columbus to meet and rally the creative community. The stop marked the latest on a multi-city tour for Rocco Landesman, a former Broadway producer turned chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts who isn’t shy about advocating the arts in times of economic hardship. His message: Creative jobs in orchestras, in theaters and behind easels are just as legitimate and worthy of taxpayer support as those in health care, road construction and other professions. … As if to underscore the point, Landesman was joined on the tour by Alex Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership, an economic-development group supported by leaders of the largest companies in central Ohio. ‘Arts and culture are what give us the foundation for this being one of the best places to live and work and play in the country,’ Fischer said. ‘The chairman’s national emphasis is making the broader … (point) that arts are not disconnected from job creation.’ ”
Posted September 29, 2010
