Porter Arneil, City of Lawrence Director of Arts and Culture, says he is an accidental arts administrator. A sculptor with an MFA degree, the told Central Rotarians, he got into arts administration because he believes the arts are an essential part of humanity, from the cave paintings of 15000 B.C. to the crop art of Kansan Stan Herd today.
Art is a biological thing, he said, not just an outside thing but a part of the human condition. Although he believes art education is not generally favored in the United States today and it’s hard for those in the field to bring art back into the public consciousness, he believes it is happening.
“Art, craft, design, are part of our lives,” Arneil said. “We take for granted how much of this we have. Because of computers we have even more need for innovative thinkers. Left brain dominance is decreasing and right brain emphasis is increasing.
“Our economy has evolved from agrarian to industrial to service to digital/creative and cities are beginning to integrate the arts into curriculums.”
He gives Lawrence high marks. “Lawrence has great arts education,” he said. “With the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission, the Phoenix Award, outdoor sculptures, city -community arts grants, public art, final Fridays and the East Ninth street plan to name a few.”
He is working with the task force created to define cultural assets of the city, making recommendations. “There’s a city-wide plan for Lawrence with 21 different topics surveyed. There’s a real awareness of how important this is,” he said.
Answering questions about the East Ninth street project he said it is a struggle for some and has a way to go, but seems to be moving favorably so far.
“There’s a nationwide effort to find out the economic impact of the arts and we’re working on finding what the economic benefits are for Lawrence.”
