Arlene Goldbard

This is the third in a series of essays about bridging the distance between generations of artists who use their gifts in the service of community, of social healing and of social justice. In the first two essays, I wrote with longing about my memory of connecting with mentors in the sixties, about the relationships [...]

My last essay, on a generation gap among socially engaged artists, has provoked quite a bit of response. Now I’m moved to write by readers’ descriptions of encounters with younger activist artists they perceived as remarkably uninterested in getting down to the work, to the deep learning needed to ground their practice in a continuum [...]

First, a disclaimer. At no time did I personally utter this sentence: “Never trust anyone over 30.” (FYI, it was coined by Jack Weinberg, whose 1964 arrest for violating prohibitions against political advocacy on the UC Berkeley campus ignited the Free Speech Movement, and who—at 65 or so—is still a dedicated environmental activist, having had [...]

You know what I think of predictions, right? If you need a little reminder of the perils of prognostication, consider that we’re coming up on the 40th anniversary of the late Timothy Leary’s 1967 prediction that “Deer will be grazing in Times Square in forty years.” Actually, this morning I was thinking of a line [...]

I love the idea of protected public space within the culture. National parks are the physical analog for the kind of thing I’m talking about: public libraries, public radio, monuments and murals of the type muralist Judy Baca calls “sites of public memory.” These are spaces of meaning freely available to each and every one [...]

Earlier this week I heard Bruce Springsteen interviewed on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” The occasion was the release of the 30th anniversary edition of his breakthrough album, “Born to Run.” I’ve always liked Bruce, despite some friends’ reservations about his evident patriotism and his particular flavor of masculine assertion (I guess I like them too). But [...]

Last week, amidst the news of earthquakes, storms and governmental misdeeds, I sat around the dinner table with half a dozen friends, having “the conversation”–you know the one I mean. These conscientious, thoughtful people contribute a great deal of time and resources to heal the earth and create more just societies. But on this evening, [...]

I’m in Seattle visiting with friends for the High Holy Days. When I lived here a few years ago, I was deeply involved in a spiritual community that had suffered a deep loss, then spiralled into conflict. I had heard that recently, healing was becoming evident. So part of my reason to visit was this: [...]

A few days ago, Americans for the Arts (the largest national nonprofit arts advocacy group) announced it was merging with the Arts & Business Council (a group promoting business support for the arts). Americans for the Arts is itself the product of a merger about a decade ago between the National Assembly of Local Arts [...]