DEAR AUDIENCE!
To hell with art. The municipal elections are over, and we're about to put behind us months of stronger language and a higher level of conflict than we're used to. In most municipalities, art and culture have not been a topic of contention, rather it has been a non-issue. One exception is here in Kristiansand, where plans for the dilapidated silo next to Kilden have created waves and so many toxic statements that it has resonated nationally. In the comments sections, there have been things designed to make even the most pessimistic believers in popular government darker in spirit.
It's a well-known fact that art often becomes the poster child for everything that's wrong with society. Right-wing populists all over Europe have this as a deliberate strategy. But when art criticism actually resonates with a section of the population, there may be reasons that we as cultural professionals, amateurs or audiences should face with a clearer mind. It's so easy for us to become lecturing about everything the critics haven't understood or seen of the value of art.
Perhaps it is not new art initiatives per se that they are reacting to, but that they themselves feel overlooked, that they see challenges they would like society to help with first, even though they do not feel part of a vulnerable group at all, only as a slightly less visible part of the large, general group of people.
There are at least two things that we who work in the cultural sector can do to counter this resistance. Firstly, we can get better at emphasizing that art is an important social driving force, in that it makes us ask questions about right and wrong, beauty and pain. In this sense, it is both possible and advisable to go to hell with art, at least part of the way. Or, conversely, to heaven, given art's ability to bring out the beautiful. Just think of the music you most certainly have with you, as a soundtrack to your life!
Two well-known examples from the visual arts to make the social power clear: Albertine in the policeman's waiting room and Guernica are two paintings that many can easily imagine. Christian Krogh's picture (and banned book, Albertine) led to an end to public prostitution in Norway, while Pablo Picasso's made the world aware of the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Art makes it possible to envision other people's lives, create compassion and then action.
Orchestral music, theater and opera are expensive to produce. Ticket revenues only cover a fraction of the actual costs. This cannot, and should not, be profitable in the narrow sense. Because society sees art as so important and valuable, it enjoys great public support. This is the case in most of Europe and in many other countries. Nevertheless, ticket prices have become high in many places, and although Kilden is among the best at offering cheap tickets, we too must work harder to make art accessible to everyone.
Kilden er eit teater og konserthus for Sørlandet, men vi har ingen lokal målestokk for kunstnarisk kvalitet. Målet vårt er å bli eit av dei kunstneriske kraftsentra i Norden, samtidig som vi skal ha appell til alle som Agders fremste møteplass. Derfor har vedtaka om å bygge Kunstsilo og kulturskole ved sidan av oss stor betydning. Samspelet mellom scenekunsten og musikken i Kilden, Sørlandets Kunstmuseum med ei av dei viktigaste samlingane av nordisk bildekunst og kulturskolen som den første rekrutteringsvegen inn til kunsten – resultata kan og bør bli storarta!Kunstmuseet er også med når all skaparkraft i Kilden er mobilisert til teatersjef Amalie Nilssens avskjedsoppsetting, eit altomsluttande stykke som blir eit tverrsnitt av livet bak fasadane i Kristiansand.Nå. Samtidig er det ei glede å ønske Rolf Gupta velkommen tilbake med bestillingsverket Jordens sang til Kristiansand Symfoniorkester sitt 100-årsjubileum. Vi er og stolte over å få vere dei første som tar Alexander Rybaks musikal Trolle til scenen, med Rybak sjølv i hovedrolla i denne familieframsyninga om verdien av vennskap. Er du berre ute etter å le litt, tilbyr vi det i 78 minutt i Knut Nærums speedversjon av Henrik Ibsens samlede verker. Det er nærliggande å tru at nokon etter det vil meine at Byggmester Solness burde ha komme før kommunevalet.
Welcome to great experiences in Kilden!
Hans T. Antonsen
Managing Director
