Sunday, January 31, 2010
Arts & Extras: Grandin staff change creates a stir
Courtesy of Jesi Pace-Berkley
"Sisters and Friends" is a painting by VMFA 2010 Graduate Fellowship winner Jesi Pace-Berkeley of Blacksburg.
Arts & Extras column
Mike Allen, arts columnist
Recent columns
- 'Ophelia' marks Black History Month
- Art Council's updated website reflects mission to be 'inclusive'
- Metal sculptor who died too young gets retrospective
Arts&Extras blog
Recent posts
A recent firing at Grandin Theatre in Roanoke has triggered condemnation on the Internet and even a protest on the street outside the theater, but the long-term effect on the theater itself remains unclear.
On Jan. 11, the theater's executive director, Kathy Chittum, terminated general manager Jason Garnett.
Both Chittum and Garnett have worked at the Grandin for more than a decade, and both have declined to comment about the firing.
What happened next provides an example of the far-reaching changes in society wrought by the Internet and especially Facebook.
Beth Deel, a prominent Roanoke artist and co-owner of The Water Heater, posted Jan. 13 on her Facebook page that she was withdrawing her screen ads and boycotting the theater in reaction to Garnett's dismissal.
Before long, more than two dozen people had responded, usually expressing sympathy and support for Garnett, who was portrayed as a hard worker who put in long hours to make the theater run both on and off the clock.
Julie Hunsaker, who owned the Grandin before it closed and was taken over by the Grandin Theatre Foundation in 2002, was among those expressing dismay at Garnett's firing.
The comments have generally implied that there was long-standing friction between Garnett and Chittum.
The anger over the termination spilled out from the Internet onto the street when a group of about 40 people stood outside the theater the evening of Jan. 16, holding signs that read "Fire Kathy Chittum" and "Save the Grandin!"
Three days later, Grandin Theatre board president Chris Banta released a statement that the foundation's executive committee supports Chittum's decision.
"We will be working with Jason to ensure that he is treated fairly and that any concerns he has (equipment, pay, etc.) are resolved fairly both in the eyes of the Board's Executive Committee and Jason's," he wrote.
The statement didn't satisfy Garnett's supporters, who have continued to send angry letters to the board, criticize Garnett's treatment on blogs and Facebook, and even started a protest petition, links to which can be found on the Grandin Theatre's own Facebook "fan" page.
"Simply releasing a respectful statement that thanked Jason for his many years of service and dedication to the Grandin and wishing him well as he and the theatre part ways, probably would have allowed Jason's supporters, who are all truly Grandin supporters, to move on with the same Zen grace that Jason has demonstrated," wrote Roanoke resident and former Roanoke Times reporter Beth Jones in a comment on my Arts & Extras blog. "As written, the statement left me feeling even more frosty toward the Grandin Theatre Foundation."
The critics have raised concerns about the Grandin's "Open Projector Night," a showcasing of amateur movies by local auteurs in which audience members vote for their favorites, crediting Garnett with being the driving force behind it.
Banta has said the theater will continue with all its special programming, including the Open Projector Nights, the Midnight Movies, Saturday cartoons and events tied into the Academy Awards. He also wrote in an e-mail that the Grandin will hire a replacement for Garnett.
Monday marks the deadline to place entries in the next Open Projector Night, which is scheduled for Feb. 23.
Regional artists win sizable fellowships
Several Roanoke and New River Valley artists have received substantial fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.
The museum announced Jan. 22 the awarding of $202,000 in fellowship grants to Virginia artists.
Painter and folk artist Ann Glover and painter and abstract artist Brett LaGue, both of Roanoke, each received $8,000 professional fellowships. The judge for those fellowships was Laura Hoptman of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.
Blacksburg graduate student Jesi Pace-Berkeley, a Radford native, was awarded a $6,000 fellowship, and undergraduate students Luke Harman of Blacksburg and Irena Stanisic of Roanoke County each received $4,000 awards.
David Brown, the director of art for Roanoke's Taubman Museum of Art, was one of the four jurors who selected the graduate and undergraduate fellows.
Anne Compton speaks at history museum event
ABC News White House Correspondent Ann Compton will be the speaker at the History Museum of Western Virginia's "History is Served" luncheon.
Compton's career in broadcast journalism began at WDBJ (Channel 7) in Roanoke in the early 1970s. She then joined the staff of ABC News, and in 1974 became the first woman assigned to cover the White House full time.
She became chief Washington correspondent for abcnews.com in 2000. During the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she was the only broadcast reporter allowed to stay on board Air Force One.
She was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2000, and inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.
The title of her presentation is "Thirty Years of Presidential News Coverage."
Tuesday is the deadline for reservations, which are $65. The lunch takes place at noon Feb. 7 in the Hotel Roanoke's Crystal Ballroom. For more information call 342-5724 or visit www.history-museum.org.
Star City Playhouse holds fundraiser play
Star City Playhouse on Williamson Road in Roanoke is holding a fundraiser to assist with the tax payment on the building that houses it by presenting an original play written to tie into Black History Month.
The theater company will perform "Inmost Hearts," a one-act play by Karon Sue Semones Ferguson, at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The shows will also feature African storytelling by Brenda Brown-Grooms.
Star City owner Marlow Ferguson has described his wife's play as being about two women neighbors separated by racial and religious divides who never learn how much they have in common.
Tickets are $15. For more information call 366-0060 or visit Star City Playhouse on Facebook.
Sweet Briar College's Fringe Festival is this weekend
Starting Thursday and ending Sunday, Sweet Briar College will host arts-related activities all over campus as its second Fringe Festival takes place.
More than 30 scheduled events include art shows, vocal and instrumental concerts, short plays, dance recitals, jazz, literary readings, video projects and even a performance by an illusionist.
All the events are free. For more information call (434) 381-6134 or visit www.fringefestival.sbc.edu.
On the Arts blog
On my blog, you'll find details about the "Best in Show," an art show and sale that benefits the Roanoke Valley SPCA, with an opening reception Feb. 5 at the Taubman Museum of Art. On Monday, watch for a interview with multimedia artist Paul Miller, aka "DJ Spooky," who'll be speaking Feb. 4 at the Taubman as part of its "Big Ideas, Bright Minds," lecture series. Get more information on these events and more at blogs.roanoke.com/arts.
