Sometimes I save photographs for what seems like no good reason. Often it’s purely because it reminds me of something else. This one may have been a listing for materials in Facebook marketplace.
But, to me, it bore a resemblance to another photo that grabbed my attention a year or so ago. This one:
And that photo put me in mind of this.
Architect’s/Artist’s rendering of Columbia’s Lakefront Library
Columbia/HoCo’s Current Obsession, Village Green/Town², May 4, 2023
I've been pondering whether that first photo…
…was possibly a “starter kit” for the Lakefront Library. (Think IKEA but without the Allen wrenches.) I was wrong. A press release yesterday from County Executive Calvin Ball shifted my focus.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Announces Advancement of New Cultural Center in Downtown Columbia, HoCo Gov, 11/12/2024
The New Cultural Center will be an exciting epicenter for dynamic visual and performing arts, not only for Downtown Columbia but throughout our county and region. Building upon the legacy of Toby’s Dinner Theatre, this new public amenity will bring together arts, culture, education, and recreation opportunities for residents of all incomes and ages. Furthermore, the inclusion of critical workforce housing in this project will add to Downtown Columbia’s appeal as a place where people of all incomes can live, work, play, grow, and thrive.
Calvin Ball, Howard County Executive
A new cultural center is a part of the Downtown Plan. So is a new Downtown library. Neither of these things are new ideas and there have been plenty of meetings, plans drawn up, written documentation, council hearings, you name it. Do I believe it will get community support? After what happened with the library: no.
Please note: I am not saying that it shouldn’t happen. I’m saying that I’ve honestly become so jaded about how things are playing out with the Downtown Plan that I don’t even want to get emotionally invested in it. Already the announcement on the Howard County Government Facebook page has atttracted the usual naysayers (dare I say trolls?) decrying an arts center as a vanity project.
Their demands? Spending is to be limited to schools, law enforcement, fire protection and infrastructure.
If this sounds familiar, it probably because it’s the same sort of mindset that motivates decisions to decimate humanities programs.(
Remember that?)
Studying topics within the humanities (this includes the arts, remember) provides us with the tools to think creatively and critically, to reason, and ask questions. Additionally, it fosters the ability to look at things from different points of view, which, in turn, develops empathy. All of these things are crucial in becoming active and informed in civic engagement. They contribute to building better informed and more consistent voters plus they are strong motivators for community engagement and volunteering. F ³: The Numbers May Shock You!, Village Green/Town² October 2024
Libraries that offer many and varied opportunities/services and arts centers that combine arts, culture, education, and recreation are valuable parts of community life. I might even suggest that they are vital infrastructure. It’s possible I am not alone in this thinking because our community chose both of these things to be included in Columbia’s Downtown Plan.
There are those who think that if even one developer is in a room that it contaminates the entire proceedings. I don’t think I will be changing their minds here. Still, I think it’s worthwhile to note that members of community were a part of this process, too and they wanted the library and the arts center included in the plan. And both are amenities which will be accessible to anyone, county-wide.
What was the point of making a downtown plan then if we are only going to accomplish the parts that don’t irritate anyone now?
If we limit spending to “schools, law enforcement, fire protection and infrastructure” we may make our trolls happy. But, as a community, we will be sadder, less empowered, less engaged, and stupider.
What a thing to be clamoring for.
*****
Today in Local HoCo gift giving: how about tickets to a performance by a HoCo Local performing arts group?
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