Respect the Artist
Every so often there will be a small story in the newspaper about an artist, scheduled to exhibit or perform in the U.S. having their visa canceled. It’s never very long, just a few paragraphs, usually printed in the back pages. Never on the front page.
Even though I rarely have heard anything about the artist or have any intention to go see the work, I feel a vague discomfort. As if I were in some sense deprived.
It bothers me that if I did want to see the artist, I couldn’t.
Value the Storyteller
I started thinking about the ancient Irish bards.
Bards were storytellers. In a society where few people if any could read and write, the bards remembered the common stories. The stories that connected people.
The bards were the repository of the culture. At that time, Ireland was divided into many small kingdoms. Each their own country, with borders patrolled and defended. Everyone stayed close to home. The only people to travel freely from one kingdom to another were the bards.
The performing artists in ancient Ireland could travel without any governments permission.
How times have changed.
Now, artists are singled out for special treatment in not a good way.
I propose we go back to the way things used to be. Just as there are diplomatic passports which gives certain privileges to the holder, there should be one for performance artists. Artists’ visas and passport. Unlimited free travel.
What do you think?