Think of it as the ultimate fantasy dinner party, even though it occurred in the middle of the morning, the "food" consisted of just muffins, and there was no wine.
With Debbie Chinn's arrival in the fall to become Center Stage's managing director, for the first time in history, the city's three largest arts groups are being headed entirely by women. At Center Stage, Chinn joined Irene Lewis, who has overseen the artistic direction of Baltimore's premiere regional theater for 18 years.
In September 2007, Marin Alsop made headlines internationally when she was appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. A highlight of Doreen Bolger's 11 years as director of the Baltimore Museum of Art was the introduction of free admissions in 2006.
Never before have women in Baltimore's art scene held so much power.
The Baltimore Sun couldn't resist bringing together these four leaders to talk about mutual challenges and joys. Serendipitously and coincidentally, all four came attired in black and red. For more than an hour, they brainstormed, laughed, and dished about the perils posed by the economy, the difficulties facing female executives and using technology to appeal to a younger generation.
The meeting ended with the four promising to get together regularly to trade ideas - though future discussions may unfortunately be held out of earshot of the media. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation:
It's the economy, stupid
All four of you share a commitment to producing new work. But these shows are risky at the box office. In these tough economic times, has there been any pressure from your boards to program surefire crowd-pleasers, such as The Mousetrap, or Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, or a Renoir exhibit?
Lewis: : These economic times are challenging, but they also are opportunities. There's been a lot of looking at the bottom line, but not dictating artistic goals.
Bolger:: The big issue is not whether we'll be "allowed" to do great artistic work. The real question is access, is maintaining the ability of everyone in the city to partake of what we have to offer. That requires a lot of support, not just from our trustees, but from every single person who loves the arts.
Alsop:: Don't you think that now is the time to step out, and be bolder in a way? From a musical standpoint, I think a lot of interest has gone to the West Coast. It's been pretty sleepy on the East Coast, and we have an opportunity in Baltimore to really shake things up, to create something that's exciting, innovative and thought-provoking.
