Artslandia at the Performance: Portland Playhouse Nov/Dec 2014 | Page 26

B A R RY
JO H N S O N

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE

PORTLAND CLASSIC.

Arts for ...
Or for All?
As top colleges wage an arts infrastructure arms race,
can publicly-accessible arts keep pace?

PORTLAND CONTEMPORARY.

Those of us who care deeply about the
arts are always worrying about their
future, mostly because the attention
the culture at large pays them seems
to be shrinking. The arts signal seems
weak compared to the vast noise in the
culture, and the noise is getting louder.
Except maybe in one place — university
campuses.
Are the arts heading back to school? We
have both national and local evidence
that maybe that’s the case.
Harvard University recently completed
the renovation/expansion of the Harvard
Art Museums, a six-year project that
involved a design by eminent “starchitect” Renzo Piano and $350 million. Or
$400 million. The reports differ and at
that level, $50 million, give or take, is an
accounting matter among friends.

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18

ARTSLANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE MARCH | APRIL

Are the arts heading
back to school? We
have both national and
local evidence that
maybe that’s the case.

Harvard isn’t the only university to
splurge on the arts. The New York Times
noted several examples in an article about
what it called the “Arts Race” at elite
universities, starting with Yale’s $500
million, decades-long rebuilding of its
arts and architecture facilities, which
concluded with the $135 million rehab of
the Yale University Art Gallery in 2012.
Stanford is starting to open buildings in a
new campus arts district, complete with
a major performing arts center and new
museum. Princeton, Rice and the University of Chicago all have new projects
finished or nearing completion.
Portland State University and Reed College have made smaller investments than
these, but they’re still significant. And if
you haven’t seen them yet, they are well
worth the visit. Portland State and Boora
Architects revamped (former Y