County Commission May Create a Cultural Task Force

Duane Hanson

An online petition encouraging President Obama to create a Secretary of the Arts position has collected hundreds of thousands of signatures and media attention, but considering the hard time Obama has had filling his current cabinet slots, it seems to be the last thing on his mind. You thought Tom Daschle's tax returns looked funny? Wait til see you the 1040s of some of these artsy types.

Meanwhile, the Miami-Dade county commission is looking to aid our local art scene with some good ol' fashioned bureaucracy by creating a cultural task force, according to Miami Today.

It seems the task force would be charged with the duel duties of bringing ideas to the County Commission from the arts community, while looking at ways to make sure that cultural non-profits survive during these dim economic times.

It's significant that the commission realizes how important culture is to the community and its future, but mixing creativity with county government is always a risky idea. Remember what happened with the Art in Public places program? Plus, this will be a force helping to ensure that the cultural community has the strongest economic impact, and not necessarily the strongest creative impact.

But, considering how much Natacha Seijas hated those Britto shirts, I trust her taste well enough.