On the eve of the Decatur Arts Festival, and in the time-honored tradition of copping ideas from the New York Times, I thought it would be interesting to pose a question directly to our city’s artists.

The recent response to a question posed by the New York Times about how artists were responding to the recession peaked my locavore-ish interest.  While many artists relayed the expected stories of less work and funding, many also mentioned in the same virtual-breath that the slowdown was also in some ways “liberating.”   Singer/songwriters have found more time to write and play their own work – instead of an endless cycle of covers, while visual artists talked about time to focus on refining their skill set.

Obviously the economic slowdown is going to hit some people harder than they can take it.  What may seem liberating to one artist who brings in less work but can still pay the bills, can feel like the end of the world for one with no work or income.   However, the Times article talked a lot about how these “dispatches from the arts world were infused with fortitude and resolve, as well as a sense of release” and I was curious to see if Decatur/Atlanta/Georgia artists have had a similar reaction.

Art and economics have always been intricately connected, so there’s no doubt that this newly termed “Great” Recession will have a very real impact on the world’s art forms.  The physical results are yet unknown, but thanks to a little more time on our hands, it may just be an age of rediscovery.

I look forward to your responses.

Decatur's Allison Adams - Photo Courtesy of NPR

Allison points to this All Things Considered segment that aired on NPR yesterday featuring Decatur/Atlanta’s Chicks in the City tour.

Great exposure and a great segment!

A reader writes in…

Taqueria del Sol on Ponce recently got a 77 “C” rating on their health inspection. I couldn’t bring myself to study the rating sheet long enough to see the reasons. One of the few places left in town that everyone in my family is willing to go (that and BSP), so I’m a bit taken aback by this discovery.

I’m pretty sure it was in the 90s last I saw.  Let’s hope we can get a decent explanation as to the cause of this decline.

UPDATE: FH and DecaturMom4 give us a links to the details in the comments section.

UPDATE II: Read Taqueria’s response after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »