The sign read "Art Show" with an arrow pointing to Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Same as the info printed on the postcard sent by the Coeur d'Alene Art Association hosting the annual event this typically atypically cool spring weekend. Although the parking lot was full enough and there'd be plenty of interesting work on view, this would be yet another event that would not receive press coverage.
And then the anvil dropped on my head: I'm not busy enough...I should start an ART blog.
The inland Northwest is home to many fine (and not-so-fine) art venues, ranging from boutique galleries, local art associations, college-based stuff, contemporary galleries, community art festivals, and even a museum or two. And yet, coverage is pretty slim.
In Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Press does an occasional feature, while the other journalistic giant--the Spokesman Review--covers the bigger events, like Art Fest. A big void was left when the S-R axed the wonderfully thorough arts blog run by then-arts writer Julianne Crane, who also did the lion's share of the arts writing for them. The alt-weeklies lead the pack, including Sandpoint's Reader and Spokane's The Pacific Northwest Inlander (aka the Inlander), for whom I write. Some local magazines write about art, including Sandpoint Magazine, for whom I also write.
Although my talented and funny Inlander editor, Michael Bowen (did I mention charming? And generous...hint, hint), had asked me about doing a blog, I was sure I didn't have time. And I don't. Nor do I think my opinion is the definitive one on arts in the inland Northwest; to be sure, there are far more knowledgeable folks than I out there.
But, in the spirit of how most things get started, this blog was predicated on the simple belief that someone had to do it. Mine as well be me.
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