Open Call column offers a microphone to Delaware arts, cultural organizations
This spring, Delaware Theatre Company produced my favorite musical, “Man of La Mancha.” It’s not staged all that often anymore, so it was especially sweet to be able to sit in that Riverfront theater and watch the story-within-astory-within a story unfold, told by an extraordinarily talented cast.
My parents instilled in me a deep passion for the arts, as well as a growing appreciation for history. When I travel with my family, we always make time for art along the way — from the street murals of the The Point in Salem, Massachusetts, to found-art wonder of Randyland in Pittsburgh to the musical history of Dionne Warwick at Freeman Arts Pavilion in Delaware.
At different points in my life, that’s meant majoring in English literature, volunteering at a major books festival, serving on the board of a contemporary art museum, carting “merch” for a singer-songwriter boyfriend, working as a music writer and theater critic, hawking 50/50 tickets as a theater mom, leading poetry and spoken word workshops for teens and publishing my own poems.
One of the very best parts of my job at Delaware Online/The News Journal is editing the community-generated Open Call column every week.
Launched in April 2021, our weekly Open Call to arts and cultural organizations has offered a platform for these groups to celebrate the rich landscape of the First State — its museums, performing and visual arts groups, musical ensembles and dance troupes, creative educational efforts, poetry series, listening rooms and much more.
Groups that struggled to survive throughout the pandemic began to expand programming again, forge new partnerships and take bigger risks as they work tirelessly to make their offerings more diverse and their audience more inclusive. With a new submission every Sunday, Open Call is a great place to get the word out about Delaware’s many exciting cultural offerings — theater, concert, ballet and opera seasons; exhibits and installations; new classes and programs and even new groups just finding their footing.
This was a great year to celebrate cultural milestones, arts collaborations and initiatives throughout Delaware.
The biggest arts story of the year came as the major exhibition “The Rossettis” traveled in October from London’s Tate Britain to the Delaware Art Museum, its only U.S. venue.
Sophie Lynford, Ph.D., is the Annette Woolard-Provine Curator of the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art at the museum. She wrote at the time:
“This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition showcases Dante Gabriel Rossetti works from private and public collections around the world, with the stunning highlights of Delaware’s collection at the heart. The exhibit also shares the story and creativity of the larger Rossetti family: the art of Dante Gabriel’s wife Elizabeth Siddal, and poetry and prose by siblings Christina, Maria, and William Michael Rossetti.” “The Rossettis” will remain on view through Jan. 28.
Just as Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha” rises above his stifling circumstances and inspires his friends to strive for a nobler cause, arts and cultural leaders and the volunteers they inspire work hard all year to make Small Wonder an even more rewarding, enriching place to live. It is gratifying to play even a small role in supporting Delaware’s cultural institutions as they work to become more inclusive, more sustainable and better positioned to serve a broader audience.
As the New Audience Editor of this news organization, it also helps me and my newsroom peers better understand the people of Delaware as we work hard to engage those audiences better, too.
As we move into the second half of the 2023-24 arts season, we want to send out the call to groups who have yet to write an Open Call. We want to hear from you and are happy to send you the parameters for submitting a column soon. And to all, we send our best wishes for happy holidays and healthy, joyful and inspiring new year!
Requests for Open Call guidelines can be emailed to Tammy Paolino at tpaolino@gannett.com.