Concerts happen. Plays happen. Gallery exhibitions happen. Poetry slams happen.
These events matter. Someone should review them.
That’s the philosophy behind the Independent Review Crew.
The art of in-person, honest, independent, smart and fearless reviewing seems to be dying. Local arts scenes are thriving in cities of all sizes. Yet rarely do local arts events get reviewed.
The Review Crew (find the articles here) is a new initiative of the nonprofit Online Journalism Project. It aims to seed a network of writers in cities across the country to review in-person local cultural events.
These live events matter because they tap into the soul of a community, bringing people together from different backgrounds, sharing dreams and memories, joy and heartache and perspectives, in the quest for common purpose and meaning. Writing about them matters because it gives people a fuller portrait of the place they live in. The life of a city is about public policy debates, schools, crime, and housing. But it’s also about the outdoor show that made people dance into the night, or the discussion after a book reading where people felt freer to speak their minds, or the art exhibition that let everyone see the place they live through another’s eyes. Documenting that for everyone to read gives us all a chance for a deeper understanding of where we live, and a clearer articulation of a vision for the future.
We’d like to help start the process of reviving and reimagining local reviews. The plan is to launch the Independent Review Crew in the fall with reviewers posting regular pieces on live performances and exhibitions in five initial cities. Before that, in the summer, we will test out the idea with sample reviews from different locales. Please let us know what you think!
More about the Review Crew:
• A new national network of arts and culture reviewers (What Works)
• LoveBabz LoveTalk with Babz Rawls-Ivy: Independent Review Crew (WNHH FM)
• Greater Boston arts and local news get a boost from three new nonprofit projects (Media Nation)
• New Haven, New Confidence (Tulsa Lines)
Editor: Paul Bass
Arts editor & New Haven bureau chief: Brian Slattery
Tulsa bureau chief: Alicia Chesser
LA bureau chief: Michelle Chihara
Hartford bureau chief: Jamil Ragland
Oakland bureau chief: Sarah Bass
Philadelphia bureau chief: Nora Grace-Flood
Crew reviewers: Breezy Bratton (Oakland), Fred Noland (Oakland), Robin Lapid (Oakland), Lisa Gray (Oakland), Z.B. Reeves (Tulsa), Becky Carman (Tulsa), Ryan Anderson (Tulsa), Danny Diaz (LA), Madeline Connors (LA), Jose Davila IV (Salt Lake City), K Hank Jost (NYC), Libby Weitnauer (Nashville), Karen Ponzio (New Haven), Mickey Mercier (NW Arkansas), RS Benedict (Albany), Betsy Kim (NYC), Brandon Sward (LA), Synclaire Cruel (Raleigh/Durham), Mitch Gilliam (Tulsa), Allison Hadley (Chicago), Daniel Shoemaker (Chicago), Adam Wassilchalk (NYC),
Publishing Partners
LA Review of Books
Universal Hub (Boston)
Root Tulsa
The Idle Class (Arkansas)
