INTRO:

This week, WXXI is looking back at the events and people that made news in 2018.

Today, WXXI arts and culture contributor Jeff Spevak talks with News Director Randy Gorbman about
some of the major events in the local arts scene over this past year:

RANDY:
I'm here with Jeff Spevak, and we are talking about, of course, the year that was in arts, and of course a
little bit about what's ahead. Jeff, let's talk about the past year. What was one of the biggest events,
arts-wise, for the city?

JEFF:
Well, just in general, looking around the city itself, the 200-year-old man who was seen all over the city
this year. Thirteen statues of Frederick Douglass celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of the one-
time slave who became one of the country's greatest social reformers. Our city is built on that kind of
history.

So we celebrated Douglass as well, with the debut of "The North Star," which is the latest piece by
Rochester's acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance company. And he has, you know, a kind of keen sense of
fashion. I spotted his costumes ... the backs of some of the dancers' shirts are torn open, and they kind
of reveal these red marks of a whip. And there's that evil chapter of our history that he's reminding us
of. So, we're very fortunate to have the high culture, such as Garth Fagan Dance, and the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester City Ballet to speak to us about not only arts, but issues. And
that's the duty of the arts. And we had a lot to listen to in 2018.

RANDY:
What about some of the biggest events this year?

JEFF:
Well, with the name change, it's now a marketing mouthful, but the CGI Communications Rochester
International Jazz Festival. It's still my favorite nine days of the year in Rochester, but you don't want to
overlook the Key Bank Rochester Fringe Festival, which next year expands to 12 days. It's a September
showcase for Rochester creativity and some of our world-recognized artists such as PUSH Physical
Theatre.

RANDY:
What about music? In terms of those kinds of arts, what'd you like this year?

JEFF:
Joywave is Rochester's indie rockers. They started off the year with an appearance on "The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert." And they've been joined on Hollywood Records by their friends and their
frequent collaborators, Kopps, so the rest of the country now thinks Rochester is some kind of haven for
energetic electronic rock and offbeat music videos. So the scene is hot.

Mikaela Davis has appeared on stage with Joywave and recorded with the band, and she's a classically
trained harp player who's gone kind of rock-and-roll rogue, so this summer, Rounder Records put out
her debut album.
RANDY:
What about the visual arts? What was impressive this year?

JEFF:
Well, the arts community is going to hate this, but ... especially with the very, very nice Monet exhibit in
town now, but the two shows that really struck me were the work of two Rochester amateurs. One was
an exhibit called, "The Surreal Visions of Josephina Tota," and Tota created 93 painting influenced by
medieval art and Salvador Dali and Lewis Carroll and Frida Kahlo.

And then we had the "Fabric of Survival: The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz," and that was stunning
fabric tapestries created by a Polish refugee from the memories of her life as a young Jewish girl hiding
from the Nazis during World War II.

RANDY:
What about architecture? What did you see? I know that was kind of an issue in a way, if you were
paying attention.

JEFF:
Yet another proposal for the downtown performing arts center implodes. If you want steady work in this
city, get a job in architectural rendering, drawing fantastic buildings that will never become a reality.

RANDY:
All right. And overall, I guess that won't be one of them, but what will you miss most about 2018?

JEFF:
Well, we lost Wendell Castle, who was the creator of the art furniture movement. And Rep. Louise
Slaughter, who fought for the arts. Albert Paley, creator of the megalithic abstract sculptures you see
around, he says he's winding down his career.
And you kind of wonder, what comes after these heroes?

RANDY:
Yeah, I mean, obviously, Albert is still creating things but not in the same fashion in terms of his
operation there.

JEFF:
He's going to wind it down, he says.

RANDY:
All right. Jeff, great talking to you. We'll see what's ahead in 2019.

JEFF:
Thanks, Randy.