First Friday Art Trail-It’s Not For Everybody

Wow, I have a doozy for you. I want to really go off, but I’m going to let you decide.  Also keep in mind I was not on site or I’d probably be in jail right now getting ready to file false arrest charges against a  Lubbock Police Officer.  More after the jump.

In case you didn’t know, there is a ‘First Friday Art Trail’ in Lubbock.  I have many friends who like to go. Now, ‘artists’ in general are a little quirky and are more likely to be people who live a little outside of the realms of society.  What I mean is, goth kids, tattoo types, hippies and so on are the people who make (not manufacture) art.  That's why I'm a little bothered about this whole thing.

On Friday night we had a group of Nightmare kids zombie out and head out on the art trail. They were asked to leave the property of the Buddy Holly Center (but were advised that they could come back for a later event), they were welcomed with open arms at the Tornado Gallery and at Fat Tony’s where they stopped for refreshments.  A newlywed couple (one a disable vet) got ahead of the group and entered the Icehouse on Avenue J where they were immediately escorted out and told to leave the premises.  This isn’t a big problem, sure you’re partially tax payer funded, but it’s your place, so no big deal.  Where this becomes a big deal is when the rest of the group was just walking up the street they were met by Karen Wiley with LHUCA and a cop (blonde, blue eyes with tiny hands-strange what people remember, huh?).  They were told that during the art walk that Avenue J was considered private property and the nearest they could be was the A.J. building (which I think is about a block away).  They were also told that the Arts people didn’t even allow “not for profit groups” to be there.  Now think about that-non profit groups aren’t allowed at a city funded art walk?  Are you serious here?

Now here is a quote according to the website “The First Friday Art Trail is sponsored in part by a City of Lubbock Cultural Grant as recommended by Civic Lubbock, Inc. and Visit Lubbock Inc. and the Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Helen Jones Foundation and The CH Foundation”. This quote tells me the event is at least a little bit funded by you and I and I’m not happy about it. Even if it was privately funded, they use city streets and even city buses.

Here’s the truth-the kids were in zombie makeup.  The kids had flyers. They were not scaring anyone, but they were in costume.   The kids were on PUBLIC streets and were told by a Lubbock Policeman that those streets were private property during the arts walk.  Personally it seems to me that if they can sell the paper at intersections and hobos can ask for change on street corners, then some kids can take in some community funded art, or at least be on public streets (also keep in mind that I call them kids, but they’re all over 18).

Now what these people don’t know is that all of these kids were art trail regulars, now they’ve seen that the art trail doesn’t want “certain types”. I’m just writing this to you to ask you, ‘are you one of those ‘certain types” that the art crowd doesn’t want?   So were the kids in the right or in the wrong?  I don’t think they should be treated as less than citizens because they were in makeup.  We truly thought we were just joining a festive activity and making it even more festive.   Were they victimized by art snobs?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.    I’d love to say that “I’m never going back” but the truth is, I really didn’t give a toot about this event in the first place.

Oh, here’s a bit of irony for you.  Two years ago the Radio & T.V. media awards were held in the Icehouse. That event won an award itself for being the best produced event in Lubbock that year.  Guess who provided the props for that event?…….yep, it was Nightmare on 19^th Street.

Update-Here's Drivers version of events.