8 Comment

• Purdueenginerd September 7, 2012 at 9:32 am

  Pardon my ignorance, what is entailed with being designated a cultural arts and entertainment district?

  -midtown resident
• mek ju September 7, 2012 at 10:02 am

  From Wikipedia: Cultural arts refer to transformation and a collaboration of different art forms. The term embodies creative thinking and critique, which encompasses the analyses of contemporary visual culture alongside other art forms i.e. visual art, literature, music, theatre, film, dance, etc. Cultural arts help to explain the world in which we live, worldview and often challenge current ideas, thoughts and practice. In general, cultural arts are multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and cross-genre. Cultural arts are less about definition and more about meaning and making sense of our current environment through an exploration of creativity.

  So to answer your question, we all get to come to Midtown to drink and watch the hippies, freaks and “cultural artists.” Now THAT is entertainment.
• Brian September 7, 2012 at 10:27 am

  More info here: http://www.arts.texas.gov/initiatives/cultural-districts/
• joel September 7, 2012 at 11:55 am

  haven’t seen a freak or hippy in midtown in years. sounds more like come get trashed while draining your wallet in midtown…oh, and try not to kill anyone when you drunkenly drive home.

  and that splash park looks cool, but boy do i miss an the old swimming pool at the Dunlavy park. i can splash in puddles on my curb, an actual pool is what i need.
• Robert Boyd September 7, 2012 at 11:59 am

  This “Cultural Arts and Entertainment District” designation seems so stupid. If Midtown is an art district, it’s because artistic people and institutions have already made a decision to locate there. Which they have, as we can see by such businesses as the Continental Club, Sig’s Lagoon, the galleries at Isabella Courts, Art Supply on Main (and the artists studios that it rents upstairs), New Gallery and PG Contemporary on Milam, and the new Art Square Studios, not to mention non-profit art spaces like Diverse Works, Lawndale, and the Ensemble Theater. If new art businesses or non-profits or residents move into the area, it won’t be because the state designated it an “art district,” it will be because of the already existing art venues there.
• MP September 7, 2012 at 1:11 pm

  @Robert Boyd
  I think you missed the point. This designation brings with it tax incentives, which in turn encourages more artists and businesses to move in. The Midtown Management District applied for this designation. It’s not as if the state just up and decided to name Midtown an Art District. The fact that all these art venues already exist and more are being proposed simply helped the case for Midtown to get said designation.
• GoogleMaster September 7, 2012 at 1:15 pm

  85 MPH between Austin and San Antonio — can we designate it for drunken frat boys only? That way the rest of us can drive safely on the existing roads.
• takeshi September 11, 2012 at 8:45 am

  Despite the typical misunderstanding, speed and unsafe are not one and the same. If you don’t want to drive on it then don’t drive on it.