Arts for all

Jarosz says the “ugliest misconception” in Springfield about the arts is the idea that they’re only accessible to or enjoyed by the well-to-do.

“They have the idea that the cars that pull up in front of this door [at the Hoogland] are Mercedes, Jaguars, BMWs, and the little kids that jump out of here have on their little blue jacket with the gold buttons and little cap,

and they run upstairs with their $3,000 violin and say ‘Where’s Richard? We’re here,’” Jarosz says of many community members’ perceptions. “That’s the farthest thing from the truth. The real truth is that the cars that pull up here are Fords and Plymouths and Chevys, and their parents have no money.”

That’s all the more reason for community members to help support Springfield’s arts offerings, says the local arts council’s Wollan- Kriel. “People are going to say, ‘My money is going to go to somebody who needs to eat, who needs to have a roof over their head, who needs to go to school.’ I understand that, but also there is a need for those people to have a spark in their lives called the arts.”

To justify her own and others’ efforts to promote or produce the arts during tough economic times, Wollan-Kriel points to a mantra posted on the wall of her basement office that says, “Hang in there. The arts will be around long after we’re gone.”

“It’s true, if you think about it. What’s remembered from hundreds of years ago?” Wollan-Kriel asks. “It’s the visual arts of Rembrandt, of Michelangelo, maybe Monet. It depends on the era. For the most part, unless it was a world conqueror, you’re not remembering the political people. … It’s the arts that are the lasting pieces.”

Contact Rachel Wells at rwells@illinoistimes.com.