Reflections from a Drill Bit

 "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." - Christopher Reeve

The last time I blogged about the performing arts center project in Frisco, it was December 17th, 2014. I was on the Citizen Bond Committee, advocating for $10 million in bonds towards an arts center. Frisco‘s attitude and enthusiasm for the arts was very different at that time. I honestly had no idea what would happen or whether the bond would pass. Was there a majority of people passionate about the arts and wanting to see something in Frisco? Or was this proposition dead on arrival? Thankfully, the citizens voted in favor, and the arts center project was resurrected. (You can read that blog here: The Arts in Frisco: Why the Controversy?

Between 2014 and 2021, the arts center went through a series of unpredictable roller coaster rides, full of ups and downs, wild twists and turns. It was all I could do to hold on when it felt like it would completely derail. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told this project is impossible for Frisco, and how many players came and went. But when I'm hit with a series of "no's", it only fuels me more to create ways to get to "yes," and find those who believe it as well. 

Finally in June 2021, a public-private partnership was formed with the City of Frisco, the Frisco Independent School District, and Craig Hall, the biggest arts champion for Frisco, to build an arts center. It will be at HALL Park, home to the Texas Sculpture Garden and across from the Dallas Cowboys HQ at the Star. This means that at the very entrance of Frisco, there will now be a visual corridor merging world-class sports and world-class arts. Absolutely incredible!

There’s much to celebrate about this partnership. It shows a strong desire by leadership to support the arts, and it represents a very unique opportunity to do something innovative not just for now, but for the future. It’s what Frisco does best- forge new paths and set the bar for others to follow.

To that end, the last six months have been about raising awareness and gathering hard data by experts to support the big vision. A dedicated team of arts advocates has left no stone unturned. Now that we've received the results of the 2021 Market Assessment and Feasibility Study, it's clear that this project has the potential to be a leader for the arts, not just in our city, but in the region and perhaps even the entire country. Why replicate what other cities have already done? That’s not the Frisco way. 

My interest in this arts center has always been as a resident, a taxpayer, and at the core, an artist. I’m a musician who has lived in Sports City USA for almost 20 years, and though my kids are almost all out of the nest, nothing would make me happier than to have a home for the arts in our city, a place where I can go (and where our kids can come back) to enjoy music, dance, theatre, and visual art from local to national talent.

There is a story in Frisco being written about the arts, and we’re about to enter into a new chapter. From 2014 - 2021, the arts center was the underdog, a lost foster child shuffled back and forth - but it is no longer. The arts center will now have a permanent home in Frisco. Design for the arts center is slated to begin in 2022, and all interested parties will be able to see what their investment could look like. Though I have no idea what the final home will actually be, the dream has moved from impossible, to improbable, to inevitable, thanks to the will of the people, the leadership, and the many supporters along this journey.  

As Larry Stockstill says, “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.“ How will this story of the arts center ultimately end? I can’t wait for us to find out, and I look forward to walking into the building together on opening day. 

2022 UPDATE: Read the Frisco Enterprise article on the change in partnerships for the performing arts center here.

Why We Need the Arts During the COVID-19 Crisis (2020)

March 22, 2020 (12:12pm)

Recently, I attended a fascinating Food in Fashion show packed with hundreds of people eating, drinking, and viewing an incredible runway show of models wearing food-inspired clothing. It was a delicious collaboration of local designers and restaurants, featuring cilantro-fringed dresses, pizza dough corsets, gilded pasta necklaces, tortilla-encrusted bikini tops, and more. One model, wearing a stunning evening gown decorated with sparkling chocolate gems, even took a bite out of her milk chocolate clutch at the end! I left inspired, energized, and fully satisfied after feasting on all forms of creative arts.

I had no idea we'd enter into an arts famine just a few days later.

Like you, I'm reeling from the massive disruption to our daily lives due to the spread of COVID-19. I'm not used to empty grocery shelves, barren streets, working from home, homeschooling, and an encroaching fear of the unknown. The relentless news cycle talks of a situation that is worsening each day. Every industry has been hit hard with this global pandemic, and people's lives and livelihoods are equally threatened. I'm worried about my family, my parents and brothers in Illinois and New York who have gone into full lockdown mode, and I'm stressed about what this means for our future as a country. With people's essentials at stake- food, shelter, clothing, and health, the arts doesn't matter anymore to anyone . . . or does it?

I would submit that now, more than ever, the arts are essential for each of us.

In this new era of social distancing, the power of the arts helps us connect with others. We see videos of quarantined Italians on their balconies singing to each other, playing their instruments, and lifting their spirits through familiar melodies. Renown cellist Yo-Yo Ma is posting videos of performances using #songsofcomfort, asking others to join with him in sharing their musical talent to comfort others. The new Facebook group "Quarantined Cabaret" with 15K members and counting allows the diverse arts community to share their performances to inspire others and be inspired. Though all arts venues have closed, the pandemic has created a global audience, uniting the world through the power of the arts.

Where does that power come from?

Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist, said, "Life is unpredictable. Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. That's why people love storytelling; there is a beginning, middle and end." The truth is, a the core of every art form is storytelling. When you engage in the arts, whether through movement, melody, monologue, or medium, you tell your story. Art is a direct channel into our thoughts, a lifeline into our hearts, and it is way for us to share the human experience together, not alone.

During this time when we are mandated to be "hunkered down" and self-quarantined, the arts are not an unnecessary luxury. They are in fact critical to our survival, our emotional well-being and mental health. Though it has been extraordinarily difficult for the arts community specifically to be the first to shut down in March 2020, I know we will all look back and see that without the arts, whether books, music, puzzles, games, movies, none of us would have survived quarantine.