|
Street Performers work on the street because they love and are attracted to the street as a unique venue; not because they are an underclass with no alternatives. Street Performers are a representative mix of the entire community. There is a huge international community of Street Performers. Europe, Canada and Japan recognize, promote and integrate their Street Performers informally and through organized festivals. Edmonton, Halifax, London, Melbourne, Tokyo, Seattle, Denver, and many more cities promote hugely successful Busker (Street Performer) Festivals. Internationally, there is a variety and quality of performance only rarely matched on the streets of this country. Southern California has some of the world´s best "indoor" performers. It is sad that most of them do not feel comfortable performing on the streets. Santa Monica has the opportunity to create a Municipal Code which will attract the best of these Performers. There is no other performance venue like the street. It offers the specific opportunity to spontaneously bring together diverse groups of individuals for a moment of shared laughter, singing or amazement. These experiences have been described as creating a sense of connection for individuals to their community. This is the wonder of Street Performing !! Street Performers bring great economic and cultural activity to the community while costing the City and businesses nothing. Their demand on City services are minute compared to most other community activities. We show up self contained. We bring the crowds. We go home. Street Performance allows the community to involve itself with the development of its artists on a personal, free market basis. Street Performance becomes an educational resource. The community sees and is inspired by the long hours and hard work it takes to become a successful artist. The Performers learn from and encourage each other. Many Performers give lessons. The streets are an incubator of talent. Artists from BB King, Louis Armstrong, Irving Berlin, George Burns to Bob Dylan and Johnny Carson as well as the idioms of blues, jazz, reggae and even Christmas caroling all have their beginnings on the street. More recently major artists Robin Williams, Tracy Chapman, Stanley Jordan, John "Cougar" Mellencamp, Cheryl Crow, Mary Lou Lordes and many others began as street performers. Street Performance adds tremendously to the value of a shopping, dining, or "evening out" experience by providing a variety of quality entertainment at little additional expense to the public. This extends the publicÕs stay in the area increasing the exposure of other businesses. Street Performance draws a large, diverse audience into an area who see the Performers as "icing on the cake". The greater the variety of Performers present the more diverse the audience. Street Performance does not compete economically with other area businesses. Street Performers extract minimum revenue from the public leaving plenty for others. There are many fans specific to Street Performance. Most of them also enjoy the ability to shop and dine while listening to their favorite Performers.
|
| © Ned Landin 1998 all rights reserved |