September 22, 2012
-
F is for Fail
Kennedy Center President to Latino Organization: ‘Go F*ck Yourself.’ That was the headline that burned up my Twitter feed Friday afternoon.
Long and Short of It
Felix Sanchez, chairman of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts called John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts President Michael Kaiser to discuss the fact that no Latino artists are among the recently announced Kennedy Center Honor recipients. In fact, in the past 35 years only 2 Latino artists have ever received a Kennedy Center Honor.
“Politico reports, the call didn’t go over too well, because Sanchez claims that after hearing his complaints, Kaiser responded in that most Cheney-esque way. “Go fuck yourself,” Kaiser said, before hanging up the phone.“
Pause.
Let that sink in.
I’m disappointed. Angry, yes that too. Believe me, that was the first emotion I had. But I lead with disappointed for a reason.
Why?
Because I expect more from my arts leaders. So should we all.
Now I don’t expect them to be perfect. People aren’t. But you know what I do expect? I expect those leaders to be willing to engage in dialogue. I expect them to be curious. To be open. To be willing to examine themselves and their institutions.
And “Go fuck yourself,” is a far cry from that.
So very far.
It’s dismissive. It’s rude. It’s unwilling to listen. It’s unwilling to consider alternate perspectives. It shuts down. It excludes. It fails.
Is this the caliber of leadership that a national arts organization should aspire to?
-M
