The Suburbs

The thoughts of many artistically inclined teenagers in suburbia are often concerned with the possibility of a future pillgramage to a big city. "When are we going to get out of here?" Drooling over the pontification of of  NYC, LA, Chicago, Austin or Portland. Why can't everything be like this scene from Almost Famous? "Lets go somewhere, anywhere that's not here."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, the stigma of the small town and the ubiquitous rush to get out of it. This rush to go somewhere bigger where things are already developed. Where there are venues like mad and things that are deemed "cool" are on every corner. Hip cafes with organic coffee from the Himilayas and vintage shops coming out of the wazoo.  We're destined to hate where we came from. I mean, what about this is appealing, right?

"In the suburbs I
I learned to drive
And you told me we'd never survive
Grab your mother's keys we're leavin "- The Arcade Fire

Lauren Dukoff

THEN AGAIN, maybe it's not a bad to stay in your little corner of the world. I think back to Teeadora Nikolova and his New Day Here/New Things to Hear event and the concept of creating your own metropolis in your own space.  In the past seven months I suppose I've done something a bit similar. A couple of compadres and I (Yesenia Bello and Ant Bui) started a little thing called Walla Fest in Norristown, PA (my hometown) where we curate a mini art show and put together a set of musical acts almost monthly.  

outside of the Centre Theater in Norristown, the first Walla Fest

IN SHORT:  Make something where you are.  Have a show in your basement. Hell, have it in your living room, your kitchen even!

This is somewhat of an introduction to the next couple of features.  They both deal with the formation and sustenance of creative communities i.e. the new brain child of Aaron Rose, Mandy Kahn and Brain Roettinger called Collage Culture, an examination of the last ten years of counterculture (or lack thereof?), and a story about an artist  collective in Haifa, Israel.

-Keba