Recall: Arts centers, museums have big construction projects on tap

Artist rendering of the Tobin Center for Performing Arts.

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The San Pedro Playhouse incurred the wrath of conservative religious activists when it staged Terrence McNally's play Corpus Christi, wherein a Christ-like figure participates in a gay marriage. Repeated visits to City Council meetings by protesters culminated with demands that the City-sponsored theater be defunded. The playhouse survived the ruckus, and was included among receivers of grants from the Office of Cultural Affairs in the 2012 budget. Not so lucky was the Museo Alameda. The fledgling museum charged to "tell the story of the Latino experience in America through art, history, and culture" rated below the minimum score needed to receive OCA funding. The Council did, however, renew the MOU with the Alameda that provides monies to cover operating costs of the City-owned building. Plans for the future of the perpetually beleaguered Smithsonian affiliate now hinge on the ability of a single planned exhibition in 2012 to raise sponsorship and motivate community support. The show is about tequila, "the spirit of Mexico." Good luck with that.

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