Author: Susan Schmelzer

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July 4, 2016

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: We, the Grassroots People!

“I found my first success in the visual arts when I was nine. I am now a professional artist. Art saved me.” This note was written by a Missouri artist to the General Assembly. If you think this little piece of lobbying made a ripple amidst the wrangling and aggression that went on in Jefferson City this spring . . . you’re right!
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May 25, 2016

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Scoring the House

During this interminable campaign season, one longs to hear specific commitments on what candidates will do once elected. Congress works for us — that’s the way it’s supposed to be — but the job interview process falls down through raucous debates and vaudevillian-like rallies.
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March 2, 2016

Remembering Landon Rowland

Since his death on December 28, 2015, much has been written about Landon Rowland’s meteoric career and tireless work for the benefit of our city.  But there is another story to be told, of a man for whom the arts and letters were a life force. All that Landon meant to the arts in Kansas City stemmed from that.
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January 21, 2016

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: What Shall We Do About Politics?

Happy New Year and a hearty adieu to another year of Washington deadlock, featuring even more innovations in partisanship and even fewer accomplishments.  Is it..
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November 20, 2015

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Honk If You Support the Arts!

Susan Schmelzer is a community activist who has served in leadership roles on several boards, currently including the Executive Committee of Missourians Citizens for the Arts, which advocates for state arts funding. Her devotion to the arts began as a vocal music major, while her professional background spans careers in higher education and nonprofit consulting.
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September 8, 2015

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: The Devil’s Playground

Like a good father, Washington spent much of his final term as President writing – advising us on the democratic experiment, our obligations to the founding principles and potential pitfalls of democracy. One of his oft-reiterated warnings was of extreme partisanship and the scourge it could be to governance.
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