The international arts community was stunned to learn that the Doris Duke Theater at Jacob’s Pillow, the renowned dance center in the Berkshires, burned down in a fire on Tuesday. Jared Bowen, GBH Executive Arts Editor, joined host Joe Mathieu today on Morning Edition to discuss the gravity of the loss and what it means for an already-struggling arts community.
“This is substantial because of the time in which it’s happening,” Bowen said. Even in normal times, the loss would be devastating. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, the center had already had to cancel its annual summer festival for the first time in its over 80-year history, which brings dancers and artists from all around the globe to Western Massachusetts, and serves as a pilgrimage for arts enthusiasts.
“You think about every famous dancer in the world in the last 88 years, every famous choreographer in the last 88 years; most of them have come through the Pillow at some point,” Bowen said about the 200-acre compound in Becket, Mass. “It’s a magnet for artists — they can be a little more free out there to experiment and they have audiences who support them.”
Watch: What remains on the Jacob's Pillow campus?
Bowen said he worries about the center’s recovery and ability to raise funds. Jacob’s Pillow is just one arts organization of many across the country that is facing a dire financial struggle. “It’s going to be very difficult to get people to rally,” Bowen said.
While museums are slowly re-opening, performing arts organizations are still struggling to find a way to bring people together safely in a time of social distancing. “When you think of dance, dance is all about the human body; it’s collaboration, it’s being together,” Bowen said. “You don’t know when that’s going to be safe. Nobody knows when that’s going to happen.”
"For performing arts organizations, they don't know when they're going to be open. And they don't know how they are going to be open, unlike museums, which have found a way."
