The Art of the Suburban Arts Center

The proper function of the arts is to impale the bourgeoisie. With the arts thriving in the city centers and the majority of the bourgeoisie living in the suburbs, the arts' ability to scandalize those who need it most has atrophied.

Slowly, however, the arts are making their to the suburbs. The Minneapolis suburbs recently added its third suburban theater and art space, the $20 million Performing Arts Center in Burnsville, joining the Center for the Arts at the Bloomington Civic Plaza and the Center for the Arts in Hopkins.

The key word is "slowly." The Burnsville theater/gallery complex lost more than half a million dollars in its first year, prompting the Star-Tribune to ask, "Is it worth it to have a multi-use arts center in your suburb?"

The answer, according to the centers' directors and local authorities, is yes, but it requires the right mix of public use, stable programs, and patience.

How much patience can vary. After six years in operation, the Bloomington facility is already "active and viibrant, 16, 18 hours a day," says a Bloomington city councilman. The 27-year-ol Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wis., just east of St. Paul, took "a good 10 years to hit its stride," according to its executive director.

The secrets to success, say experienced programmers, are a stable line-up of resident companies willing to produce a diverse range of events, a size that fits the community (800 to 1,000 seats seems to suit the Minneapolis area), and the willingness to be a community center, including a rental space for weddings and other private functions.

The most hopeful sign is that the Burnsville's theater group, Chameleon, has been running a successful musical revue titled "Suburbs," an exploration of the rites and rituals of "the world of the lawnmower, the barbecue, and the mall."

Ibsen it may not be, but the impalement of the bourgeoisie always begins with a little light skewering.