Letter to the Editor: Preservation, not destruction, for the Artist on the Bluff

Editor's note: This is a reader-submitted letter to the editor concerning the recent decision to vacate Bluff Park Elementary School, home of Artists on the Bluff. To submit your own letter to the editor, send an email including your name and city of residence to janderson@starnespublishing.com or sydney@starnespublishing.com.

Dear Mayor Frank Brocato, Dr. Kathy Murphy and members of the Hoover City Council, 

I'm currently an art student at the Artists on the Bluff and have been richly blessed by the opportunity! My time at the AOTB has allowed me to appreciate how much the resident artists (who indeed pay monthly rent for studio space) truly enrich the lives of both adults and children in our community (especially those children who are under-served or have disabilities that might not otherwise have access to the arts).

As a native Alabamian, yet having lived away in other cities and states for over 30 years, I have witness the value that art plays in our communities. The benefits are endless and sadly one that the general public takes for granted! Consequently, it's disappointing to observe the lack of support that Hoover has for the arts, while at the same time, they are abundantly increasing funds for everything sports-related!   

In terms of the AOTB’s maintenance and building code dilemma: It is amazing that historical buildings in other countries remain open for thousands of years. Some even become famous museums. Imagine if other countries decided every historical building wasn't worth preserving after 100 years? Have greed and the need for more parking spaces become that important?

I realize this burden should not fall under the financial responsibility of the board of education, but I beg the Hoover City Council and the Hoover Board of Education to provide the arts community time to address an alternative solution.  

I sincerely pray you all will reconsider that the AOTB is a historical gem and deserves preservation, not destruction!

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him … We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Respectfully submitted,

GG Burns, Artist/Illustrator