THE TIPPLING POINT

posted by James Reel

    Via ArtsJournal.com, here’s a short article in The Guardian about a report declaring that “London’s museums and art galleries should open until 10 p.m. at weekends so people have an alternative to binge drinking in pubs and clubs.” This is something we should keep in mind in Tucson. The last big local push toward downtown revitalization, after a few exciting years in the 1990s, fizzled out. Most of the art galleries and little businesses closed or moved away as rent became too expensive, leaving the district to a scattering of bars and tattoo parlors. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with bars and tattoo parlors, but when they constitute the total of an area’s night life, you wind up with a place that’s more Skid Row than arts district. Maybe as those magic beans known as Rio Nuevo begin to sprout, things will change for the better. Please, could we have something to do downtown besides drink, listen to loud music and get dragons tattooed onto our butts?