November 2023 MBR The Social Issues Shelf

The Social Issues Shelf

Lights on Lancaster
John R. Gerdy
www.johngerdy.com
TopReads Publishing
https://www.topreadspublishing.com
9781970107425 $29.99 Paper/$19.99 Hardcover/$9.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Lancaster-Harnesses-Transform-Communities/dp/1970107413

Lights on Lancaster: How One American City Harnesses the Power of the Arts to Transform its Communities is a study in relationships between small cities and the arts which is represented via the close inspection here of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In addition to the value of having a single-city focus, this examination comes not from one viewpoint, but through essays from various contributors who each hold unique experiences, perspectives, and insights that create a well-rounded discussion. These essays come from those actively involved in the arts, and tackle a satisfyingly diverse range of experiences; from a mayor who promoted art in the community to a teacher who utilized art to augment the core curriculum in her school and practicing artists such as sculptor George Mummert, who reflects on the power of arts for healing and transformation based on his years of both contributing art and teaching it to his community.

Each perspective personalizes the politics and psychology of art in the community. Each expands the dimension of artistic discussion to address far more than individual visions, pursuits, or methodology. And each essay contributes to the wide-ranging analysis as a whole, which expands well beyond Lancaster's borders to address issues of concern and interest to fellow artists and the communities that support them. John R. Gerdy in effect creates a blueprint of experience that other communities and activists can follow in the course of reflecting and promoting art in the world. The essays are well grounded in the personal, but expand this experience and education to broader questions of just how art is valued, perceived, and integrated into the general community. Gerdy's attention to capturing this broader perspective results in contributions to Lights on Lancaster that introduce bigger-picture thinking to artists and their patrons alike, as artist and essayist George Mummert explains: "The arts have pushed me to learn new things and accept new challenges, but it might be less obvious to some how well-suited engaging in the arts is to the healing process. Living in times when society has been exposed to turmoil and crisis, like the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the recent pandemic, I recall how the arts can provide a space to heal, cope, reflect, and grow from tragic events."

Why promote the arts? Few writers capture the reasoning better than violinist and essayist Heather Balay in 'One Violin at a Time': "Imagine the power these students feel when they receive a violin for the first time and instantly make a sound by plucking a single string. None of them expects this. Their small faces fill with looks of awe that they experience success on their very first try. By the end of their first lesson, they can already pluck their first song, open strings played to a short poem. These students now have built a layer of confidence. They will need that confidence when presented with life's challenges. Each challenge presents a new task that takes a level of practice to attain, but each task is tailored to the student as an individual and presented with the scaffolding needed to reach their goal." Lights on Lancaster is a highly recommended collection that is not only revealing, specific, autobiographical and reflective, but which promises many topics for debate and discussion not just among library patrons and book club participants, but in the general community, whether readers are involved in the arts, teaching, politics, or the fostering of community-centered programs.

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