Deborah Rutter
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
How abrupt was it? How did you find out all this was afoot? I was actually in the basement of the Kennedy Center with my executive assistant, and I got a phone call from a member of the board.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
It was very short and direct. It was from somebody I'd worked with for many, many years.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
Well, I wasn't surprised. There had been communication saying that an interim executive director would be coming in to meet with me and to work alongside me. I read between the lines a little bit.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
So the Kennedy Center is, by congressional mandate, the National Cultural Center. And we have a mandate from 1958 that calls for it to be the National Performing Arts Center and the National Advocate for Arts Education. In 1964, they added the Living Memorial to John F. Kennedy. So this is more than just the local performing arts center.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
It represents America to the world, and it invites the world to our nation's capital to be a showcase for all of the arts.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
The statute establishes that a 36-member board and a 21-member member ex officio board guide the operations of the Kennedy Center and those three peers of our mission. Those 36 are appointed by the president of the United States to serve for a six-year term.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
It is silent on whether or not the president can remove them, and it is absolutely clear in our bylaws that the board elects the chairman of the board. So it is unprecedented for the Kennedy Center to have the president of the United States as a member of the board. And it is, therefore, unprecedented that the board would elect that individual to be chair of the board.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
Unprecedented, not necessarily illegal or... I can't speak to that, but that is what the statute and our bylaws call for.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
I'm really, really, really sad about what happens to our artists, what happens on our stages, and our staff who support them. The Kennedy Center is meant to be a beacon for us. the arts in all of America, across the country.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
And we have worked so hard and accomplished so much over this last decade to really broaden the programming, to invite all manner of arts and artists to our stages, and we've expanded our audience as a result. I pray that that can be sustained, but that's my biggest concern.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
So people who choose to make their career in the arts do so because they care so deeply about what it represents. Artists are holding a mirror up to the society. They tell the stories of who we are. When you have really smart people, they often want to go into another business that might make them more money or more prestige, whatever that might be.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
These are people who are so dedicated to the mission and to really the desire to tell the stories of who we are as Americans. So this is mission-driven work. And when you are deeply committed to the mission, that's where you have these emotions.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
If they have the invitation and they know that the environment is safe for them to express their ideas and their art, absolutely. Our National Cultural Center needs and deserves to be the platform for artists of all sorts. But they have to feel welcome and safe.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
I am a professional arts attendee. I am a believer in the work of the artist. I am not a propagandist. I am not a politician. Art speaks for itself. Art sometimes doesn't make you feel comfortable, but it is telling the story of who we are. And all artists, as all Americans, have the freedom of expression.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
I will tell you that we have many, many more people coming to performances today because they see themselves welcome at the Kennedy Center. And that is my concern. How will we be able to sustain what we've done to really throw open the doors and make sure that the Kennedy Center is not just welcoming everybody, but seeing themselves and hearing their stories on our stages? Oh, I used our.
Consider This from NPR
Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"
I guess it is still our stage. The Kennedy Center still is my cultural center as well. Deborah Rutter, thank you.