Words: Brent Rosen
Last fall, two events helped turn the inchoate idea of an alternative newspaper for Montgomery into MADE. First, EAT South hosted an oyster roast on a Thursday, with oysters, beer and live music at its downtown urban farm. The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts followed up on Friday, bringing the Dexateens back together for a one-night, outdoor show on a hill next to the Museum’s reflecting pool. These events, back-to-back, were as good as any you’d attend anywhere in the country, and many of the people I talked to at these events were amazed they were taking place in the city they called home.
I started thinking about why – why is Montgomery blessed to have such amazing happenings on such a regular basis? I came up with a few reasons, but to generalize, Montgomery’s great organizations, great events and great sense of community reflect Montgomery’s great people. Passionate people that, through force of will, are making Montgomery the kind of place where they want to live. Cities like Birmingham or Atlanta or Nashville are mainly finished products – Montgomery remains a work in progress. The people active in this community are working to ensure Montgomery’s bright future, while not forgetting Montgomery’s important and impressive past.
Unfortunately, many of these happenings fail to reach out beyond a certain core audience. EAT South’s core supporters attended its oyster roast, but we struggled to bring a larger audience ready to embrace the farm and its mission. The Museum was happy with the number that attended the Dexateens concert, but there was plenty of room on that hill for more.
City institutions are not alone. A local chef friend commented that when he hosts special dinners away from his restaurant, he cooks for the same 20 people who always attend. I know amazing local artists and musicians forced to look far beyond Montgomery to establish a following. The Cloverdale-Idlewild neighborhood concert series – with its free, Sunday springtime concerts in Cloverdale Bottom Park -- is generally unknown outside of those neighborhoods.
The more I thought about the problem, the less I could figure out why our local chefs, artists, neighborhoods and institutions fail to generate more enthusiasm in the community at large. The enthusiasm gap results not from apathy or disinterest, as an abundance of passionate people are changing the faces of their organizations, institutions, and businesses as they work to make Montgomery a better place. However, much of this excellent work is done in a silo – some people are working on the city’s arts culture, some people are working on the city’s food culture, others are using the power of our supportive local government to make improvements to individual neighborhoods – but those active people aren’t communicating outside of their own areas of interest. Great enthusiasm and communication exists within these silos. The problem is no central resource connects them all together.
MADE will be that central resource. MADE will provide this city’s creatives and innovators a venue for publicity and support – support that can bring the work of Montgomerians out of the silos and into the broader public consciousness. MADE will tell the stories of chefs and artists, musicians and craftsmen, thought leaders and local characters, neighborhoods and organizations – but we won’t stop at just telling these stories. We will also ask the more important question: why do these stories matter to Montgomery?
That MADE is necessary is a testament to how far Montgomery has come in a few short years. Our articles and stories will showcase the diverse tapestry that makes up the New Montgomery, ensuring that anyone interested can become aware of the amazing things happening across our city. I want you to read MADE and realize that other cities in the region may offer more, but no other city, top-to-bottom, offers better.
The paper edition of MADE is published at the beginning of each month. Our website, www.madepaper.com, is updated multiple times a day with unique stories about Montgomery’s people and culture. If you know something that MADE needs to cover, or want to contribute to MADE, email me at editor@madepaper.com.
As long as you’re reading, we’ll be writing.