On today's Artpod, we'll take a look at how the image of the "rich" arts patron is starting to be re-imagined, thanks in large part to the internet.
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-966783.mp3
Meet the artist...
We'll meet Dave MacDonald, a grad student finishing up his doctorate in music composition at Michigan State University. He wanted to get paid to write a new piece for saxophone, so he posted his project to a website called Kickstarter, where MacDonald says "anybody can be an arts patron and it doesn't require millions of dollars.
Meet the patron...
So what does the "new" arts patron look like? For that we'll turn to Grand Rapids resident Joe Force. He never contributed to any arts projects before Kickstarter. But now he checks out the site regularly, where he can contribute to projects from the comfort of his desk. So far he's funded at least 5 projects, and he says its feels "kind of nice to be a micro philanthropist of odd-little projects!"
