Art in troubled times
A blog post from Lindy Hume – June 2025
San Francisco is a fantastic city. Recently I spent 6 weeks there, directing Mozart’s magnificent opera Idomeneo for San Francisco Opera. As always, in between rehearsals I crammed as many other local experiences – theatre, art gallery, library, concert-going and food/wine – as possible.
Of all the great art institutions of that city, for me the brilliant SFMOMA was a refuge, its rich permanent collection a constant source of inspiration. My visit coincided with a retrospective of the work of the groundbreaking SF artist Ruth Asawa (right) – a glimpse into that city’s vibrant 50s, 60s and 70s art scene. I couldn’t get enough of her ravishingly delicate, organic nature-inspired wire sculptures. Another thrill was San Francisco Symphony performing the final concerts conducted by their brilliant and beloved music director Esa Pekka Salonen, with 250 musicians and chorus on stage for Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. This was the most emotional classical concert I’ve ever been to, with the audience on its feet roaring when the music stopped. A very different joy was walking quietly through the Presidio’s Forest Park, along the gentle curves of sculptor Andy Goldsworthy’s Wood Line. This city is full of delights.
But being in California during these very troubled times was stressful. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to ‘protect’ federal immigration enforcement actions and suppress anti-ICE demonstrators in LA, the nationwide No Kings marches that followed in response; the everyday horrors of the Fentanyl epidemic happening under my apartment window that made my 4-block walk to the theatre tense and confronting. When I got there, it was like arriving on another planet. I was always shaken by the dissonance between the gilded grandeur of the city’s iconic opera house and the human misery on the streets just blocks away – both too close for comfort.
It was heartbreaking to hear from fearful colleagues how the arts and humanities in the US are facing an existential threat, and to read about the dismantling of the National Endowment for the Arts and the many great cultural institutions under ideological attack. My six weeks in San Francisco reminded me once again how vital artists are – how critical art is – to make sense of a world in turmoil – or at least to attempt to. I reflect on American writer Toni Morrison’s prescient words on the urgency of making art in troubled times: “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. That is how civilizations heal.”
My experiences there have made me value even more the sense of community, the natural environments and the relaxed creativity we enjoy in our beautiful part of the planet. Coming home to the South Coast is always a thrill, but especially this time, I could not wait to get on that plane. Now I’m back, I can’t wait to dive back into the second part of the year with more Crimson Rosella Creative Adventures ahead – there’s work to do!
Lindy Hume AM
20 June 2025
