So I've heard the rumors. Tacoma's art scene is in a slump. Some say it's dead. Really? Well, yeah. These aren't common haters. These are longtime supporters of the local art scene. But summer is here. That means a lot of outdoor festivals and hefty events like the upcoming Grit City Fest, Art on the Ave, the Urban Art Festival, and something called Lunafest. Maybe a few others.

Grit City Fest (see last week's cover story by Weekly Volcano cat herder Matt Driscoll) is a massive collaborative effort featuring one of the most diverse groups of local talent I've seen in this town in years.

Art on the Ave and Lunafest sound like potential winners. Urban Art Festival is happening next weekend. Rumors are it may be the last. If it's true, something beautiful will probably emerge from the ashes.

So how have we come to the conclusion the art scene is dead? Is it because we see the same faces, artists and performers at every event? That's part of it. We've lost a few galleries and staples of the local art scene. The Helm is gone. Two Vaults is done. Daniel Blue moved to Capitol Hill (congratulations, Daniel). The Warehouse is done. It's easy to feel like the whole thing is dead when your favorite venue or artist folds or moves on. But that's not enough to qualify a statement about the whole scene being dead.  It's way too easy. I think part of the perception that Tacoma's art scene is dead may be the result of terminal myopia, and maybe some lack of perspective. That's the problem with having such an insular little scene. We often lack perspective - provided by the experiences of other arts communities, their natural cycles, and their ups and downs.

What we are experiencing now, based on examples gleaned from a half dozen other arts communities, is a pruning process. Devastated economies are great for that. People get tired, frustrated, bored, and they start making changes. They decide what they will and won't prioritize. They close up shop. They move somewhere else in hopes of starting over. Some just give up.

But all of these endings are really just making space for something new. Jewish tradition calls this space making "tsim tsum," which translated means contracting, self-limitation, and a few other things. Sixteenth century Kabbalist Issac Luria said this process of contracting was how the creator made room for creation - by contracting enough to make space for it all.

So mourn the death of the Tacoma art scene if you like. The scene we know doesn't resemble the one we remember. But that doesn't make it dead. It's just making room for newer, better creations.

Maybe I'm the only one who feels like we're all starting to wake up from a long, bad dream. But the more I talk to people about summer line ups, the more I get the sense something significant is beginning to stir again in Tacoma.

I hope it's better.

Joe Malik is a jaded, ornery, "power to the people type" that can't help but comment on all the stupid, awesome, or just plain questionable stuff he sees within the local arts community. Basically, he's kind of an arts-centric a**hole - but we like him. The Weekly Volcano doesn't always agree with what he says, but we do enjoy stirring the pot.