#CAArtsChampion: John Taber

John Taber,
The Center for the Arts, Stage Manager; Festival Director; Photographer


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What or who inspired you to get into arts and culture work/advocacy?

My work in the Arts began in earnest in 1974 working with Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco California. Bill was passionate about putting the patron’s experience at the forefront of all we did at shows.

What are you most passionate about in your arts and culture work/advocacy?

The Arts give respite to people for a moment in time. Maybe at museums while viewing the art. Perhaps at a concert for a few hours. Maybe at a festival for a weekend. The arts give people hope for a different reality than their day to day routine.

What is the impact of the work you do in your community?

My work impacts the community by ensuring that they enjoy an evening performance or a festival weekend with a professional presentation and production. Also by photographing the events and preserving their memories of the occasions.

Why is public funding for the arts necessary and critical?

Because ticket sales only cover a portion of the costs of the productions, public funding is essential to provide additional funds for the cultural experiences that the ticket purchase can not do.

Why are the arts essential?

The arts provide the world with a place to seek solace and relief from daily life. The essential part is that people crave art in so many forms. Art is essential to life.

How have the arts helped you or your community during challenging times?

Personally the arts sustain me daily. Visual, performance, musical art is a part of daily life for me. For this community that I live in it is that for many. I have seen art heal people after great loss and I have seen art bring greater joy to places where joy is already abundant.

Have you experienced or witnessed the arts providing inspiration and hope?

From The Last Waltz to the last show I worked at people find the hope to make it to the next event from the one they just attended.

Who is your arts champion?

From Bill Graham to every small promoter in the country and the world. Without them, performance art does not exist. Anyone who can paint or write a song is a champion of mine.

My work in the Arts began in earnest in 1974 working with Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco California. Bill was passionate about putting the patron’s experience at the forefront of all we did at shows.

ABOUT JOHN

John Taber is the Festival Director of California WorldFest. Producer of KVMR’s Celtic Festival, and Stage Manager & Staff Photographer at The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley CA.

John comes with a 25+ year background in the music business and a life long passion for photography. Beginning in 1975 working for Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco and continuing there for 15 years in a variety of positions encompassing most of what it takes to produce a high-quality event. From ’83 to ’89 John worked extensively with the Grateful Dead, responsible for keeping separate the folks who knew the band from the ones the band actually knew. After relocating to the Grass Valley area John has been a Volunteer Broadcaster at KVMR Community Radio for the past 8 years, hosting two shows currently. “Saturday Morning Live!” airs every other Saturday from 4 am to 7 am. “Sleep if you must, Otherwise listen.” Also a monthly rotation on the station’s long-running show “Dead Air” featuring Grateful Dead & related music. John also works with KVMR as Executive Producer of their long-running KVMR Celtic Festival & Marketplace currently approaching it’s 18th festival in the fall of 2014.

John’s photo gallery can be seen at Liveshots12.smugmug.com