Arts Playlist

In the 1930s, with the US in the throes of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt offered a sweeping job creation agenda. That included jobs for artists, and New Deal programs produced some of the most memorable American art in history.40 years later, another president, Richard Nixon, signed the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. And like in the New Deal, artists were included and were successful in ushering a new era for public art.An exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum — "Citizen Artist" — celebrates those two eras. In this edition of Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny spoke with the museum’s Head Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art Margaret Winslow, and Lynn Herrick Sharp Curatorial Fellow Dorothy Fisher to learn more about it.

"The Thomas Crown Affair," "How to Steal a Million," "Ocean's 12" - art heists are a popular subject for films, TV, and books. A talk on Thursday, June 25, presented by the Biggs Museum of American Art brings two experts to Dover’s Schwartz Center for the Arts to talk about real-life art crimes.One of those experts is Robert Wittman, a former FBI special agent who founded the bureau's Art Crimes Team, and during his career helped recover hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of stolen art.On this week's Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny spoke with Wittman about the real world of art crime and his career.

Summertime at Rehoboth Beach means a lot of things - a stroll on the boardwalk, a day enjoying the surf and sand, and the chance to see dozens of free concerts at the city's bandstand.To find out more about this summer's shows, DPM's Martin Matheny spoke to Rehoboth Bandstand Director Corey Groll on this week's Arts Playlist.

Delaware sometimes seems to live in the cultural shadow cast by our neighbors - places like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. And, sometimes the state gets a certain reputation - small, boring, the kind of place where nothing happens.But Paul Campagna and Chris Haug are pushing back on that with a new and growing project - the Delaware Music History Archive. It's an ambitious undertaking, involving thousands of newspaper clippings and hundreds of concert flyers and photos tracking more than eight decades of the state's surprisingly rich musical history. And that collection is growing every day.On this week's Arts Playlist, DPM's Martin Matheny learns more about the project, an upcoming talk Chris and Paul are participating in in Dover, and why you shouldn't sleep on the First State's role in American music history.

The Wilmington Drama League closes out its current season with a musical adaptation of the hit movie "Sister Act."On this week's Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny speaks to two people involved with the production - Patrick Murray, the show's director and choreographer, and Kathy Buterbaugh, a cast member and the Wilmington Drama League's production manager.

Piffaro, an ensemble specializing in the music of the Renaissance and early Baroque Eras, returns to Wilmington this month. Its latest concert, "Eagle and Empire," brings in guest artists and takes audiences to colonial Mexico, at a time when the classical traditions of Europe made landfall in the New World.On this week's Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny chatted with Piffaro's Artistic Director, Priscilla Herreid about the concert.

The Delaware Symphony Orchestra wrap up its season this month with a pair of concerts in Wilmington and Lewes.On this edition of Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny gets a preview of the show from the orchestra's music director, Michelle Di Russo, along with her reflections on her first season leading the symphony.

Delaware photographer Kevin Fleming has been all over the world, from sheep ranches in New Zealand, to the arctic and even war-torn Somalia. But he tells…

Forgeries are a part of the art world. For every classic master work, there’s money to be made and prestige to be had in passing a fake off as the real…

Many Delawareans make short trek across the border to Chadds Ford, PA to visit the Brandywine Museum of Art. And now the museum is partnering with ARTZ…