BWW Interviews: Jaime Moses Talks About ARTVOICE

Jaime Moses is a very busy man. He is the Editor of the very popular and important ARTVOICE paper in the Buffalo, New York area. He graciously took the time to answer a few questions.

MCL: Artvoice is a major institution in the Buffalo area. How and when did it get started?

JM: June 1990

MCL: Why did you feel driven to start it?

JM: At the time I was playing in a band, writing plays, three of which were Curtain Up! shows, and running a small art gallery Lexington where Kuni's is now. I had a lot of creative friends and was disgusted with the lack of coverage of the hardworking and talented local actors, musicians, artists, etc. from all mainstream media, i.e., Buffalo News, TV and local radio.

MCL: What was the original vision of Artvoice?

JM: I grew up in Greenwich Village and we all read the Village Voice, the grandaddy of Alternative newspapers started by Norman Mailer and others in the 1950s. That was the model, to bring light to what is good and being ignored... and to bring light to what is bad or corrupt and being covered up.

MCL: How has it changed over the years?

JM: The mission hasn't changed at all, but a lot of the methods have evolved because of technology.

MCL: Are these changes all good?

JM: Technology advances, particularly on the web, have been very good in terms of gathering information, spreading information and the mechanics of creating and printing the newspaper. The trade off for all those positives is the same technological advances created hundreds of competitors that didn't exist before.

MCL: How many people are on staff?

JM: About 45 total with full and part-time workers and regular contributors who work outside the office.

MCL: What is a typical week like to put the paper out?

JM: That answer is too long.

MCL: To someone who has never read a copy of Artovice ... Why should they? What will they get out of it?

JM: If you want to know what the creative character of Buffalo is you want to read Artvoice. If you want to be a part of the creative community you want to read Artvoice. If you want to know what the hell to do with yourself for the next few hours you want to read Artvoice.

MCL: When you started Artvoice did you ever feel it would become the important paper it has grown to be?

JM: I didn't think about that.

MCL: Please tell people about your other passion ... music? Plug away!

JM: Music, writing, motorcycles, sailboats, France and traveling are my other passions... and passion is my passion.

MCL: Finally ... To someone who has never read Artvoice before ... describe it.

JM: I think I'll let you do that.

MCL: Touché, Mr. M. It's an important paper for the city. It helps guide new artist on how to get their name out there, what's happening at the small and large venue contacts and information about the city. It's the most informative paper on the arts we have.

To read Artvoice on line go to:

http://artvoice.com/

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