Book Review: Silent Rise by Rick H. Jones

Rick H. Jones spent over forty years teaching college art for six, then directing community arts centers for thirty-seven years. His memoir tells of his background, briefly, and the last twenty-five years of developing an arts center that became a national model in Hamilton, Ohio.

Why is that important? For a number of reasons, not the least of which he will detail below. But also because, to my mind, small towns are losing the ability to focus on the arts because of not only budgetary, but also competing time constraints… I have been involved as Chair of the Concert Band in the small town I live in – a position I’ve held, both as Chair and as Board member, for the past decade, despite having no ability or study of music anywhere in my past. I have done it because it’s important – to protect the nearly 100 year continuity of free local music in my town, to guarantee that everyone has access to cultural and community events regardless of their ability to afford tickets, and to ensure that a sense of community stays within my community.

But enough about me – back to Rick, he’s way more interesting I assure you!

When he came to Hamilton in 1991, the city was in an unusual position. It was first and foremost on the very brink of economic, social, and cultural collapse. They had completed a cultural plan in 1990 and were in the final stages of a bicentennial planning process. Although a national arts consultant had led the cultural plan, there was no local person with the experience to lead this entire process. Rick was hired in 1991 to do just that. His book shows how the city got to this point, the role the arts played, and how the process succeeded and changed my life and the city’s. It is a story of how arts for and by the people combined with authentic leadership can transform lives and communities. No books he researched in the field of community arts had previously been written as a memoir covering the impact it can have on communities based on actual occurrences, and he sought to rectify that.

Silent Rise is a story of challenge, hope, and transformation. How did something like this occur in a conservative stronghold with skeptical businesspeople and underserved residents? Silent Rise shows the reader what happened and how it happened while introducing readers to the many characters involved in the process.

It’s a delightful and informative read, and well worth the cost of admission! In an easy-going and engaging style, Jones does a wonderful job describing the history, context, and value of arts in the community – and of his role in helping smooth the way for the expansion of focus and access.

Thanks to Rick H. Jones for my obligation-free review copy of his book.