“What would the elimination of the NEA mean for the arts in the US? In terms of actual direct support, very little. Many foundations, other funding bodies, and individuals dole out more for the arts each year than the arts endowment: for example, New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs 2016 budget was $165 million, with additional funds dedicated for capital projects; philanthropist David Geffen’s $100 million gift to New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2016 outstripped the NEA’s direct granting budget that year. But the NEA has impact far exceeding its direct grants.”
Category: issues
The Arts-Are-Good-For-The-Economy Arguments Have Failed – They’ve Even Helped Kill The NEA, Argues Arts Exec
Matt Burriesci, executive director of the Providence Athenaeum: “If we’d like to discuss metrics, deliverables and results, then we must ask how our interests have fared by employing this economic strategy. … Where, exactly, are the results? They are not to be found in the opinions of our policymakers”
India Spends Less Than 1% Of Its Annual Budget On Culture – And It Shows
“The effects of this relatively tiny allocation are clear: despite India’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, many of its national museums remain uninspiring, hardly drawing any visitors despite their incredibly affordable entry prices. And several heritage sites, including the iconic Taj Mahal, are in a bad state, suffering from the effects of poor maintenance and pollution. Some important monuments …, including prehistoric megaliths and temple ruins, have even gone missing.”
A New York Times Primer On The New Fight Over US Arts Funding
Not since the days of Ronald Reagan and later Newt Gingrich has the debate over federal arts spending seemed to roil so feverishly.
Apps Have Made Contacting A Congress Member Easy, But Congress Is Not Ready
Members of Congress can only hire 18 staffers total, ever. But communication keeps on growing. “In many cases, it’s not that Congress can’t hear you. It’s that the flood of voices so overwhelms the bureaucratic machine that any one citizen becomes hard to hear.”
What Are Artists And Institutions Supposed To Do With Trump’s Executive Order Travel Bans?
The ban on travelers from seven countries affects just about every cultural institution and academic institution, especially in New York. A concert promoter who specializes in contemporary Persian music: “‘Tonight I have a concert in L.A.,’ she said, with an American-born Iranian artist, Fared Shafinury, whose band has some immigrant members. ‘I’m just so afraid that this is going to be my last concert.'”
The Sudden Ban On Travelers From Iran Is Even Harming The Oscars (And Pissing Off The Academy)
The statement from The Academy is mild but firm: “As supporters of filmmakers — and the human rights of all people — around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran, ‘A Separation,’ along with the cast and crew of this year’s Oscar-nominated film ‘The Salesman,’ could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.”
Why Isn’t The White House Petition To Save The NEA Collecting Signatures?
“The petition, entitled ‘Preserve the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ has received hundreds of tweets from proud signees but the official count (at the time of writing) reads: ’27 signed’.”
A Year Out Of Bankruptcy, Philly’s Please Touch Museum Has A Revamped Mission
Per a strategic plan developed with Michael Kaiser, “We will feel a little less like Disney and a little more like a place where children are really exploring all the wonderful things that will make them want to be learners the rest of their lives,” says the Please Touch CEO.
Want To See Everything The NEA Funded Last Year?
“To illustrate just how beneficial the NEA’s work has been, artist and environmental engineer Tega Brain has programmed a website that scrolls through the types of grants the NEA awarded last year alone. Like end credits of a movie, each funded project moves slowly down your screen in bright colors to form a simple but clear message: we really need the NEA.”