In our first class, as we discussed the organization of governments as a lens through which one could conduct comparative analysis, Professor Casey (“John C”) referred to the habit of most governments that support national offices devoted to the arts of adding “tourism,” “sports” and/or “leisure” to their moniker.
(It’s interesting that the words “arts” and “culture are used interchangeably in some cases, but not in others. For the purposes of this post, "the arts/culture" are the individuals and/or groups who make artistic expressions as a profession, the processes by which they create their work, and the spaces where performance-based, fine, new media, and folk art are shared with the public.)
How a country labels their arts policy institutions may say something about how its government and people view the role of the arts in their societies. One theory: Perhaps it implies a perception that unless they contribute to the country’s profit and industrial growth, the arts alone do not need support at the top levels of government. Or perhaps it’s assumed that art making, art education, art appreciation and the development of audiences for the arts will simply always exist, with or without governmental policy; maybe the arts are taken for granted. Or perhaps it says that artistic expression should be supported by private means, not public ones.
According to Jeff Chang, writing in The Nation, the answer is more devious than that. “For decades, the de facto policy has been to confuse the culture industry with the source of creativity and largely to abandon the production, promotion, distribution and enjoyment of arts and culture to the dictates of the boom/bust marketplace,” Chang claims. In the piece, Chang argues for the need of a more prominent role not just for “the arts,” but for “creativity,” in our country’s revitalization. I happen to believe that he is right. I am intrigued by what a national Department of Creativity, devoted to making and implementing policy for supporting arts and creative practices could possibly do for the U.S.
This was a good motivating piece for my case study research, in which I will be looking at the differences in arts policy and administration between the U.S. and the U.K.
~ Nancy
