Andrew Taylor on the Business of Arts & Culture
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Calling the question
  Posted: June 13, 2006
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Andrew Adler in the Louisville Courier-Journal touches on a question that's bubbling up a lot these days, not just in the arts, but in the entire social sector: given all the talk of need and crisis and funding, where's the public conversation about the value and content of cultural activity? Says Adler:

...simply saying we "need" an orchestra isn't sufficient. Same with the opera, the ballet, etc. Of course it takes money to keep these organizations afloat, and more than that, to make them thrive. But the aesthetic imperative continues to be obscured when financial concerns constantly occupy the foreground.

Adler encourages a broader conversation about the aesthetics and experience that communities should expect from their arts organizations. Others are questioning the larger public purpose of any institutions that receive fiscal privilege and public subsidy. These are fair questions, and juicy conversations. But they're also another indication that the foundational belief in cultural enterprise as community good is growing thin.

We'd best all be ready to engage the debate.