{"id":54,"date":"2009-03-18T13:39:21","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T13:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp\/2009\/03\/is_the_nea_bad_for_the_arts\/"},"modified":"2009-03-18T13:39:21","modified_gmt":"2009-03-18T13:39:21","slug":"is_the_nea_bad_for_the_arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/is_the_nea_bad_for_the_arts.html","title":{"rendered":"Is the NEA bad for the arts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ridiculous question, sure. The National Endowment for the Arts<\/a> is the channel through which the federal government invests money in the arts. And though it’s not much money, compared to what other countries invest, it’s something. Besides giving money, the NEA also has the value of drawing attention or legitimacy to the things it supports. Good things. <\/p>\n

\"images.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

But some of the recent debates about whether the arts ought to get cabinet-level prominence in the Obama administration seemed to me to be missing something. Sure it would be nice if the feds supported the arts a bit more. And culture ought to be featured more prominently on the national stage. But these are not the best reasons to think about a new Arts Department.<\/p>\n

The NEA has been a great supporter of the arts. But on matters of culture, it has had little or no voice on important issues of the day. Where was the NEA when media ownership rules were being discussed by the FCC? Where was the NEA when Disney and the recording and movie industries were largely shaping copyright law? Where was the NEA in speaking for artists when the stimulus package was being written?<\/p>\n

The answer is that they weren’t. The NEA wasn’t set up to work on cultural policy. Sure, groups like Americans for the Arts<\/a> advocate for the arts. But that’s different than being in the room where the policy on cultural issues is made. Sure, “a great nation deserves great art,” and supporting worthwhile arts projects is important. But the dribble of financial support for art is almost insignificant next to the impact on the arts of important legislation being shaped elsewhere in the capital without the input of artists. <\/p>\n

I love the NEA. I do. But in larger public policy terms, maybe it’s a bit of a subterfuge. It allows the feds to claim support for the arts while making decisions on cultural policy without the arts’ participation. Think that doesn’t matter? The copyright lockdown of the Digital Millenium Copyright Ac<\/a>t affects the ability of every artist to build on work of other artists. Attempts to change how information flows over the internet – the so-called net neutrality<\/a> laws – will affect any artist delivering work over the internet. Right now, these issues are largely decided by corporate America. How do you think that’s working out?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A ridiculous question, sure. The National Endowment for the Arts is the channel through which the federal government invests money in the arts. And though it’s not much money, compared to what other countries invest, it’s something. Besides giving money, the NEA also has the value of drawing attention or legitimacy to the things it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-54","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1196,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/art-is-good-not-much-of-an-argument-for-art-is-it.html","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":0},"title":"“Art Is Good?” Not Much Of An Argument For Art Is It?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I suggested in\u00a0a post this week\u00a0that, based on the lack of any arts business before the 114th US Congress, that it appears that lobbying for the arts seems to be failing. Yes, the NEA\/NEH budgets have stayed more or less stable for the past few years, but the almost complete\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "arts and politics"","block_context":{"text":"arts and politics","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1178,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/arts-congressional-report-card-why-the-arts-have-no-political-clout.html","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":1},"title":"Arts Congressional Report Card: Why The Arts Have No Political Clout","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC has released its 2016 Congressional Arts Report Card rating members of Congress on their support for the arts. Many lobby groups do such rankings as a way of \"holding politicians accountable\" for how they vote on issues the lobbyists care about. The rankings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "arts and politics"","block_context":{"text":"arts and politics","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/00cdff2bc5f6c0901a_dgm6bh30v.jpg?fit=674%2C870&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/00cdff2bc5f6c0901a_dgm6bh30v.jpg?fit=674%2C870&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/00cdff2bc5f6c0901a_dgm6bh30v.jpg?fit=674%2C870&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1283,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2017\/01\/killing-nea-neh-and-pbs-is-just-collateral-damage-in-the-commodification-of-american-values.html","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":2},"title":"Killing NEA, NEH And PBS Is Just Collateral Damage In The Commodification Of American Values","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"January 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"So it begins. A report in The Hill, then picked up in the Washington Post, says that the Trump administration intends to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and sell off PBS. It's part of a plan to cut some $10.5 trillion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "arts and business"","block_context":{"text":"arts and business","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-business"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/dollar-exchange-rate-544949_1280.jpg?fit=800%2C346&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/dollar-exchange-rate-544949_1280.jpg?fit=800%2C346&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/dollar-exchange-rate-544949_1280.jpg?fit=800%2C346&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/dollar-exchange-rate-544949_1280.jpg?fit=800%2C346&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/help_for_the_arts_but_10000_ar.html","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":3},"title":"Help For The Arts (But 10,000 Arts Groups Could Go Out Of Business)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts has warned arts organizations to plan scenarios for 40% cuts in their budgets as the economy gets worse. 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But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/04\/theatre_celeb_journalism_and_j.html","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":5},"title":"Theatre, Celeb Journalism, And Journalism","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"April 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Two articles over on the ARTicles blog at the National Arts Journalism Program. First, Laura Collins-Hughes has a take on this year's Pulitzer for theatre and why it's important that the finalists are all women:...women playwrights are vastly underrepresented on our stages. Because \"diversity\" isn't just a buzzword. 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