In this week’s Theater News, I say:
The fact that culture isn’t a campaign platform—like transportation and housing—is insane. Seattle is packed with artists and institutions that have palpable public benefits. It’s time for them to stop apologizing and start demanding. Rocco Landesman, the new NEA chief, is marching into D.C. wielding a torch and a sword against myopic conservatives and the mealymouthed capitulators who’ve been “advocating” for the arts for the past eight years. We should do the same here and now. Culture has a constituency, but it doesn’t have candidates—yet.
Let’s leave aside the sanctimonious, art-is-good-for-you arguments and talk money…
And then I go on and do some financial breakdowns about how the city actually makes money by investing its Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.
At a “cultural capital” seminar in London, Kevin Spacey—artistic director of the Old Vic—also suggests that culture stop apologizing and start recognizing itself as a engine of wealth as well as an engine of edification:
Arts groups, said Spacey, should consider changing their approach and talk up the economic benefits of investing. “Too often we highlight the social aspects of what we can achieve or the artistic merits which are, of course, important. But I believe at this time, at this moment, we should change tack. Instead of apologetically holding our hat in our hands, we should cite the economic successes of what is, after all, called show … business.”
At the same forum, Ben Boris Johnson—the mayor of London—suggested British museums start the “suggested donation” policy of the US museums instead of giving it away for free. He came to this conclusion, he said, after “an American youngster had berated him in New York, asking why London had free museums and not—for example—free hamburgers.”
At any rate, cultural institutions can’t just sit and pout, hoping for handouts, especially not at a time like this. They must demonstrate their financial power and organize and wield their clout—donors and board members, famous artists, politically connected administrators, the untapped voting bloc of the city’s arts workers.
Cultural institutions must leverage their power (and their dollars) to coax politicians into taking cultural stewardship as seriously as they take environmental stewardship, fiscal stewardship, etc.
Obviously this “American youngster” was a stoner with the munchies who really just wanted a free hamburger. No one without a dog in the race would want museums to charge, much less berate the mayor of London because they are free.
Lies with pithy anecdotes attached are still lies.
1. what be ‘eduction’? w. it’s BORIS Johnson, not Ben Johnson. you been reading Volpone lately, or something?
It would be an incredible shame if London museums went unfree.
Isn’t the fact that we do have a vibrant cultural scence evidence that we are doing something right?
Yes. But there’s room for improvement, don’t you think?
Sure, but the tone makes it sounds like arts are being ignored and fucked over, when in fact the City and County do a pretty good job of supporting them.
The biggest problem is the usual disconnect between arts that get money and arts that ought to get it. You get money if you’re big and corporate and have a full-time fundraising staff — like the symphony, opera and ballet — or if you’re lucky enough to get your hideous garbage selected for “two percent for art” plop sculpture packages. The former really ought to be able to support themselves, and the latter — well, have a look at Bergen Place Park in Ballard, or the Ballard Bridge, or any of a thousand repulsive “decorated” bus shelters.
If we make art free, then the rabble will overrun the museums and become over-cultured! It’s simple economics! That’s why our trailer parks are overrun with men in mullets debating the recent Yoko Ono controversy. We’ve already seen what overly cheap ground beef has done to the American working class! That and the free PBS televsion channel drawing away all the viewers from the cable & satellite providers! It’s time to raise prices on everything, to save culture from the people!
Wake up, Amurrica!