Pass the bailout, please.
There was a great Opinion piece published yesterday by arts management guru, Michael Kaiser outlining how a bailout for arts organizations could be very useful during this time of bailout mania…
He writes:
The arts have historically received short shrift from our political leaders, who all too often seem happy to offer bland endorsements of our work without backing those words with financial appropriations. But the arts in the United States provide 5.7 million jobs and account for $166 billion in economic activity annually. This sector is at serious risk. Because the arts are so fragmented, no single organization’s demise threatens the greater economy and claims headlines. But thousands of organizations, and the state of America’s arts ecology, are in danger.
I strongly agree that death by a thousand cuts to our cultural sector is a serious threat to our society, especially when the culture wars are unfortunately still alive and kicking.
Fractured Atlas is fortunate to be among the organizations chosen to participate in the The Kennedy Center’s New York City Arts Management Initiative and I was personally fortunate enough to have received a copy of his new book, The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations for Christmas - should be a great book to start off the New Year!
What do you think about a “bailout” for arts organizations in this time of national strife?
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I don’t think there ought to be a “bailout” for arts organizations, but then I tend to think gov’t bailouts in general ought to be exceedingly rare. What I do think needs to happen is that some of the planned stimulus spending on infrastructure needs to be directed at the arts and creative industries.
I tend to agree with Adam. First, is there any doubt that any bailout money would mostly go to existing mega-organizations? Second, it is the smaller, newer organizations that will lead the way in saving the American artistic infrastructure, not the dinosaurs. Third, the Usual Suspects are mostly centered in a few large urban areas and the effects of their demise, unlike the banking industry, say, will not be felt across the country. Any additional money ought to be spread out throughout the country.
I actually agree that a “bailout” probably wouldn’t help the challenges facing our sector and that infrastructure-related spending and policy changes are probably the best way to help arts organizations survive these challenging times. It never helps to rain money down on fools who don’t know how to spend it well - as the current bailouts are proving…
Unfortunately, given the way that politically connected capital money and privately awarded grant support are normally dolled out, the “dinosaurs” are still in a much better position to be involved in said infrastructure/capital projects and the newer, smaller organizations will likely have a harder time getting in the mix.
This is why localized government support (perhaps derived from federal sources) is crucial - the states, counties, cities and towns all need to involve local artists & creative industries in whatever rebuild efforts they undertake or the sector’s pain will continue to grow.
[...] There’s been endless talk lately about the Obama administration’s economic stimulus agenda and how it might incorporate or impact the arts. Some of that chatter has even taken place on this blog. [...]