Long-Term Investment in Arts - Essay Example

Hedder It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection. -Oscar Wilde In its manifesto, “A Strategic Framework for the Arts,” Great Britain’s Arts Council offered a detailed and exhaustive rationale for the arts as a vital long-term investment from both an economic and aesthetic standpoint. The report indicated that Britain’s regional arts communities are the envy of the world and are crucial to the health of the nation’s tourism industry, which generated more than ?16 billion for the British economy in 2008 (“Why the Arts Matter,” 2010). Indeed, benefits to Britain’s economic vitality have been well documented. But the arts and cultural pursuits in Britain have long played a far more profound and spiritual role than pounds and pennies, one that inspires and replenishes the soul. “The arts broaden horizons, stimulate new thinking, provide pleasure and raise aspirations – they inspire and sustain the spirit. More people are enjoying the arts than ever before (76 percent in 2008-09)” (“Why the Arts Matter,” 2010). Nevertheless, a crippling economic downturn and Europe’s largest budget deficit have raised a stumbling block that may well prove insurmountable for the arts’ single greatest patron – the British government. Name 2 Background Cuts as high as 40 percent come as hard news for arts and cultural institutions nationwide, which have benefited from an unprecedented growth in government funding over the past decade. Between 2000 and 2010, there has been an increase of approximately ?200 million in arts funding. In London, many arts organizations receive as much as 50 percent of their funding from the government. The impact on the city’s cultural life could be massive. London’s venerable museums may have to charge admission, a move that could cut deeply into the tourism market (Faoila, 2010). MPs have expressed concern over the curtailment of artistic activities and events and have recommended a program that would reward regional philanthropy in an effort to mitigate the damage (Phillips, 2011). Britain boasts a grand, centuries-old cultural heritage: one need only stroll through Westminster, where lie Dickens, Chaucer, Tennyson and other luminaries, to appreciate the nation’s unique contribution to Western civilization. As such, the likelihood that Britain’s coalition government could drastically curtail, or discontinue, funding for Britain’s cultural institutions amounts to nothing less than a national crisis of identity. For a nation deep in the grips of a persistent recession, adopting the American model of private philanthropy may do irreparable damage to Britain’s vibrant arts community (Faiola, 2010). With no government-sponsored alternatives on the horizon, Britons is facing a permanent marginalization of the arts, not in the short term but over time, proceeding almost imperceptibly, gradually blotting out some of the brightest stars in Britain’s cultural firmament. Name 3 Shakespeare under siege One could as well imagine the pawning of the crown jewels as entertain the possibility that The Royal Shakespeare Company could fall victim to the balance sheet. But in a report to Parliament, the company warned of dire consequences should budget cuts proceed under the current plans, which make it clear that cuts on the scale proposed (25 – 40 percent) will have real and significant impact for the arts and for the audience who enjoy them. Most likely for us it will mean fewer productions, less touring, and a curtailment of the free events and educational activities which help us reach new audiences” (“Parliamentary business,” 2011). This holds dire regional repercussions, given the presence the company maintains throughout the country. More specifically, the New Vic Theater in North Staffordshire, which receives about 30 percent of its funding through the Arts Council, played host to 175,000 visitors in 2010. This is significant, since the theater earns about 60 percent of its income through performances and events. Company officials warn if the budget axe falls as heavily as expected, such venues will be forced to close, the Royal Shakespeare Company will have to limit its activities to London and its ability to self-sustain will be severely compromised. Perhaps worst of all, a new generation will be deprived of an invaluable introduction to Shakespeare. So it is with The Foundation for Community Dance, which encourages and coordinates dance projects throughout England. The foundation’s plight is illustrative of the potential loss of organizations that facilitate participation at the grass roots level. In periods of economic crisis, outlets for entertainment and opportunities for self-fulfillment are typically in short supply, or Name 4 simply not affordable, for much of the populace. Should the Foundation and participatory organizations like it falter, communities nationwide stand to lose important sources of activity and expression that are important to the emotional and psychological well-being of countless Britons. The Foundation’s report to Parliament warned of the deleterious effect of cutting off financial resources. “Small community-based dance organisations…will find it difficult to sustain year-round activity and will be thrown back on small and intermittent project grants – a regression to the funding environment of the 1990s. Funding for organisations that offer community dance activities as part of their programme is very often a partnership between the Arts Council and local authorities, and we would regret any return to the game of ping-pong between funders symptomatic of previous decades” (Parliamentary Business, 2011). In Leeds, the Northern Ballet will receive 25 percent less from the Arts Council for 2012-2013, which likely means that England’s most active ballet company will face major reductions in its ambitious touring schedule and in basic administrative needs. The company normally tours throughout England and abroad. The cost to dance enthusiasts, and to those with an abiding interest in dance, is difficult to gauge, but it’s worth noting that the public will be deprived of an organization that won the prestigious Patron’s Award of the Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards as recently as 2008 (Dance UK, 2011). ‘More than just frivolous’ Convincing economists and politicians that the arts have intrinsic value beyond tourism Name 5 revenue can be a daunting task. A 2010 report on arts funding, commissioned by Arts and Business, indicated that cultural activities can help address “bottom line” concerns. The report quotes Tessa Blackstone, former Minister of the Arts, who said that the arts can be more than just “frivolous, trivial, irrelevant…I am in no doubt that the arts can contribute to improving healthcare outcomes…better employability and employment…the position of disadvantaged groups…there’s increasing evidence that the arts can play a role in both crime prevention and reducing re-offending…” (Smith, 7). Policymakers and others responsible for preparing budgets have seldom been receptive to this concept. Nevertheless, the report notes that progress has been made among decision makers in government in recent years. “Happily, most politicians who address these matters have since retreated from the extreme utilitarian position” (Smith, 7). Unfortunately, even the most well-intentioned politician can do little when economic circumstances drain government coffers. Social implications There is a growing understanding of what it means to lose arts programs in modern-day societies. Individuals deal with conflict, both personally and among groups, in multiple ways. Creative outlets have proven to be effective means for working through emotional distress and physical challenges. “Music, dance and theater are important arenas for training in democratic participation and conflict transformation…The cultural crises we now see unfolding may be traced to modern societies discontinuing these vital processes of social learning” (Skyllstad, 2000). Various forms of musical expression, for instance, can help transcend problems arising from day-to-day social interaction and conflict. “Musical interaction creates social values. Two Name 6 or more people create something that is greater than the sum of what they create each on their own. And sympathies are formed – strong feelings of belonging. Music making in a group brings out the social dynamics of the group. Harmonic as well as strained relationships are brought to the front” (Skyllstad, 2000). This aids our understanding of the ways in which human beings communicate, verbal communication being just one of many such forms. The arts may provide us with avenues of communications that seem imperceptible, but are nonetheless important for social harmony. Dance is an ancient form of communication in cultures throughout the world, with psychosocial functions that are still imperfectly understood. “Dance has both cognitive and affective dimensions…It communicates some kind of information – communication being used here to include the performer’s intention to communicate and also the performer’s transfer of information. Like other cultural codes and patterned interactions, dance is a way of ordering and categorizing experience” (Blacking & Kealiinohomoku, 24). Interpreting experience through artistic expression may be critically important in modern society, with its overwhelming and bewildering pace of change in technology, politics and social and cultural norms. Effective communications among individuals and between groups are essential for processing and understanding experience, for keeping up with change that can seem threatening. “Because the growing complexity of cars, airplanes and other machines can be related to their efficiency as means of communication, it is often assumed that technical development in music and the arts must likewise be a sign of deeper or better expression” (Blacking, 33). The most unique aspect of music as a means of communication is its Name 7 ability to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers, creating meaning beyond its own origins. For example, Indian music, which has proven widely popular throughout Europe and the United States, is celebrated for its technical and aesthetic brilliance and for the fact that it is perceived as being imbued with “profound philosophizing” (Blacking, 33). The stakes for losing these fundamental human means of expression are too high, given the primal role the arts play in personal and group expression and in sharing and understanding experience. There is a tangible cause-and-effect phenomenon at work. “Loss of a vibrant cultural sector…correlate(s) to diverse social problems including poor psychological and even physical health, lowered intellectual ability, damage to peace and civil society, and lowered socioeconomic health” (The Social Argument for Arts Funding, 2010). It is hardly surprising, then, that UNESCO should argue that culture is an essential human right, one that addresses chronic social problems such as prejudice, race-based violence and corruption. In a 2003 report, UNESCO referred to culture as a common human heritage that serves as a “wellspring of creativity” (Declaration on Cultural Diversity, 2003). UNESCO found that the cultural erosion stemming from reductions in arts funding is a crisis of global proportions. When artists lose funding, the very means of expression are threatened. Such is the case in California, which has sustained significant economic damage in the recent recession. The San Francisco Arts Commission has been forced to make nearly $300,000 in funding cuts. Small nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists in the Bay area, who have come to rely on financial aid from the commission, have been forced to halt or Name 8 scale back projects that interact with the public by virtue of the commission’s physical and financial resources. SOMArts, a 30-year-old cultural center funded by the commission, alone supports and exhibits work by more than 1,000 artists in the Bay area (Kelkar, 2010). Area children, many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds also will suffer in the present economic climate. WritersCorps, a program that provides a creative outlet for thousands of at-risk youth, will lose much of its ability to impact the creative development of the children who pass through its doors (Kelkar, 2010). Children are at the heart of the current crisis. Cut off from the means of self-expression and from the ability to enlarge their perspective on the world around them, coming generations can hardly be expected to display the vision, creativity and resolve necessary to face and overcome the problems that beset the world’s populations. “The lessons from the past hold promise for the future…It is important that we share (creative) experiences and move forward in a concerted effort to realize the goal set before us: spreading a culture of peace” (Skyllstad, 2000). Name 9 Works Cited Blacking, J. How Musical is Man? Seattle, WA: The University of Washington Press. 1973. Blacking, J. and Kealiinohomoku, J.W. The Performing Arts: Music and Dance. The Hague: Mouton Publishers. 1979. Faiola, A. “Britain Plans Dramatic Cuts in the Arts.” The Washington Post. 2010 August 6. “Funding of the Arts and Heritage – Culture, Media and Sports Committee.” Parliamentary Business. House of Commons. www.parliament.uk. 2011. Web. “General Conference Adopts Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.” UNESCO. 2003. www.unesco.org. Web. Kelkar, K. “Cultural Centers Lose Funding as Arts Commission Cuts Back.” San Francisco Examiner. 2010 April 27. “Northern Ballet Receives Substantial Cut in Arts Council Funding.” Dance UK. 30 March 2011. www.danceuk.org. Web. Phillips, L. “MPs Disturbed by Council’s Arts Cuts.” Public Finance. 2011 March 28. Skyllstad, K. “Creating a Culture of Peace: The Performing Arts in Interethnic Negotiations.” Intercultural Communications. November 2000. 4. Smith, M. “Arts Funding in a Cooler Climate: Subsidy, Commerce and the Mixed Economy of Culture in the UK.” Arts and Business. 2010. Name 10 “The Social Arguments for Public Arts Funding: How the Arts Were Cut, and What it Means for British Columbia.” British Columbia Arts Council. 2010. “Why the Arts Matter: A Strategic Framework for the Arts.” Arts Council England. 2010. Read More