Why Arts? Making the Case

2004, 152 pages, Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College Chicago

July 2004, 76 pages. The Community Arts Network

Download: The State of the Field of Community Cultural Development: Something New Emerges from the Community Arts Network.

Description and review is here.

2004. Centre for Creative Communities, 118 Commercial St., London E16NF, UK.

2004, 42 pages. Marwen, 833 North Orleans St., Chicago, IL, 60610, 312-944-2418, www.marwen.org

Anyone who works (or lives) in the circle of adolescents can appreciate the complexity of developing effective arts programs for teens. Fuel documents the essential characteristics of one such program at Marwen, a Chicago cultural organization that provides high-quality visual arts instruction, college planning, and career development to young people (grades six to twelve) free of charge during out of school time.

I believe it is time to begin a conversation about a new model for building a vibrant arts landscape. Since I left federal service in the fall of 2001, I have had an opportunity rare for former chairmen of the National Endowment for the Arts—the chance to create a research center engaging the very issues that fascinated me during my tenure with the endowment.

Following are a few excerpts from a lunchtime plenary forum at GIA's 2003 conference in Seattle. Melanie Beene led the discussion and encouraged conference participants to share their personal connections to the arts and the arguments they use for funding arts and culture. "There's no unified field theory on why we should fund the arts," she said. "One person's old stale argument might be fresh for somebody else."

John Kreidler

April 2004, 102 pages. Published by California Arts Council, 1300 I Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814, 916-322-6555, www.cac.ca.gov

Download pdf: http://www.cac.ca.gov/artsinfo/econ.php

May 2004, 53 pages. Published by Battelle Memorial Institute

Download pdf: http://www.flinn.org/docs/Vibrant_Culture-Thriving_Economy_full_213.pdf

The product of a multi-disciplinary task force in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, this report makes the case, from an economic development point of view, for a central role for arts and culture in the region's future planning initiatives.

The full text of this article is not yet available on this site.

Catherine Maciariello
This panel intends to examine the purpose and value of what we do from the personal, institutional, and public perspective. We ask your indulgence and ask you to fly with us at 35,000 feet. We are talking about relationships, multiple meanings, and civic dialogue that enable an exchange of ideas that elevate and enrich both art-making and civic life.