ART NEWSPAPER: WHAT KIND OF CULTURAL LEADER WILL OBAMA BE?

“His campaign suggests he will focus on communities, education, and grass-roots organisations but there are many unanswered questions. Here we survey the policy areas where the new President is likely to take a stand.

Unlike most American presidents, he writes his own books. He is said to enjoy music, especially blues and jazz. His chief of staff was a ballet dancer. His appointees have enough PhDs to fill a faculty club. But what will his arts policy be like? And what will it mean for the visual arts?

This could be good news for the arts-as long as they can build a convincing case that they serve the public interest. Long banished to the periphery of public affairs, arts policy is poised to make a comeback under various 21st-century guises: from economic stimulus programmes to “soft diplomacy” initiatives to digital-age intellectual property regulation. The opportunity to rethink government’s role comes at a time when it is readily acknowledged among arts professionals that cultural support in America is outdated in its assumptions, sclerotic in its methods, biased in its outcomes, and inefficient in its use of philanthropic and taxpayer dollars. It’s time to move on. But where?” Read More.