A good NYT article on how the $50 million for the NEA in the stimulus package was, astonishingly, saved: Saving Federal Arts Funds: Selling Culture as an Economic Force.
While that's terrific, $50 million is only a tiny sliver of the total package, and look at the strength of influence and persuasion that had to be brought to bear to get even that. This reminds me why one of my central artistic convictions is to engage with the culture I live in, and the people actually in it--not some idealized version I'd like to see, etc.
It baffles me that so many people don't see how suffused with art their everyday lives are, that art is far from some liberal, elite, effete, condescending foolishness that practical people don't need to concern themselves with. It is an important way that we share our experiences of the world with one another, it helps us develop and sustain community and empathy, it makes life more vibrant and enjoyable, etc. etc. To those who pay attention, art is clearly important even without the powerfully persuasive quantitative arguments used to sway our congressional representatives. I am astonished that we even have to say so, and dumbfounded that people had to argue so strenuously for crumbs. But I am grateful for their efforts--read the article to know whom to credit.
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