Government Support of the Arts: A Preliminary Inquiry Into the Problem of Artistic Freedom and Public Accountability
GENERAL
This study examines the problem of government support for the arts and its implications for artistic freedom. Assuming, then, that the developments of the sixties [1960's] mark a new stage in an expanding relationship between government and the arts, it seems useful to inquire into the nature of that relationship, most especially its implications for artistic freedom. To raise this question is not to subscribe to the time-worn argument that goverment support inevitably means control, whether in education or in the arts. Nor should the possible existence of pressures inimical to artistic freedom be construed as a barrier to public support. On the contrary, it might well be argued that such support has enhanced immeasurably the opportunities for freedom of expression by encouraging expansion of the arts and by making arts institutions sites for the kind of exploration and experimentation that would otherwise have been impossible. In short, the positive gains which government afford have been enormous. But to ignore such problems as may also exist would be rather naive in view of difficulties surrounding past ventures into public patronage. (p. 2-3).
CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Some preliminary considerations:
Rationale for investigation.
Nature of the inquiry.
Chapter 2. The extent and nature of government support:
Federal legislation and programs.
State and local support.
Chapter 3. The patronage relationship - problems and progress:
Federal patronage and pressures.
State and local patronage and pressures.
Chapter 4. The maintenance of artistic freedom and public accountability:
Some protective measures.
The need for further inquiry.
