This paper was commissioned by The American Assembly, an affilate of Columbia University, New York, NY for its meeting The Arts and the Public Purpose, May 29-June 1, 1997.

The Ninety-Second American Assembly, held May 29 - June 1, 1997 in Harriman, New York, was a gathering of 78 participants representing a broad spectrum of views and interests who examined the arts as a sector in American life and the extent to which the arts meet the public purposes of the American people. The Assembly, which included artists, arts executives, critics, business men and women, foundation officers, academics, politicians and policy makers from all over the country, identified a number of measures that would enable artists and artistic enterprises both to meet public purposes

In the first half of the twentieth century, the bookshop in the cultivated an image of an elite establishment that served an affluent, highly educated group of patrons. Frequently expressing disapproval of drugstores and other non-book retailers whose stock in books was heavily weighted toward the most commercial fare, so-called regular booksellers proudly emphasized their role as promoters of refined literary tastes and judgments.

Stunning increases in the numbers of American artists and arts groups over the last 30 years have far outpaced the growth in public and private support and cannot be sustained, a new federal study says. What's more, the report holds artists themselves partly responsible for the growing alienation it sees between the public and the arts - a gap that made recent cuts in government arts spending possible. Sad to say, the study concludes, many American citizens fail to recognize the direct relevance of art to their lives. Too often, the report says, arts institutions are elitist, racially

Based on six forums held in various parts of the country and organized by the NEA, this book presents an analysis and distillation of the major issues facing the nonprofit arts including the role of the arts in the social, economic and civic life of their communities, arts education, and equity, access, and how the arts provide opportunities for all citizens.

Over the past decade, we have been honored to hear from artists and academics, business leaders and policy makers on the subject of how our great nation can maintain and preserve a cultural identity through political, social and economic change. Individually, these distinguished speakers provide personal and professional perspectives which, collectively, inform, inspire and enrich us all. It is my hope that the lecture series compiled here serves as a resource and a reminder of the important role of culture in the lives of individuals, families, communities and in the life of our nation as

Describes and assesses data resources on arts organizations that inform policy makers, arts managers, and researchers working in the arts fields

The folk and traditional arts field described in this study is enormously complex, encompassing the traditions of literally thousands of communities, but in another way it is quite simple to comprehend. Folk and traditional arts have the aura of authenticity about them: real art by real people who draw their inspiration, technique and aesthetics from traditions as old as the land, as old as home, as old as a family and community.

Ninth Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, presented by the American Council for the Arts, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eisenhower Theater, Washington, D.C., March 19, 1996.

Proceedings of a symposium which featured eleven presenters and eleven respondents, some of whom are Mid-America Arts Alliance, and (M-AAA) board members (noted below). Looks at the change in the national political attitude concerning public funding of the arts.