"The truth is I must have a change of some sort, or die," Abraham Lincoln said when criticized for attending opera while the Civil War raged.
The quote, cited during a National Public Radio report on the 16th president's musical preferences, exemplifies the vital role the arts play to audiences across the human spectrum -- from presidents agonizing within impenetrable shadow to children dancing on sunlit lawns. The arts reflect upon and interpret the human condition, illuminating as they entertain, challenging as they soothe, commiserating while inspiring. Without much fanfare for their contributions in this area, the arts provide a significant social safety valve in our lives.
It's an important realization to keep in mind as competitiveness for funding increases and conversations, whether heartfelt or disingenuous, pit food banks against theatrical productions.
Artists, across the many disciplines, are professionals, due the respectful consideration others who've dedicated their lives to an occupation receive. They, too, support families and live in communities, and their products generally contribute to local economies. A 2008 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) report found that, in 2005, almost 2 million Americans' primary employment fell within what the census defines as artists' occupations, with a combined income of $70 billion.
While dismal economic projections are not exaggerated, there is reason to be hopeful.
The $50 million for the NEA cut from the Senate version of the economic-stimulus bill was returned and is part of the package signed into law by President Obama yesterday.
Mitch Swain, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC), expects 40 percent of that to be re-granted to state arts councils, and, while he doesn't think the worst has yet hit arts organizations, he is optimistic.
"We're really pleased that the funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is still in the [state] budget. The governor has been a strong supporter of the arts, particularly the [Pennsylvania Council]."
Swain feels that organizations can do things now to better position themselves for the future, and to that end the GPAC is sponsoring a March 3 public forum on the current economic climate's impact on local funding (see details below).
The Washington, D.C., area-based Council on Foundations recently cautioned that in such times, "the temptation is to focus on survival rather than progress," and reminded that philanthropy is unique in its commitment to being supportive of progress while maintaining cognizance of survival needs.
Monday's Boston Globe reported that some foundations, though themselves taking fiscal hits, are actually increasing grants in recognition of the more desperate situations organizations are finding themselves in.
The motto of the NEA is: "A great nation deserves great art." More reflective of the artist's societal role would be: "A great nation creates great art."
Within the arts, the only real limitations are those of the imagination. A national priority should be to ensure that, even in distressed times, there are no boundaries placed upon dreams.
A free community forum, "Pittsburgh Arts in Tough Economic Times," will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. March 3 in the fourth floor studio of the Benedum Center, Downtown. Panelists will be Janet Sarbaugh of The Heinz Endowments; David Donahoe, Allegheny Regional Asset District; Lisa Kuzma, RK Mellon Foundation; Robert Reed, Multicultural Arts Initiative; and Germaine Williams, The Pittsburgh Foundation. The moderator will be Charlie Humphrey, executive director of Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Reservations are recommended at www.ProArtsTickets.org or 412-394-3353.
Nationally recognized Pittsburgh fiberartist Rise Nagin will give a slide-illustrated lecture, sponsored by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 on the "Interplay of Color and Design" at the Sixth Presbyterian Church, Forbes and Murray avenues, Squirrel Hill. ($5, members free; Nagin will conduct a workshop Feb. 21, $60, members $45, register at 412-322-9234.)
Carnegie Museum of Art begins a six-week Western art history course Feb. 24 that is a prerequisite for summer's docent training program and is also open to the public (412-622-3288).
Dr. Barbara McNulty has won a distinguished CINE Golden Eagle Award for "That's Pediatrics," a film about Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 1952 told through images by famed photojournalist Esther Bubley and contemporary interviews.
Ron Desmett has been awarded the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts 2009 Crafts Fellowship for his "Lidded Trunk Vessel" series, satin-finished, opaque black glass sculptures formed within the cavities of dead trees. Desmett and his wife and studio partner Kathleen Mulcahy are permanent artists in residence at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Both are represented in the Smithsonian's Renwick Galleries collection.
First Published: February 18, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
