Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Arts Workers Unite to Pen Letter to Biden/Harris Calling for Cabinet-Level Arts & Culture Agency
www.broadwayworld.com: As President-Elect Joe Biden continues to make preparations for the start of his administration, members of the arts community have banded together to pen an open letter calling for support of the industry in the wake of the growing health crisis.
The document has already been signed by hundreds of artists, including Broadway veterans like Rachel Chavkin, Phillipa Soo, Steven Pasqual, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Celia Keenen-Bolger, Adam Chanler-Berat, Greg Hildreth, Leah Silverman, Shaina Taub, Taylor Tresch, and many more.
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2 comments:
I’m always reminded of the statement, “be careful what you wish for”. I think that statement applies here as well. While it would be nice to see a cabinet level position for the Arts, it can also backfire under an administration that is not Arts-friendly. We are still under the Trump administration and they have shown that they are not friendly to the arts. Sure, let’s create a new cabinet position, then what? The letter that these artists have crafted was very well written and they mention things like the Federal Theatre Project, which no longer exists. What exactly would this new Arts person do and be responsible for that the National Endowment for the Arts is not? And instead of lobbying the incoming administration, why are they not banging down the doors of Congress to get more federal assistance for the millions of live entertainment workers who are still out of work and need help? Their intentions are misguided and seem a little selfish.
This sounds like a promising idea. I think that what the federal government, specifically the executive branch, chooses to prioritize says a lot about the state of the nation. We put so much money into the department of defense and agriculture subsidies, but as the letter points out the arts and culture industry is just as worthy of financial support. If we are able to move forward as a society without the extreme wealth hoarding and able to fund education and healthcare, then the next item on the agenda can be offering more subsides to the entertainment industry so that it can be more accessible. As Josh mentioned, there is potential for abuse of such a position by an administration that would want to hold up funding or move it into the private sector. However, I think that by logic we wouldn’t have a secretary of education since we have seen the damage someone like DeVos can do. I believe it would be worth it to tell the American people and the rest of the world that the arts matter and that this government will support artists.
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