On the Art of Change

This is a problem not limited to art and artists. It reveals and reinforces a societal illness — a perversion and distortion. With increasing regularity, we prioritize short-term gain over long-term good. This kind of short-termism has infected so many dimensions of our lives. Education. Health care. Development. Business. Government. It has disrupted the way our society makes decisions.

Take an example from our own recent experience: helping the city of Detroit, Michigan, to navigate its unprecedented bankruptcy without losing its soul, or the Detroit Institute of Arts, whose collection was owned by the people. At the Ford Foundation, we watched as billionaires circled above the city, waiting to strip down and sell off the museum and its masterpieces. Such “asset monetization” may have made sense in the short term. In the longer term, however, it was unacceptable. These potential buyers simply were not invested in the Detroit of 2020, of 2030, of 2050 — let alone in the people who live there now.