Advocacy and Public Policy

The Philadelphia arts sector has been a hotbed of activity recently, on both a political and civic level, with some exciting developments underway as well as some new challenges. Last November, the city elected a new mayor — John F. Street, former city council president during the Rendell administration. Philadelphians had enjoyed broad support of the arts from former Mayor Edward Rendell, who was especially tuned into its economic impact. Mr.

The need to better understand and articulate the broad societal value of arts and culture is at the heart of a discussion among a growing circle of arts grantmakers and scholars in the U.S.

I have had, with my friend Wes Jackson, a number of useful conversations about the necessity of getting out of movements — even movements that have seemed necessary and dear to us — when they have lapsed into self-righteousness and self-betrayal, as movements seem almost invariably to do. People in movements too readily learn to deny to others the rights and privileges they demand for themselves. They too easily become unable to mean their own language, as when a “peace movement” becomes violent.

As the Twentieth Century approaches a finale, the arts in America exist in a vast array of styles, disciplines and organizational structures. The purpose here is to examine one major organizational component of the American arts scene, the nonprofit sector, as an organic system that has progressed through three distinct stages over the past century.