ARTS CZAR RIDES AGAIN!
Richard Kessler on Dewey 21C
The “arts czar” idea is still buzzing about. Of course, the actor Kal Penn was appointed to the White House Office of Public Engagement, and we will have Rocco Landesman heading up the NEA, and Jim Leach heading up the NEH. But certainly, that’s a far cry from what a number of people were lobbying for, which was a cabinet level position in the executive branch, replete with its own brand new agency. What a great idea….not.
This week Michael Kaiser brought up the issue of a federal arts policy. The best thing he said about this was “what we really need is a debate over federal arts policy.” Agreed. I would prefer to leave it there. Let’s have a debate. Let’s foster sustained opportunities to engage the nation in conversations around federal policy for arts.