I have a growing concern that I share with many others involved in the arts in Utah and throughout our nation. It involves the public stance being taken by many in Congress against the National Endowment for the Arts.
Recent action has been taken in both the House and the Senate to "punish" the NEA for questionable and offensive arts performances that have received funding from the endowment. One of the most recent occurrences involved performances at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.I must say that such performances dismay and offend most of us involved in the arts. Such a performance would never be allowed or in any way be sponsored by the Utah Arts Council. Such events, however, must be placed in their proper context.
The grant received in Minneapolis did not come directly from the NEA. As is the case with the great majority of the questionable artistic endeavors mentioned in Congress, the funding was granted by a local organization that in turn received its funding from the NEA. The NEA was not involved in the grant selection process.
It reminds me of a story I heard where someone was being held accountable for a donation made to a political campaign that was in turn spent to promote a very questionable and possibly illegal activity - a violation to the original intent of the donation. It seems as if the NEA is being used as a subject for political grandstanding.
Although maligned, sometimes deservedly so in the past, the NEA truly is doing wonderful things. NEA dollars are helping fund thousands of local arts organizations throughout the U.S., including more than 100 in Utah.
Utah's organizations range from the Utah Symphony to small community groups meeting in local schools, civic centers and firehouses. These artistic organizations are found in nearly every Utah community. For many of our communities, these groups and the events they sponsor are the lifeblood of economic development and the center of cultural identity.
The Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City delivers more than $1 million weekly to the local economy. Similar stories can be told in Logan, Springdale, Moab, Park City and countless other Utah communities. Most of the community theater, festivals and arts shows we enjoy in our hometown receive NEA dollars through some source.
The NEA has made wonderful strides over the past few years in better serving mainstream America. It demands much from the organizations it grants funding. The truth is sometimes mistakes are made. I think Ronald Reagan said it best however in a statement he made during his presidency:
"Artists have to be brave; they live in the realm of ideas and expressions and their ideas will often be provocative and unusual. Artists stretch the limits of understanding. They express ideas that sometimes are unpopular. In an atmosphere of liberty, artists and patrons are free to think the unthinkable and create the audacious. They are free to make both horrendous mistakes and generous celebrations. Where there's liberty, art succeeds. In societies that are not free, art dies."
Members of the Utah congressional delegations should vote for the full 1995 budget of $140,950,000 and vote against the proposed cuts.
Let's not cut the hand that provides millions of Americans with quality, inspiring artistic events. The proposed cut of more than $7 million in the NEA's interdisciplinary arts, theater and visual arts programs will decimate the thousands of worthwhile artistic endeavors across our nation, including many in Utah. There are many Utah arts organizations that could cease to exist if these cuts were to become reality.
Bonnie Stephens
Director
Utah Arts Council