american assembly grant proposal for the creative campus project

8/11/2019 American Assembly Grant Proposal for the Creative Campus project

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HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE PERFORMING ARTS

The American Assembly respectfully requests a grant of ------ from the----- in support of

a project on higher education and the performing arts.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 1997, The American Assembly, through its project on The Arts and the !ublic

!urpose," became a dri#ing and influential force in the public discourse about national arts

policy. This Assembly e$amined the %ays in %hich the arts meet the nation&s most profound

needs and purposes, %hile enriching the li#es of all Americans. The Arts and the !ublic

!urpose" also identified an agenda for future cultural policy discussions. The Assembly&s

established con#ening po%ers and meeting format %ere used to full ad#antage in follo%-on

acti#ities that included meetings, publications, funded research, and interaction %ith specialists,

the press, and arts leaders.

Throughout these proceedings from 1997 through the present, a consistent refrain has

been that the arts are not participating as fully as they can, nor are they capitali'ing or forming

(ey, strategic alliances %ith complementary institutions, such as colleges and uni#ersities. The

American Assembly project %ill set an agenda for the arts and these alliances.

The American Assembly %ill address these dynamic emerging partnerships by turning its

attention and its leadership team to a project on )igher *ducation and the !erforming Arts." In

+arch The Assembly %ill bring leading e$perts together for a t%o-and-a-half-day meeting.

In preparation for this meeting, The Assembly %ill dra% on the on-going %or(, research, and

data de#eloped by the /ni#ersity of Te$as, Austen and %ill commission additional bac(ground


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material for the participants. At the conclusion of the meetings, The Assembly %ill release a

publication that %ill ad#ance public discussion by informing sta(eholders and policy ma(ers of

the research and the participants0 findings and recommendations.

The leadership team guiding this project includes Alberta Arthurs, former director of Arts

and )umanities at the oc(efeller 2oundation and principal, A3A )oldings4 2ran( )odsoll,

former chairman, 5ational *ndo%ment for the Arts and principal, )odsoll and Associates4 and

6andra ibson, president, Association of !erforming Arts !resenters. 8ee 3ollinger, president,

olumbia /ni#ersity and 5ancy antor, chancellor, /ni#ersity of Illinois, /rbana-hampaign

ha#e agreed to ser#e as chairs of this national initiati#e.

A distinguished steering committee, consisting of national e$perts from the arts,

academia, and the arts presenting %orld ha#e been identified and recruited to help guide this

project. A list of committee members and their affiliates are appended.

THE QUESTION

The relationship of colleges and uni#ersities to the performing arts has e#ol#ed

significantly o#er the past se#eral years and these relationships are benefiting, or ha#e benefited,

in e$traordinary and highly positi#e %ays the institutions of higher education, artists, the

performing arts, and arts institutions. Together higher education and the performing arts ha#e an

opportunity and a role in nurturing a #ital and thri#ing modern culture. :hile some high

creati#ity in the performing arts can e$ist independently of any particular outside support and

in#ol#ement, most creati#ity requires a comple$ community of fello% artists, patrons,

supporters, and interested audiences to e$ist. A critical question for the performing arts is %ho or

%hich institutions %ill assume a sense of responsibility for their health and #itality.

+ost artists and performing arts institutions require a conte$t, a community of people and

institutions to stimulate fully their creati#e juices, and that a mar(et is not, by itself, a sufficient


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conte$t for this goal. The role of mar(ets in the de#elopment of culture is a complicated and,

sometimes, contentious issue. egardless, the performing arts %ould be impo#erished if they

%ere left to fend for themsel#es in a free mar(et consumerist economy. The question remains,

%ho, or %hich institutions outside of the usual free mar(et, can, and %ill, assume a sense of

responsibility for the health and #itality of the performing arts; This American Assembly

initiati#e %ill not only e$amine the role that colleges and uni#ersities play as landlords and

impresarios, filling auditoria and halls for performances4 %hile important, nurturing this art form

is far more in#ol#ed. Assembly project co-chair 8ee 3ollinger has remar(ed

american assembly grant proposal for the creative campus project

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