N.E.A. Funds Benefit Both Rich and Poor, Study Finds
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Patricia Cohen
Ever since the late 1980s, when the performance artist Karen Finley started playing around with yams and chocolate, the National Endowment for the Arts has come under fire from some conservative lawmakers. Back then the agency was castigated for giving grants to provocative artists like Ms. Finley, whom some critics called obscene.
Now House Republicans charge that the endowment supports programming primarily attended by the rich, causing “a wealth transfer from poorer to wealthier citizens.”
A new study to be released on Wednesday challenges that assertion, however, and concludes that federally supported arts programs attract people across the income spectrum; the wealthy, yes, but also many below the poverty line. [link]
By Patricia Cohen
 |
| Above: Roland Bernier, Red Money #3. Image outfront: Ron English, Money is the Root of All Art. |