Tyler Cowen presents a powerful idea in his 2006 book (reprised in 2010) Good & Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding: arts policy is a battle between aesthetic and economic reasoning that can be settled by keeping the American system basically as it is. His sweeping argument draws on a deeply-researched history ofRead More
What am I worth to you?
Earlier this year, the New York Times reported on the controversy over the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre’s policy of not paying its performers. UCB is almost universally considered the leading improv theater in New York, and attracts much of the top talent. It’s not a small side project, or an isolated community; it shapesRead More
The Promise of Shared Goals
This is the second post in a series on the tragedy of the commons and what it means for the arts sector. Four talented young musicians step on stage at a West Village jazz jam. Each faces competing pressures: helping make the band sound tight and showing off her own skills. With this information, andRead More
Around the horn: Lois Lerner, we hardly knew ye edition
(This edition prepared by Createquity Writing Fellow Dan Thompson) ART AND THE GOVERNMENT Never afraid to speak his mind, Rocco Landesman shares a few more words about his experience as NEA head, this time with the Public Theater’s Public Forum Podcast. MUSICAL CHAIRS Ken Corbin, a 27-year IRS veteran, will take over as acting head of theRead More
The Pitfalls of Shared Goals: What is the Commons?
This is the first piece in a three-part series on the tragedy of the commons and what it means for the arts sector. Remember that group project you had in middle school where one of the members slacked off and got the same grade as you? What about that green stuff growing in the backRead More