3 QUESTIONS FOR ARLENE GOLDBARD

In two recent articles posted on the Community Arts Network, writer and social activist Arlene Goldbard has outlined the history of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and called for Washington to fund new arts initiatives and create new jobs for artists. As the battle around the stimulus package heats up, Ms. Golbard's thoughtful articles have become an advocacy platform for the community. If you haven't read her work, you must.

Start here:

The New New Deal: Part One

The New New Deal: Part Two

Ms. Goldbard has graciously agreed to answer three questions about the New New Deal. I'm going to focus on the proposed idea of the WPA style approach and what Teaching Artists might hope for or expect within such a context. As you know, I'm not a journalist, so, as usual, there will be no editing and we'll keep it short.

3 QUESTIONS FOR ARLENE GOLDBARD

1. Ms. Goldbard, briefly summarized, what are the opportunities and pitfalls for Teaching Artists within a government sponsored initiative to create jobs for artists? In other words, what's in it for us and is there anything we should be wary of?

My current motto comes from Voltaire: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." Most teaching artists already work within a government-sponsored context, the public school system. So in the simplest terms, if there were more public money to hire more teaching artists, both the good things and the dangers affecting those who currently have work would continue: more of the same.

I've been searching fruitlessly all my life for the perfect position, the one that rewards me generously just for being me, no strings attached. I doubt that most teaching artists have been more successful than I in finding it. In the absence of a free lunch, there are always concerns: Who judges the value of one's work? Are there undue constraints on freedom of expression? Is there enough continuity of support to establish and maintain the ongoing, meaningful relationships so key to effective work for teaching artists and community artists? Are collegial relationships encouraged and supported between teachers, administrators, parents, students and teaching artists, or does an atmosphere or competition prevail? These are perennial questions for anyone working in the field of cultural development; I can't see them changing much if a "new WPA" were to come into being, although the existence of increased funding could heighten some of these tensions.

2. If WPA projects similar to the ones you've proposed are implemented, how long do you think the new jobs for Teaching Artists might last and how might these projects fare after the next presidential election?

Duration is an interesting question. On the one hand, as in the WPA of the New Deal, such public programs tend to be seen as temporary measures to aid economic recovery. On the other hand, the work of teaching artists and community artists should be an ongoing part of public provision, as integral to local cultural life and as permanent a feature as the public library. As part of national recovery, it makes sense to propose instituting public service jobs for artists with a defined beginning and end (e.g., a five-year, renewable program would make sense to me). Politically, I doubt that this is the time to succeed in advocating for ongoing, permanent funding, as much as it is needed and right. I hope Barack Obama will win the next presidential election too, so presumably anything that came into being on his watch would continue throughout the eight years. If the campaign for artists' jobs succeeds, the challenge will be to use the time well, documenting success and building the strongest possible arguments for continued funding, creating an initiative so popular and so firmly rooted in local communities, it could survive a shift in political winds. That's a tall order, especially when you consider that right now, "the arts" are widely seen as the most dispensable of public funding programs.

3. As advocates for our own futures, what questions should professional Teaching Artists be asking and to whom should we complain?

Right now we are seeing exceptionally keen interest in questions of cultural policy in this country—at long last. I would like to see teaching artists become active in advocating for public policies and funding initiatives that promote cultural democracy: creativity, pluralism, participation and equity in our nation's cultural life. This is a good time to complain to elected officials who have used arts funding as the poster child for government waste, making sure they hear from people who know how valuable and essential to cultural citizenship arts and education programs are. It's also a good time to become active in proposing new policies and programs, as I have done in laying out parameters for a "new WPA." What would education in this country look like if the best work of teaching artists were integral to every classroom? Now is a time to dream big and broadcast those dreams, creating a sense of possibility. I'd like to see teaching artists ask themselves what they want for themselves, their communities and those with whom they work, and then put that vision out without downsizing it to accommodate anticipated opposition.

Thank you for your time and advocacy on behalf of the arts community.

About Arlene Goldbard
Arlene Goldbard is a writer, social activist, and consultant who works for justice, compassion and honor in every sphere, from the interpersonal to the transnational.

Her essays have appeared in such journals as Art in America, The Independent, Theatre, High Performance and Tikkun. Her books include Crossroads: Reflections on the Politics of Culture; Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development; Community, Culture and Globalization; and her novel Clarity.