Cultural Democracy: The Arts, Community, and the Public Purpose

273 Pages·2004·1.227 MB·English

by  James Bau Graves

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James
Bau
Graves
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The Arts, Community
& the Public Purpose
Cultural Democracy

Cultural Democracy
The Arts, Community, and the
Public Purpose
James Bau Graves
University of Illinois Press
Urbana and Chicago
© 2005 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States
of America
1 2 3 4 5 C P 6 5 4 3 2
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Graves, James Bau, 1952–
Cultural democracy : the arts,
community, and the public purpose /
James Bau Graves.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
and index.
ISBN 0-252-02965-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-252-02965-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-252-07208-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-252-07208-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. United States—Social life and customs—
1971–2. Arts and society—United States.
3. Arts, American. I. Title: Arts,
community, and the public purpose.
II. Title.
E169.04.G739 2004
306.4'7'0973—dc22 2004008912
Frontispiece and title page photos by
Phyllis O’Neill.
We have learned to say that the good must be extended to all of
society before it can be held secure by any one person or any one
class; but we have not yet learned to add to that statement, that
unless all men and all classes contribute to a good, we cannot
even be sure that it is worth having.
—Jane Addams, Democracy and Social Ethics, 1913
✧ ✧ ✧
Right now our boom industry is security...because the lines of
communication have been shut, and somebody, in order to get
your attention, has to plant a car bomb—in your car. What would
it mean if those lines of communication were open? If violence
was not the only alternative that most people felt they had?
What would it mean if those lines of communication permitted
difficult things to be said, with art, with care, with grace, with
intelligence—and with reciprocity, communication moving in
both directions? That’s what artists are here for. We are here to
defuse the car bombs. And America is about the democracy that
allows both voices—all ten voices, all twenty voices—to be heard.
—Peter Sellars, Marketplace radio commentary, 2003

Contents
Appreciation ix
Introduction 1
1. Communion 23
2. Tradition and Innovation 41
3. Presentation and Participation 62
4. Conservation and Commercialization 86
5. Donation and Deduction 108
6. Education 127
7. Mediation 145
8. Globalization and Localization 175
9. Revolution 196
Notes 221
Works Cited 235
Index 247

Appreciation
This book reflects the prolonged engagement of hundreds of artists, com-
munity activists, nonprofit administrators, foundation directors, and schol-
ars in an ongoing experiment in making culture meaningful for ordinary
citizens. Any lesson that I’ve presented in these pages was gained through
the work that I have shared with all of these collaborators. My energetic
and thoughtful partners have taken a handful of ideas cooked-up over a
couple cups of coffee, and through their commitment, spirit, and artistry
turned them into reality. Their partnerships have provided the most con-
tinually surprising and satisfying moments of my career in public culture,
and their contributions to this text are manifest. To all of you, thank you!
And I look forward with pleasure to continuing the conversation.
The Center for Cultural Exchange has been my employer for nineteen
years, during which all of the ideas presented here were tested. I am in-
debted to the Center and its Board of Directors for their experimental
approach to the fulfillment of our mission, a pervasive attitude that has
allowed staff to pursue many projects that must have occasionally raised
eyebrows. This book could not have been written without an extended
Audience at a gospel performance. Photo by Tonee Harbert.