Art Essay

Government funding for arts is necessary to ensure that arts can flourish and be available to all people. Gvt funding threatens the integrity of arts.

Arts have always played an important role in human civilization, right from its inception. A close study of the artwork in various time periods offers us a glimpse into the sociocultural milieu of our forefathers. In order to ensure that arts can flourish and be available to all people, it has been postulated that government funding for arts is necessary. In contrast, many believe that government funding will threaten the integrity of arts. I would take the middle path – I believe that in arts, government interference should be minimized except under certain circumstances when there’s the possibility that one particular field of arts would die out or become nonexistent if funding is not provided.
Art forms take root from unfettered creativity. An artist should have the freedom to truly express himself without any external interference. If he doesn’t the quality of his artwork would suffer. If government funding is utilized for the development of an artwork, there would be restriction on what an artist can express or convey through his medium of choice. For example, during the cultural revolution in China, the artists and writers were encouraged or almost forced to bring forth works which would praise the Communist philosophy of the country. The works of independent artists who express a different opinion or depict a controversial issue in an art form, would often be banned and the artists penalized. Though there was ample government funding during that time period, there is no question that the creative works during that time period were restrained by the government interference.
Artists are often poor, especially during the early parts of their careers. Government funding in the form of scholarships at that time period may help them work freely in their artistic field without undue worry about the finances. However the funding should not place any restrictions on the content of the artwork. NEA or the National Endowment for Arts is an independent federal agency which supports artists and artwork through grants, and it has done a commendable job promoting excellence, creativity and innovation in arts. In recent times, with the flagging economy, the funding has been inconsistent and it’s unclear how long they will be able to pursue their goals
Several art forms fall out of favor with change in the sociocultural mileu of the society. Classical and folk art forms are at risk of becoming nonexistent in such a scenario, unless the government is unable to give the necessary boost to support the artists.
In summary I believe that art should be free form external interference, especially government funding to preserve its integrity except in trying circumstances when the art form may become nonexistent without that funding.