Occupy the Concert Hall? How Arts Donations Ignore Poor, Ethnically Diverse
WQXR
October 18, 2011
As Occupy Wall Street protests spread over the perceived inequities between the very wealthy and the "other 99 percent" a new study on American arts funding makes a similar point. It finds that billions of dollars in arts funding serve a mostly wealthy, white and shrinking audience. Meanwhile, only a small chunk of money goes to emerging arts groups that serve poorer communities that are more ethnically diverse. But is this the full picture? And if so, what – if anything – should be done about it?
In this podcast, host Naomi Lewin is joined by three experts: Aaron Dorfman, the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group that conducted the new study; Yvette Campbell, executive director of the Harlem School of the Arts; and Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras.
