Title: Activist Art: Art That Works | Helen Klebesadel: A Muse and Her Artist
Headings: Activist Art: Art That Works
Activist Art: Art That Works
Effective activist art:
What next?
A few more examples of Activist Art Projects:
About Helen R. Klebesadel

Content: There are several ways to look at the attitudes behind the national and local attacks on the arts and culture. The arts and culture matters are luxuries and should be cut for the larger good because we jut cannot afford them in this time of crisis,
The arts and culture are just vehicles for left leaning political messages of the educated elites so remove all public support. Attacks on the arts are a red herring, a strategy to focus attention on threats to the arts that soak up a lot of the conversation and distract us from other items on the chopping block (Medicaid, collective bargaining, the environment). Of course it shouldn’t be an either/or argument. We should be able to demand essential services and healthy funding for arts too, while balancing our budget. It may help to remember that the NEA, founded as a symbol of Kennedy-Johnson liberal idealism, and though under-funded, its mere existence of government arts funding is symbolically important. It’s also important to remember that attacks on the arts are not just about the arts; they’re part of a bigger political picture of what we believe the priorities off the United States should be. Other ways to look at the arts are: Recognize that the arts are vital social and economic drivers to our communities, and critical to educating our children with the skills they need to deal with a new globally engaged world.