Today is the beginning of Arts Advocacy Day 2017. (For reasons unclear but welcome, it lasts for two days).
I salute all of you taking the time to advocate for the arts today, whether through letters, calls, or trips to Washington, D.C. It makes a difference.
What is the crux of arts advocacy? That arts deserve public institutional support. Why?
Simple.
A great country needs great art.
Art magnifies our souls. Art should be at the core of a culture, whether secular or religious, urban or rural, public or private.
You may look to technological progress as a sign of a society’s greatness; I look to artistic progress.
A great country needs great art.