Friday, April 9, 2010

Arts Funding vs. Sports Funding

I received a comment on the last blog about why sports are funded and valued more than the arts. I was going to comment back, but felt like this may be important enough to allow others to comment too :) enjoy!

The problem of funding for the arts is not at all a new problem and unfortunately in the current economic state it has been magnified. The arts and sports are very different animals and the discussion of their validity has been debated for as long as the two have been pitted against each other. But, the truth is that in many ways both sports and arts can be seen as equal as they provide entertainment to their audiences and give the audience members what they want to see. I have read interesting opinions on both sides of the topic. There is this really great blog entry by Bill Harley that brings up some valid points from an artist's perspective as he attends a sporting event~http://billharley.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/arts-vs-sports/. With all that being said, I do share your frustration of lack of arts funding and general public interest. I do not blame technology though because just as I feel it has made some art forms passe, it has also opened doors. With the program Garage Band on my computer, I am a one woman band :). Everything moves and changes quickly and it is arts task to also be moving and relevant, because just like in sports, the slow to move and excel get left behind. Maybe we can come up with some new arts/sports collaborations? Ideas anyone? Thanks for interesting topic!