The Arts and Cultural Sector, Research, and Art Education

Abstract

Bill Ivey, as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from 1998 2001, eloquently conceptualized the complexities and intersections of the arts and culture in the United States (US). As a folklorist, Ivey's broadbased view of the arts and culture was unique in the history of the NEA. In his remarks the American Folklore Society (AFS) on October 22, 1999, Ivey firmly positioned his conception of the arts and culture in in relation and living cultural (Ivey, 1999). He used creativity and cultural heritage emphasize the importance of investing time and funding in America's cultural life. Ivey affirmed that creative expression is fundamental all people, that aesthetic traditions are a prerequisite social life, and that traditions thrive on creative interpretation and effort.While chair of the NEA, Ivey advocated for a more vigorous and broad based commitment art and art making in America (Ivey, 2000). Art and artmaking would move the center of society from the margins (Ivey, 2000). Quality of life for individuals and communities would be enhanced and the interconnectedness necessary a healthy democracy would be encouraged.Ivey's systemic orientation arts and culture was not unique. A little over a quarter of a century earlier Kavolis (1973) described America's arts and cultural heritage as an extensive network through which children, youth, and adults could engage with art. This network included educational institutions as well as community arts centers, museums, churches, and health care facilities among many others. Becker's (1984) Art Worlds amplified Kavolis' overview by describing in detail the cooperative networks required for the production and appreciation of fine art, multimedia, folk art, and craft among other forms. In 1997 The American Assembly (2007) produced a report on the arts in American life. Reiterating the findings of Kavolis (1973) and Becker (1984), the Assembly described an extensive and inclusive arts and cultural sector existing across, and within, not-for-profits, for-profits, and volunteer or informal organizations. The Assembly affirmed the interdependence of these sectors and resisted conventional categories of high and low, fine and folk, professional and amateur, pop and classic (p. 1). Integral the public purpose of the arts, according the Assembly, was education.Deborah B. Reeve's (2007) From the column in the December 2007 edition of the NAEA News reinforces a view of art education consistent with the systemic and proactive orientation the arts and culture exemplified by the sources cited here. Also significant Reeves December 2007 column was its emphasis on the importance of research. I anticipate that there will be some debate by scholars in the field about Reeves emphasis on an evidence based (EBP) orientation and its philosophical approach knowledge, method for generating knowledge, and the socio- cultural-political complexities in which any practice occurs. Such debate is integral the learning community that Reeve believes the NAEA be. However, there is no doubt that Reeve, in her position as Executive Director of the NAEA, understands not only the importance of research the field, but also that research can drive the change that will foster even greater strides in ensuring a quality education for all of our nation's young people (p. 3). She challenges the membership of the NAEA to expand, enhance and leverage our organizational research and knowledge- transfer capabilities (p. 3). Reeve specifically mentions superintendents' offices, state departments of education, and other professional associations. She is forceful in articulating that it is only by recognizing and working within a larger system that change can occur. In my view, this larger system must be as broad based as that described by the American Assembly (2007).Scholars associated with the NAEA have a history of exploring and embracing a systemic orientation the plethora of cultural forms available for study. …