A mayor’s support for the cultural economy of her city has sparked protests from artists, administrators and councillors. Zachary Small looks at how a war over funding has become a battle for the non-economic value of culture.
'When Mayor Muriel Bowser last month unveiled her ambitious roadmap for transforming Washington DC into an arts mecca, it should have been a political coup; instead, it may have triggered a political collapse.
The mayor has instrumentalized culture as an economic driver of the capital’s fortunes ever since taking office in 2014 and embarking on the creation of her Cultural Plan one year later. Deference to what she has described as “the cultural economy” has earned Bowser few fans from the arts community, which has characterized the mayor’s proposals as siphoning funds away from the fine arts and into the pockets of small businesses.
But her latest advance on the independence of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) has triggered a string of protests and battle cries across the city — from artists, administrators, and city council members — who see Bowser’s reforms as threatening the financial lifeblood of their arts community.' ... Keep reading on Hyperallergic
'When Mayor Muriel Bowser last month unveiled her ambitious roadmap for transforming Washington DC into an arts mecca, it should have been a political coup; instead, it may have triggered a political collapse.
The mayor has instrumentalized culture as an economic driver of the capital’s fortunes ever since taking office in 2014 and embarking on the creation of her Cultural Plan one year later. Deference to what she has described as “the cultural economy” has earned Bowser few fans from the arts community, which has characterized the mayor’s proposals as siphoning funds away from the fine arts and into the pockets of small businesses.
But her latest advance on the independence of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) has triggered a string of protests and battle cries across the city — from artists, administrators, and city council members — who see Bowser’s reforms as threatening the financial lifeblood of their arts community.' ... Keep reading on Hyperallergic