NORTHPORT, Maine — When American folklorist Bill Ivey took over as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1998, the federal agency was under siege.
The furor over grants made to controversial artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe meant the very idea of funding arts was hotly debated by politicians and cultural critics alike, and the future of the NEA at times seemed to be uncertain. But Ivey, who will deliver the keynote address Thursday evening for the Maine Arts Commission’s 50th anniversary event at Point Lookout in Northport, had a different vision for the agency. To make it happen, he spoke with hundreds of elected leaders to let them know about the good work the organization was doing to help the arts all around the country.
“One of the things we learned is that the arts can be taken into a political conversation and used for political advantage,” the former chairman said Wednesday morning in a telephone interview. “Frankly, there haven’t been any real problems for the agency since 2000 or 2001. What that means to me is that government support for cultural vitality has been taken off the table as a cultural issue. I think it’s going to stay there.”
The gala celebration in Northport, which also includes a concert with Grammy Award-winning pianist Paul Sullivan, is marking the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts as well as that of the Maine Arts Commission. Ivey said he is looking forward to coming to Maine to learn about what is happening with the arts up here, as well as sharing stories from his tenure as the head of the national agency. He also is planning to discuss what is next for arts agencies in Maine and the country.
“To me, the biggest challenge is to move the arts out of what I call the ‘amenity box’ — that they’re something nice to support when times are good and you have a little extra money,” he said. “To me, as a core element of our democracy, the arts are every bit as important as the economy.”
According to the new cultural plan that will be unveiled by the Maine Arts Commission on Thursday evening, the two are closely connected here in Maine.
“At this plan’s core is seeing that Maine’s dynamic, creative opportunities are available to all residents and the nearly 20 million tourists who visit us each year,” stated the executive summary of the cultural plan, which aims among other priorities to attract greater investment in Maine’s creative economy and to increase awareness of the value of creative opportunities.
“I feel like in Maine we haven’t really paid a lot of attention in recent years to building the foundation of arts and culture in our state,” Julie Richard, the executive director of the commission, said Wednesday. “This plan really addresses those basic foundational elements that will allow us to move arts and culture forward the way they deserve to move forward in Maine.”
For more information about the event, visit the website http://mainearts.bpt.me.