Who should fund the arts?

What resources do artists around the world need to express themselves fully? Where should the money come from? And what, if any role should governments play? This week we’re exploring the question of who should pay for the arts and how. It’s one with broad implications for the type of culture being made, and the type of people who get to make it. Brazilian writer, illustrator and Cultural Manager Mauricio Negro tells Tina Daheley about a tumultuous time for Brazilian artists, brought about by former President Jair Bolsonaro’s cultural reforms, which included the dissolution of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture and significant cuts in government funding available the culture sector. Marcel Pardo Ariza is a contemporary Colombian artist working in photography and installation who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns. In October 2021 they were offered a place on San Francisco’s new Artists Minimum income scheme, receiving $1,000 per month to sustain their career as an artist. They tell us about the impact the money had on them and their work. Americans for the Arts Executive Director Nina Ozlu Tunceli then debates the broader implications of such a scheme with US writer and commentator Alexander Zubatov. Plus US artist Natasha Bouchillonn talks about combining her skills in marketing and art to create a very successful business, an example of how an entrepreneurial approach can help artists who may not think they can afford it to sustain a career free of government support. And South African playwright Mike Van Graan reflects on his career campaigning for broader access to culture in the country for artists and audiences. Van Graan, who was a cultural advisor to the country’s first post-apartheid government, recently took part in a review of the theatre and dance sectors in the country that led to a set of proposals including the issuing of special vouchers to enable poorer households to attend the theatre. (Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)