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Ford Foundation President Addresses Americans for the Arts Convention

That video is just a small sampling of the work we’re doing at Ford to support the art world—a priority for our organization throughout its 75 year history.

But before I talk more about that I want to thank Robert Lynch for his gracious introduction and Americans for the Arts (AFTA) for inviting me to speak this evening. I realize I might be stating the obvious here, but if AFTA didn’t exist, those of us who love the arts would be compelled to invent it. AFTA plays an absolutely essential role in advocacy, particularly when it comes to lobbying policymakers. While maintaining this established position, AFTA is constantly reaching out to new potential partners and new actors to ensure the sustainability of our artistic and cultural institutions.

As one example, I am told that AFTA is working with the US military on an initiative to use art in the rehabilitation of wounded warriors. In addition, its Animating Democracy initiative, of which Ford is a proud supporter, is bringing national visibility to the transformative power of arts and culture and demonstrating the public value of creative work that contributes to social change. So as a lover of the arts, I extend my appreciation to Robert Lynch and the entire Americans for the Arts organization. They are making a world of difference.

I want to begin my remarks tonight—well, at the beginning. Like many of you, my appreciation for theater, dance, music, painting, sculpture and photography happened at an early age. Indeed, one of the best things about growing up poor in New York—actually, it was really the only good thing about growing up poor in New York—was free access to some of the city’s finest cultural institutions.

As a family we were not wealthy in financial resources. But when you have the New York Philharmonic, the Met, the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as your public playgrounds, riches materialize in vastly different ways. Some of my fondest memories of childhood were of sitting in the corner booth in the first tier of Metropolitan Opera, transported to a world very different from the South Bronx. I remember the first time I saw Guernica at the MoMA, in a room empty, save for me. Those experiences might be unremarkable to some people, but as the son of a seamstress living in the South Bronx, they were life-changing—and also life-affirming.

In fact, I’ll never forget the day when as a 14 year old I wandered into The Public Theater with a friend to see Macbeth for free. It was the only way we could have actually seen it. We were lost in this glorious, ornate, Italianate lobby that felt endless to us back then. Out of nowhere came a very old man—by the way, he was then not much older than I am now. He bounded over to us and said, “Can I help you boys?” We explained that we were there to see Macbeth. He put his arm around us, told us we were too early but that this was his place and soon it would be full of people. He told us we were welcome to sit and wait.

That man was Joe Papp, and while I doubt he made much of that kind moment, it’s a kindness that lives on today and has helped shape my appreciation for and fascination with the arts.

I’m sure every person in this room has a similar story, some moment or transformative experience—a glimpse of a painting, a few notes from a song or an aria, a soliloquy that stayed with you long after the curtain descended and the audience had gone home. These were the moments that shaped our attitudes and feelings toward great art and culture—and of course, their power has not diminished one bit. We know firsthand the ability of art to open up futures of infinite possibility.

These are the reasons why, at the Ford Foundation, we have supported the work of artists and cultural institutions since our earliest days. From the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the American Film Institute to a host of museums, theaters, music halls and artist communities too numerous to mention, one of Ford’s legacies that makes me the proudest is our positive impact on the nation’s cultural life.

It’s why we have sought to nurture expression and creativity in ways that celebrate human imagination in all of its diversity. And it is why we are seeking to ensure that even at a time of economic austerity, the arts are not left on the proverbial cutting room floor. We all know, sometimes a bit too well, that the work you promote and nurture is often seen a luxury, when in reality it should be seen as a staple. In a period of uncertainty about the future, the role of the arts is more vital than ever—because it is a critical tool in spurring job growth and economic revitalization in communities across America.

One of the many essential functions of Americans for the Arts is reminding Americans—particularly our political leaders—that the arts are a critical source of economic opportunity, growth and even prosperity. According to AFTA’s most recent Arts & Economic Prosperity study, the nonprofit arts industry generates $166 billion in economic activity every year, is responsible for 5.7 million jobs and generates close to $30 billion in government revenue. And I know that AFTA will soon be releasing an updated version of this report that makes the case even more clearly for a strong connection between economic growth and support for the arts.

One of the things we’ve learned through years of working with the arts community is the catalyzing nature of arts and cultural institutions. I’m always amazed when I see politicians work tirelessly for a small manufacturing plant to come to their cities or states. At the same time, they are blasé about securing the often small investment in arts spaces that not only create jobs and promote economic activity, but become a permanent part of the landscape—transforming communities culturally and socially.

One of the many lessons that I took from living in New York, Boston and the Bay Area was how a lively and vibrant artist community could invigorate and redefine an urban area. I saw it in Soho in the 70s and 80s and later in Chelsea and Williamsburg. I saw it in the South End in Boston and in SOMA in the Bay Area. Of course, with this success came uneven gains for the communities that had called these places home before they became arts destinations—a reality we are working to address with our own funding.

We are constantly asking ourselves how the arts, institutions and artists can be at the center of our larger efforts to spark economic development and create new opportunities. How can the arts be more than just a destination or a showpiece, but rather a tool for social change?

Our focus on this economic connection is what has led us to strongly support ArtPlace, a new partnership of federal agencies, financial institutions and philanthropies that seeks to build and sustain the urban areas of tomorrow through the arts. ArtPlace combines Ford’s longstanding work in urban and regional development with our support for these sorts of creative, entrepreneurial arts spaces.

So in Detroit, a city where Ford has long been engaged—and that has its share of economic hardships—ArtPlace is supporting the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, a linchpin of the developing Sugar Hill Arts District; the Sugar Hill Music Venue, a flexible performance space; and the Fab Lab, a planned maker space and art studio in Midtown Detroit.

In downtown San Jose, we’re backing SoFa Gore Park, which will create a new urban plaza and outdoor space that connects the city’s most significant arts institutions. It’s as part of project to transform the SoFa district and leverage more than $60 million in redevelopment funds from the city.

In Seattle, one of ArtPlace’s grants is supporting the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience—which is part of a larger effort to revitalize the Chinatown-International District, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

In New York City, a community-driven project is transforming the abandoned P.S. 109 in East Harlem into a sustainable home for 90 artists and their families and for 13,000 square feet of space for community and cultural groups.

This video provides a good overview of how ArtPlace is making such an important difference in communities across America.

Each of these projects represents a new model for helping towns and cities by integrating artists and arts organizations into local efforts in transportation, housing, community development and job creation.

And beyond our support for the ArtPlace initiative we’ve been strong supporters of diverse arts spaces—like one right here in San Antonio, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. And I’m pleased to note that NALAC’s executive director, Maria Lopez De Leon, was recently appointed by President Obama to the National Council on the Arts.

What makes ArtPlace successful—and what I believe will sustain it—is the fact that it brings together a wide cross-section of actors: from a host of philanthropic foundations and a practical alphabet soup of public agencies as well major financial institutions, such as Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Morgan Stanley. ArtPlace creates a partnership model that has the potential to transform communities, make neighborhoods more attractive, address urban challenges and perhaps, above all, connect people.

In addition to our work with ArtPlace, Ford continues to support the social justice elements of the artistic community. We are today one of the largest backers of documentary filmmaking in the United States through our JustFilms initiative. This is a project aimed at supporting filmmakers who are addressing social issues in meaningful and compelling ways. This represents a five-year, $50 million initiative by Ford.

I mention that because so much of our recent support for artists and the institutions that sustain them has come in the last several years—at a time of enormous economic challenge we’ve expanded our backing for the arts. And it’s not because we’re profligate, but because we believe they are a facilitator for the sort of larger societal changes that lie at the very heart of everything that we do as an organization.

At its core, the Ford Foundation is an organization dedicated to the task of promoting a world that is fairer, more prosperous and full of greater economic, social and cultural opportunities for all people. To accomplish this goal we toil regularly on the frontlines of social change, with those organizations and individuals who offer solutions to the most critical social issues that face our world. In the end, supporting the arts, both as a tool of economic growth and as the fullest realization of the human imagination, is a critical component of our larger efforts as a foundation. Quite simply, Ford cannot realize its aspirations without being a benefactor of the artistic world.

So from that perspective, I look forward to many more years of working alongside each of you—and Americans for the Arts—on the frontlines of social change as we challenge ourselves to reimagine how arts and culture can shape our communities, our countries and our shared future.

Watch the live webcast and visit convention.artsusa.org for more information.

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Joshua Cinelli

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