NEA and hip hop, yo
I’m not one to write about politics generally, but I’d like to give a mention to our new chairman, Rocco Landesman, of the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) which for those not in the know is “a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education” (quoted off their site). Personal feelings aside about what should be funded (and I know some of you have deep personal feelings about the whole agency), I just wanted to comment on some current articles (Lee Rosenbaum’s article on WSJ in particular) that are specifically CREATING controversy. Why, Ms. Rosenbaum?
It is true that Mr. Landesman, although seems to have good intentions about gaining funds for arts that will help children grow to excel at thinking creatively, did mention that he would fund “new music” such as rap. Ms. Rosenbaum pounced on this, asking if he believes that “hip-hop would be an appropriate area for NEA to fund”. Although WSJ quickly recognized rap to be “commonly punctuated by profanity, violence and/or misogynistic sexuality”, rap IS an art, and therefore should probably be funded. However, it’s not the main goal of the NEA to fund rap and would probably gain only a small amount of money for that particular venue. Thusly, putting that up in the forefront of Landesman’s expenses is misguided and insensible. It’s not as though NEA is handing Kanye West a check. Here’s a couple of interesting hip-hop related organizations that recieved money from the NEA, and you can notice that its the variety of dance and art that is being supported- not profanity.
P.S. Also note that though new chairman Rocco Landesman may think rap is “new music”, NEA had been funding hip-hop for a while now.
Diversity of Dance, Inc. (aka Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts)
Brooklyn, NY
$40,000
To support Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, a series of school-year residencies and a residential summer dance institute. Students will receive rigorous dance training from professional dance educators through classes in technique (ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, African dance, and tap), composition, and repertory, as well as participate in master classes with guest artists.
Henry Street Settlement
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the Abrons Arts Center Dance Ensemble and the Abrons Arts Center Junior Dance Ensemble. Students will study ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, salsa, and flamenco, and participate in choreography workshops.