The View From Here.pdf

The Brooklyn Commune Project report highlights the struggles of artists in the performing arts, stating that financial difficulties are not the fault of individual artists, but rather a result of a flawed system. The report notes that despite an exponential increase in the number of artists, funding for the arts has stagnated, with the National Endowment for the Arts budget representing only 0.012% of federal discretionary spending. Key statistics include: 55% of foundation funding goes to 2% of arts organizations with budgets over $5 million, only 5% of charitable giving goes to the arts, and the number of artists outnumbering those with a primary income from art is 20 or 30 to 1. The report cites Baumol's Cost Disease, which explains that live performance economies cannot increase productivity through technological innovation, making subsidy through government funding and philanthropy necessary. The concept of public goods is emphasized, referring to things that have public value but cannot pass the market test, and the report argues that the performing arts are a public good that requires support for the overall welfare and wellbeing of the general public.