The San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture has cut funding for the Old Globe Theatre because there aren’t enough minorities on the staff. In other words, too many white people!
Should racial makeup be a factor in how the city funds for arts? Does the lack of minorities (or prevalence of whites) at the Globe make the programs they produce any less valid or deserving?
Or is this a sign that we need to rethink public arts funding?
Well, I think that if the city says, “please do [this]”, and it’s a reasonable thing to ask — that money spent by the city be used to enable all the voices of the city, not just a few — and they don’t do it, it’s reasonable.
Public arts funding is a good thing. I don’t see a reason it needs to be “rethought” just because apparent institutional racism is being challenged.
–Kynn