At last night's session of this year's Self-Production Boot Camp (for members of the Dramatists Guild of America), I posed a loaded question I never tire of asking because the responses I get always offer new insights into the current state of our culture.
We were in the middle of a session on fundraising when I interrupted the flow to pose a question that I don't think enough of us have ever even considered.
Who is the greatest subsidizer of the Arts in the United States?
The Zoom room echoed with the sounds of stunned (stumped) silence. So, put another way:
From which sector does the mother lode of Arts underwriting come from?
One of the things that's most thrilling about teaching Self-Production Boot Camp is that I get to swim in the current of where the newest work is taking shape these days. The motivated, focused and endlessly inventive creative artists who are drawn to even consider the possibility that they could (or maybe even should?) produce their next new work give me hope for a better future.
And so when Wednesday comes around I always look forward to those 90 minutes when I get to absorb as much of their optimism and ambition as I wish.
[As an aside: Because it can be too easy to sink into despair over the course of your life as an artist, whenever possible, put yourself back in touch with others who are starting, producing, presenting and promoting new work. I know of no greater antidote to suicidal notions of throwing in the towel. Despite all the logical arguments against doing so, these are the artists that will not be stopped. They may stumble or collapse but they will always get up to fight another day.]
This Spring's Self-Production Boot Camp class is a talented group with a variety of experiences and many of them appear to have taken seriously my repeated entreaties that they must not overlook the value of building relationships with their fellow Boot Campers.
There was a bit of shock and even some mounting outrage from the group when I finally got to the answer to my favorite provocative question. And I quietly cheered for the outrage.
So what do you imagine the answer to this question is?
Hint: It's not mult-national corporations.
Hint: It's not the National Endowment for the Arts. (not by a longshot)
Hint: It's not the wealth of private foundations.
Hint: It's not even crypto currency.
Give up?
Well, you may be surprised to hear this but: The single largest underwriter of the Arts in the United States is and has always been: the artists themselves.
Extra Credit:
If you're in the mood for a scary reckoning, spend an afternoon reviewing your calendar going back one year and tally the total hours spent on: researching, writing, rewriting, soliciting feedback, fundraising, producing, marketing and distributing just one of your own creative projects.
You might want to do the math on paper.
Consider it an investment in your future.
Your next great new work.