Taking a look back

From "Do One-Night Stands Lead to Permanent Relationships?" by Richard W. Walker (Summer 1984):

Before the museum directors took the podium, Bess Myerson, New York City’s commissioner of cultural affairs, opened the conference with a report on the impact of the arts on the city's economy and a rousing call for greater business support of arts organizations. After 20 years of unprecedented growth in the arts in the United States, she said, "we are at a plateau, entering a generation of consolidation, of reaffirming commitment and reexamining goals." In New York City, said Myerson, "... more must do more" if the city is to maintain its cultural leadership. "Darwinism is abhorrently inappropriate when applied to the arts," she stated. "There is no reason to suppose that the fittest will survive. Indeed, without adequate, nurturing support, it is dangerous to assume that any cultural institution will survive."

It's a 25 year old observation that is as accurate now as it was then.

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