Arts Industry Policy Forum
Description
From 2003-2012, the Arts Industries Policy Forum was an ongoing symposium for Congressional and Federal agency staff. Through the Forum, constructive dialogue advanced informed public policy–those decisions, practices, regulations, and laws that nurture or constrain creative work, and that facilitate or restrict the availability of art and media–affecting the American cultural landscape. Forum members set Forum agenda and topics that fulfilled three criteria:
- Be timely
- Address culturally significant public policy issues that can be directly influenced by Forum participants
- Cut across the spectrum of American culture and American art making, engaging the for-profit, non-profit and amateur sectors.
The Arts Industries Policy Forum was nonpartisan and policy neutral. Membership in the Curb Center’s Arts Industries Policy Forum required only that you work for the U.S. government and have an interest in America’s cultural policy system.
To enable an atmosphere that fosters candid participation, Forum meetings were off-the-record and confidential–no minutes or proceedings were published.This participant-driven, information exchange program supported informed government decision making while building community. Meetings were mostly held after work, though midday luncheons provided additional opportunities for professional development.
While the Forum did not advocate for specific policy outcomes, it was committed to the idea that a vigorous, unencumbered, accessible U.S. arts and media system constitutes a public good.
The Back Story
Apart from a few funding agencies and national museums, America’s cultural interventions are scattered among dozens of Federal agencies and Congressional offices. To support a coherent conversation about art, media, the cultural landscape, and government policy, The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy initiated the Arts Industries Policy Forum in 2003.
To advance the Center’s mission of aligning cultural policy with America’s diverse, decentralized, and market-driven arts and media system, the Center developed the Forum to enable government leaders from many agencies and offices must come together for a meaningful exchange.
The programs of the Arts Industries Policy Forum were funded by generous grants from the Ford Foundation and the Mike Curb Family Foundation.
[col340 last]
Arts Industries Policy Forum Meetings
Democratizing Access to Books – July 20, 2009
Dr. Daniel J. Clancy, Engineering Director, Google Book Search.
A Fresh Perspective of the Newspaper Industry – May 12, 2009
Ken Paulson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Freedom Forum, Newseum and Diversity Institute
Policy Forum Planning Session – February 23, 2009
Bill Ivey, Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy
Policy Implications of the Pro-IP Act: A Conversation on Inter-Agency Issues – July 14, 2008
David Green, Vice President for Public Policy, NBC Universal
America’s Image Abroad: The UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention and U.S. Motion Picture Exports – April 24, 2008
Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Association of America
Sheila Copps, Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Heritage
Jean Prewitt, President, Independent Film and Television Alliance
Jane Cowley, former Deputy Director, Office of UNESCO Affairs, U.S. State Department
Carol Balassa, Former Director, Service Trade Negotiations: Media, Communications, and Energy Services, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Impact of Changing IP Environment on News Gathering and Reporting – February 25, 2008
Barbara Cochran, President, Radio-Television News Directors Association, President, Radio and Television News Directors Foundation