Arts Work is Freedom Work

Artistic freedom in Trying Times

As Americans, we’re taught to find strength in our founding documents. For those of us who have an arts career in the US, our founding document is the National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. It’s the legislation that established the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities (NEA and NEH) and was the catalyst for the entire arts ecosystem we know today including state and local arts agencies. Even WAA can trace our genealogy to this act – we were founded in 1967. 

WAA 2019; credit: Corporate Close Ups

One of my favorite passages from the Act is this finding: 

The practice of art and the study of the humanities require constant dedication and devotion. While no government can call a great artist or scholar into existence, it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent. 

It’s the passage that directly addresses what we do, which I interpret as freedom work. For 60 years, our common purpose has been to expand artistic boundaries and creative livelihoods. Some say artistic freedom is a lofty goal, I believe it is our raison d'etre, and it’s under attack. This month we dedicate Trying Times to artistic freedom. 

Trying Times is a curated collection of important conference sessions, performances, articles, and conversations from the WAA archive that continue to offer valuable lessons for today’s performing arts landscape. This month, you can watch Uncharted Frequencies, a PAD Showcase featuring excerpts from boundary-breaking artists such as Degenerate Art Ensemble, Dorian Woods, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, Jin Hi Kim, Floco Torres and Olivia Komahcheet. Each of these artists have creative practices that many consider experimental, a necessary component of freedom work.

You can also rewatch the 2024 Censorship Townhall moderated by Spring Karlo and Charlie Robin. To know artistic freedom is to know how it can be taken away, and you can hear how Andre Bouchard, Anthony Davis, and Gail Boyd navigated censorship in the performing arts. If you do not have time to watch the 75-minute program, you can find strategies and solutions from a post-session handout accessible on our website. 

Finally, we encourage you to read the National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. You can still find the original text and related material on the NEH website, but we don’t anticipate it being there for long. We have reproduced it on our website for the sake of posterity.  

Is the system the Act set up perfect? No. But we’ve come a long way from 1965. Like freedom generally, the march toward artistic freedom is long and unending, especially in these Trying Times. Thank you for continuing the journey with us. 

In Solidarity, 

Josh