Author: Arts Council of America

Publication Year: 1964

Media Type: Report

Summary:

Proceedings of the Eleventh National Conference of the Arts Councils of America, held in Washington, DC, June 16-19, 1965. The theme of the conference was The Arts: A Central Element of a Good Society. The speeches and panel discussion are published in edited form.

Abstract:

Proceedings of the Eleventh National Conference of the Arts Councils of America, held in Washington, DC, June 16-19, 1965. The theme of the conference was The Arts: A Central Element of a Good Society. The speeches and panel discussion are published in edited form.

Foreword: The interest and enthusiasm generated by the joint Arts Councils of America - American Symphony Orchestra League Conference in Washington in June 1965 was apparent to all the participants. The conference convened at a time when public concern with the arts had reached a new peak as the result of several related but independent developments. During the months preceding the meeting in Washington, the long-awaited Rockefeller Panel Report on the performing arts was published, the National Council on the Arts was established, legislation establishing a National Arts and Humanities Foundation was passed by the Senate and debated in the House, and at the beginning of the week in which the conference was held, the White House hosted a festival of the arts that attracted nationwide attention.

While these fortuitous circumstances contributed to the prevailing air of excitement at the conference, the quality of the speakers and panelists assembled was more than sufficient to generate a high level of interest. More than nine hundred delegates from all over the country assembled in Washington for this meeting. Forty states sent representatives. In addition to delegates from arts organizations, there were artists, business and professional leaders, union representatives and government officials.

The theme for the conference was The Arts: a central element of a good society. The Rockefeller Panel Report, The Performing Arts: Problems and Prospects, was used as a point of reference in the various discussions, and through the generosity of the Baldwin Piano Company, copies of the report were distributed to conference delegates.

The speeches and panel discussions of the conference are published in edited form in the hope that they will be widely useful both to participants and to others interested in the cultural development of the and Canada. Arts Councils of America wishes to express its gratitude to Janet E. Gracey, Caroline W. Hightower, and Alan L. Campbell for their work in preparing this publication. (p. 7)

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Professional Development, Community Development