UN Studies International Creative Sector

Sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, along with private, government and university organizations, the three-day meeting was convened at the University of Texas in Austin to examine the health of the international creative sector.

Tensions among the cultural ministers, policy analysts and academics appeared to pit those who emphasize the economic contributions of the arts against those who are more concerned with their social or cultural value

Andreas Roemer of Mexico's National Cultural Council told a public gathering at Bass Concert Hall on Friday that arts advocates are doomed to lose arguments in government circles about the generation of employment and wealth in cultural industries.

"How can you compare an artist with a company that makes a computer?" he said on the subject of economic efficiency. And if backers assert that the arts generate a lot of money, the response from an economist would be: "Then let the private sector take care of it."

The government's role, Roemer suggested, is to generate discussion about the arts, foster institutions and establish incentives through regulations and copyright laws. Then it is up to the private sector to provide training, funding and profits from the arts.

On this one, I happen to agree. Pursue the arts for the sake of art, and do not forsake art for economic development.

Article link.