Creativity, Community and Controversy in Cultural Policy

Catalog description

The art of making good policy lies in making tough choices between competing options to maximize public good. Governments perceive the arts/arts-education as amenities and slash their budgets. However, creative placemaking initiatives, the expansion of the creative economy, the rise of design thinking suggest new ways for policy makers to constructively resolve apparent dilemmas to advance arts policy goals. The course explores public policies that stimulate the arts; how arts advocates make their case to public officials; the benefits of the arts to the communities; and how policy makers in many sectors in the US and internationally leverage/exploit, arts-based solutions.