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President Biden Appoints New Arts Advisory Board
President Biden has appointed a group of 24 entertainers and academics to an arts advisory board that had been dissolved under the Trump administration. The committee, called the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, will be responsible for advising the president on cultural policy.
The members were chosen for their “serious commitment to the arts and humanities” and include Lady Gaga, Shonda Rhimes, and George Clooney.
A Brief History of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
The board was originally created by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to allow artists and academics to advise government leaders on programs to support arts and culture. The committee has helped organize the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards and founded the Kennedy Center’s Turnaround Arts program.
However, several members of the committee quit after President Trump was elected in 2016, and the rest resigned the following summer after then-President Trump refused to condemn the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
Last September, President Biden issued an executive order to restart the committee, calling the arts and humanities “essential to the well-being, health, vitality, and democracy of our Nation.”
The Importance of Arts Programs
The move to restore arts programs is part of a broader effort to promote the arts and humanities after they were gutted under the former president. President Biden’s executive order acknowledges that the arts and humanities are integral to the fabric of American society and are essential for promoting creativity, critical thinking, and civic engagement.
In addition to the appointment of the new arts advisory board, the Biden administration is also seeking to invest more in arts education and to support artists and cultural institutions that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Conclusion
President Biden’s appointment of a new arts advisory board is a positive step toward the promotion of arts and culture in America. The committee’s role in advising the president on cultural policy will help ensure that the arts and humanities are given the attention and support they deserve.
