The NEA Comes to Chicago
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Scheduled for April 14 through 16 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the meeting, pretentiously titled “Art-21: Art Reaches Into the 21st Century,” will examine four rather broad themes: “The Artist in Society,” “Lifelong Learning in the Arts,” “Expanding Resources for the Arts,” and “The Arts and Technology.” Formal invitations hit the street last week. According to an NEA spokeswoman only 6,000 were mailed, but recipients are being encouraged to pass along xeroxed copies to other interested parties. Attendance will be limited to 1,000, and some respondents may be shut out so that the endowment can get the proper politically correct mix. “We don’t want 1,000 painters at the event and no other kind of person in the arts,” explained an NEA staffer.
At NEA headquarters last week the mood seemed somewhat frantic. Olive Mosier, the NEA minion heading the organizing efforts, was too busy to talk, but one spokesman said that the endowment is close to finalizing the list of speakers and that none of them will be particularly big names in the world of arts and entertainment. “If people are expecting [Jane Alexander] to use her Hollywood connections, she is doing just the opposite,” said the spokesman. “We are going for less recognized people that we believe will be better speakers.” While Mosier is busy lining up speakers, NEA staffer Rosemary Cribben has been crisscrossing the country trying to snare conference sponsors–organizations willing to underwrite the expenses of participants who otherwise could not afford to attend. Cribben, who was on the road last week, was unavailable for comment; no one else at the NEA seemed to know how much success she was having.
Court’s Surprise
