The Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy is a national forum, intended to stimulate dialogue on policy and social issues affecting the arts. It's held each year on the evening before Arts Advocacy Day at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
This year's keynote was delivered not by some Washington wonk, but instead by 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree Yo-Yo Ma. Making appearances, too, were dancer Lil Buck, bagpiper Cristina Pato and members of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's MusiCorps Band.
In a speech titled "Art for Life's Sake: A Roadmap from One Citizen Musician," Ma outlined his "three big ideas" on how art can be a "venture culturalist" institution:
1. Societies are powered by three engines: politics, economics and culture. A vibrant society exists when all three engines are firing and intersecting, resulting in a populace that is energized, engaged and fulfilled.
2. Our collective work in the arts is not just relevant, but essential to strengthening our culture and positively influencing society. Thus: "Art for Life's Sake."
3. The arts are the way to foster the four critical skills necessary for our children to succeed in the 21st-century workforce: collaboration, flexibility, imagination, innovation.
(Full PDF transcript available here.)
FYI: Last year's Arts Advocacy Day lecture was delivered by actor Alec Baldwin.
