Is there a better case to be made for the arts?

Douglas McLennan, moderator of the Forum, notes in his introduction that the strategy of touting the economic, educational and social benefits of the arts seemed to work well between 1993 and 2001, as demonstrated by significant increases in arts funding, especially at the state level. More recently, however, "the social good and economic impact arguments may have begun to wear thin, and government support has not recovered from sharp cuts made in the last few years".

The Forum contains a large number of interesting threads of discussion. On the whole, it appears that many of the participants agree that different arguments need to be made in different circumstances. Violinist Midori states that the more cases that can be presented to support the benefits of music, the better. Many participants also seem to agree that a strengthening of the operations of arts organizations is required, rather than major building projects or expansion in the number of organizations.