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Art for the Millions

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Series exploring the US government's funding of the arts during the Great Depression.

Series exploring how, during the Great Depression, the US government funded the arts to inspire hope across the nation.

Art for the Millions: Series 1

Art for the Millions: Series 1: Artists Gotta Eat

13/11/2017

Artists Gotta Eat

BBC Radio 4 - Art for the Millions, Series 1, Artists Gotta Eat

During the Great Depression, the US government turned to the arts for national uplift.

Marybeth Hamilton journeys through a remarkable government experiment in art and democracy that took place in America in the midst of the Depression.

In the middle of the greatest national crisis since the Civil War the American Government looked to the arts to both help lift the national spirit & spread the message of the New Deal. The writer Marybeth Hamilton begins her journey through this remarkable but short lived experiment with the story of fine arts.Collectively, it was hoped, Americans could renew democracy & create a better tomorrow through participation & exposure to music, art & theater. The W.P.A. was an extension of Federal Relief, meaningful work for those that needed it and qualified for it. Which meant the talents of thousands of unemployed actors, musicians, writers and artists across the nation could be put to use in the betterment of all. On the government payroll and under the auspices of Federal One, a host of talents from Jackson Pollock to Arthur Miller, Orson Welles to Zora Neale Hurston helped democratize art. For the people, by the people with the people. 

Across the nation, artists painted epic murals in small towns and vast cities that valorized work and workers or America's democratic past. Community art centres brought artists, students and the public together to learn, experiment and explore the possibilities of art for all. You could find art going on at subway stations, sewerage works and public schools. A hospital, school or public institution could loan a painting for a few dollars. All of this was to provide employment in a time of crisis and renew American democracy but it raised deep questions about the role of art and who got to own it or see it. For its many critics programmes like Federal One were fostered radicalism and dissent - subverting a nation. But for the many touched by those days it was an unforgettable experiment in art and democracy.
Producer Mark Burman.

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Series exploring how, at the height of the Great Depression, the US government funded the arts to infuse the spirit of the New Deal across the nation and inspire hope.

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