Report investigating how a cultural policy document makes statements Essay

Report investigating how a cultural policy document makes statements about the value of the arts - Essay Example Because policy documents have far-reaching implications for the state of arts in society, the ways in which these documents perceive and represent art values are increasingly important. That is why the results of these research will provide recommendations for the policymakers to follow, to make sure that arts meet their goals and objectives and does not contradict the goals which society seeks to achieve through arts. The current arguments in favor of supporting arts through public policies and initiatives emphasize the role, which arts play and can potentially play in promoting a broad set of societal values. Arts have already ceased to be a mere tool of individual or collective self-expression and exemplify a tool which society extensively uses to pursue its economic, political, social, and cultural goals. It would be fair to say that postmodern art is a unique combination of intrinsic and extrinsic values, and for any cultural policy document to be successful and effective, it should recognize and support this dualism of values in arts. Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy is one of the few documents that succeeded in balancing the two different value sides of one cultural and arts representation, although one step ahead should be made to have a clearer understanding of what intrinsic values are and in what ways policymakers in culture can promote the role of individual self-expressio n for its own sake. This paper analyzes the four different documents, of which Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy and the RAND’s report Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate serve the basis for the analysis of values in ways they are presented in cultural policies. Atlas’s ‘Cultural Policy, What Is It, Who Makes It, Why Does It Matter?† and ‘More than bums on seats’ report by Australian government will add to the understanding of arts values and their place in cultural policies and create a complete picture of what policymakers should do