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Photos: Johnette Martin

Urban planner, cultural policy expert and former NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson visited the College of Music on Oct. 24, hosted by the American Music Research Center.

Jackson visited AMRC Director Michael Sy Uy’s graduate seminar, Music and Prizes, to talk about cultural vitality in communities, what she learned while working at the Urban Institute and how that informed her position as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

DMA student Grace Stringfellow said the class visit was a great opportunity to talk to someone involved in arts funding and urban planning.

“The chance to learn more about the state of arts funding from a more general, multidisciplinary and administrative perspective was a rare treat,” they said. “I found it very inspiring that Dr. Jackson encouraged us to be more creative in the types of jobs we interview for and the types of projects that we involve ourselves in, expanding to roles outside of performer and teacher so that we can make the arts more impactful and community-focused.”

Ethan Stahl, also a DMA student, added, “Speaking eloquently and sincerely, Dr. Jackson discussed a mission central to CU Boulder musicians: Integrating our art into society. We spend so much time in thought, in scores and in practice, but how can all that connect with our communities? Dr. Jackson provided insightful answers to that question.”

The AMRC also hosted a conversation between Jackson and Uy, which dove deeper into her time as NEA chair and her vision for the arts in the United States. Jackson opened with an introduction and a statement about where we are now. “The arts are often ignored or undervalued,” she said. “My charge was to figure out how to make sure we integrate arts and culture into our concept of places where all peoples can thrive.”

Part of that integration included picturing the arts in every aspect of a healthy community. She explained that—while there’s a default thinking about the arts as consumers—the arts exist anywhere: “At their most powerful, the arts don’t exist in a bubble. They are part of our everyday experience.”

Jackson further expressed this concept as “living an artful life.” This includes attending a play, visiting a museum and experiencing live music, but also participating in aesthetic cultural traditions or creating something yourself. Artful lives can also impact architecture and food in a community by considering what’s meaningful to them.

“We should all aspire to artful lives. The arts are part of how we express humanity and embrace others’ humanity,” she said.

Reflecting after the public conversation, Uy says the visit helped him learn much more about what Jackson had slated for the NEA before the administration change including stronger partnerships with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation and more.

“They truly could have shifted the needle in terms of holistic arts support, integration and amplification in this country,” he says.

“For the students, I hope Dr. Jackson's visit helped them better understand the arts funding ecosystem in the United States, and the many ways the public must invest in the presence, production and support of art and musicmaking.”