178. Letter From the Director of the International Communication Agency (Reinhardt) to all ICA Public Affairs Officers1
As you know, we have been wrestling for some time now with the question of how best to organize the Agency to take maximum advantage of the powerful communication potential of the arts.
Our point of departure has been a careful analysis of this year’s Country Plan submissions, so that we would know the communication needs and potential that you have identified in this area. We have had thorough, wide-ranging discussions with all elements of the Agency on this subject. And I have been persuaded, as a result of this process, that the justification for more systematic, better coordinated and better organized programs on the arts in America is indeed compelling.
Most of us have known, intuitively at least, that the arts are powerful communicators, that they effectively transcend their own content to interpret and enlighten the society that creates and nurtures them. The Bicentennial exhibit “200 Years of American Art,” the Bernstein [Page 513] film,2 the performance of Alvin Ailey in a West African country, or of Romania’s Bulandra Theater in the United States, all contain this potential.
Yet as an Agency, we have not realized the full potential of the arts as a form of communication. We have tended to deal with the arts episodically. In an effort to organize ourselves to communicate more effectively through the arts, I am therefore designating “Arts America” as a major new multi-regional initiative for the Agency. (The term “arts” as I shall use it throughout this letter is broadly conceived; it denotes all forms of creative expression that mirror the significant threads of a culture and its values.)
The Rationale
A careful reading of the Country Plans indicates that too many influential people abroad are ignorant of—or indifferent to—the richness and diversity of the arts in America. Those of you who may have recently been in the United States have probably been discouraged by the same ignorance or indifference of Americans toward the artistic richness of the country where you serve.
The framework of communication between the United States and other societies is too often defined by a foreign perception of the United States as materialistic and technological and by an American perception of our interests in Eastern Europe, for example, as limited to the political, or our interests in the Third World as limited to the economic. To the extent that the fabric of communication between this society and others is defined by such perceptions, the problem for us is fundamental. We are faced with a distorted context for international communication in a world of inevitable and increasingly difficult political and economic conflicts. In the particular case of the United States, the national goals of peace and a fuller life for all must be perceived as having a human face, and the nation must be seen as capable of understanding and appreciating the cultures of others as it seeks in turn to gain their understanding and participation in pursuit of its goals. The arts offer proof that we are a vital, free, and questioning people engaged in the search for improvement in man’s nature as well as his condition. They are witness to the United States as a society deserving respect and, more importantly, trust.
The arts address directly the limited perceptions and misperceptions we and other societies have of each other. With the simplicity and integrity born of the fact that they constitute a society’s vision of itself for itself, they are a form of communication that arises from the [Page 514] experience of a common humanity and identity of interests, which occurs in the sharing of an artistic experience. They are the “human face” of a nation. Whatever the specific bilateral political, military, or economic tensions and concerns between the United States and any other country, cultural communication among peoples is essential in achieving the goals of this nation and this Agency.
Therein lies the reason that I have decided to devote special attention to coordinated arts programs.
I continue to believe that the officer in the field—through the Country Plan process—is in the best position to describe issues and prescribe strategies for dealing with the bilateral tensions that motivate the major portion of USICA programs. He or she is also the most qualified to analyze the particular form that the misperceptions I have mentioned take in a society and to describe the nature of the constraints that they place upon the bilateral communication relationship.
We might well agree that the arts treat these underlying concerns very effectively. But the fact is that the field officer is not able to keep up with the vast and rapidly changing cornucopia of American artistic creativity. For this we will turn to the artists, performers, critics, and scholars of art and society themselves.
The Plan
“Arts America” is based on three key concepts:
1. Our approach will be two-tier: coordinated print, radio, and film products collectively will provide a basic context for on-the-ground performances, exhibitions and speakers. The essence of “what’s new” in the Agency’s engagement with culture is that for the first time all of the Agency’s media will be conceived and produced in parallel, to reinforce each other and the in-person events.
The importance of the in-person event is in no way lessened, but we obviously cannot send the New York City Ballet to very many countries. We can, through our media products, provide a continuous and integrated explanation of this ballet and all of the other arts events of this society.
2. We will not depend on the tastes and predilections of Agency employees, however well-informed, to determine which artists, performing groups, critics, specialists in the arts, or films we sponsor through our grants or our media products. Rather, the Agency will define the requirements and priorities of “Arts America.” We will work through the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to determine who or what best responds to those requirements. We will make final selections from the Endowments’ recommendations, basing our decisions on budgetary and scheduling considerations. This principle encompasses all forms of [Page 515] programs—performing artists, feature films, VOA broadcasts, American Participants, Cultural Specialists, fine arts exhibitions, and so forth.
3. Finally, a word about the audience that we envision for “Arts America.” We are not limiting or even directing this effort primarily to the museum directors or cultural czars of the world, as we have done too often in the past. To the degree that we meet professional standards of excellence and innovation, arts professionals will certainly be interested and involved. But we are working on the assumption that the world’s busiest and most important people are increasingly turning to the arts for intellectual nourishment and for gaining a broader understanding of societies. Arts America is designed to engage those people—in government, the media, academe, the arts—whom you have identified as central to the bilateral communication relationship. We are not setting out to have artists talk about art with other artists, although that will surely happen. We are setting out to engage the most important people with whom we deal in a dialogue about the deepest values and hopes of our societies through the arts.
The major new resources to be made available for Arts America are three media products: (a) a quarterly publication; (b) a series of half-hour film documentaries for television placement as well as for direct projection; and (c) a series on the Voice of America.
Each of these products will have three principal functions, all related to how America sees itself through the arts: to serve as showcase and explicator of the arts in America, to mirror American society as seen through the arts, and to correct false stereotypes about American culture. Each one will be named “Arts America” to symbolize our determination that our products be carefully coordinated in the planning stages and mutually reinforcing when they reach you in the field. They will all be made available worldwide. Specific details about production schedules, language versions, and area-specific focusing will be the subject of future communications.
Arts America will be implemented at a second level through coordination and, in some cases, adaptation of existing products and programs. The Wireless File will carry a periodic column of cultural briefs, similar to its economic and energy briefs. The Article Alert Service and Availability List will significantly increase their “cultural” fare. PGM/T will greatly step up its acquisition efforts relating to feature films, videotapes and documentaries, including PBS documentaries for television rebroadcast, to support Arts America. All of these acquired films and videotapes will be made available to all posts. PGM/E will produce additional printed exhibits on art, with the intention of giving a sense of national style to our centers and offices.
PGM, in consultation with ECA and the Area offices, will draw up for the Endowments a worldwide schedule of Agency priorities for [Page 516] fine arts exhibitions and performing artists. Subject to appropriate OMB and Congressional reviews, I am augmenting—through reprogramming—the amount that the Agency spends on fine arts exhibitions and the performing arts.
These initiatives will be designed and implemented in the context of existing programs that foster communication through the arts—including those that encourage communication on the arts of other societies. Foreign Press Center tours and briefings contribute significantly to an understanding of the role of the arts in American society. Multi-regional IV programs and Agency grants to private sector organizations have great potential for further expanding dialogue on the role of the arts in all societies. Educational exchange programs contribute to communication through the arts as an academic discipline. American Participants and Cultural Specialists will be an integral part of this initiative. For example, an artist, critic, or scholar will accompany or follow every exhibition that we send abroad to provide context, start the dialogue, plant the seed of institutional linkage.
In short, our long-term goal, through cooperation with the Endowments and the private sector, is to provide the opportunity for communication through and about the arts as a major element of the communication process between the United States and other countries. I repeat that the goal is communication. We intend to send performing artists and other leading American cultural figures to all parts of the world, and to allow you the scheduling flexibility to ensure that they are available when and where you want them, and that they can spend the time to meet the appropriate people and conduct the workshops that contribute importantly to the communication process. This will necessitate an attitudinal change for many in the Agency. I am not opposed to the “big event”; but exchange, linkage, and communication are also well served, often more economically, by individuals and small groups.
The Procedure
The process for implementing the arts initiative will parallel in many ways the Program Design process through which Washington organizes itself to respond to your Country Plan submissions. PGM, as the Agency’s central planning element, is responsible for the preparation of a Program Design to which all Agency elements and the Endowments can respond. PGM is also responsible for coordinating the implementation of this Design Agency-wide. The Design will be informed—as have all of our discussions and decisions up to this point—by the arts PPPs that you have submitted in your Country Plans. However, because of the field’s understandable handicap in knowing what is available that best communicates about and through the arts, and [Page 517] because of the vital contribution to be made by the Endowments and the private sector, the Program Design will not be limited to the specific fulfillment of those PPPs.
Thus, by October 1 you will receive a Program Design, listing the programs and products the Agency is committed to providing in FY–80. You will be asked to order those that make the most sense in your specific bilateral communication environment, in the context of your communication objectives and plans. In upcoming years, we may find it useful to request you to include more specific information about the bilateral cultural relationship in the narrative analysis that is the key to your Country Plan.
Private Sector Support for Arts America
This letter would not be complete without a very brief reference to the discussions that are going on here to inform the private sector about our plans for Arts America and to elicit its support. We clearly have much to gain and much to give in this area. In fact, it is only with private sector support that we can move much beyond our media efforts to a truly comprehensive exchange of artists, performing arts groups, and larger events. We are exploring such approaches as challenge grants for larger, more expensive performing arts groups, expanded assistance to private organizations engaged in communicating on the arts of all societies, artist-in-residence programs sponsored and funded by major corporations and administered by USICA, and assistance programs in transportation, printing, or representation for major events. We will keep you informed of our progress in this area. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions on which corporations, if any, in your country might profitably be approached and what kinds of cultural activities they are most likely to be interested in supporting.
Reverse Flow
Finally, a word about our “other” Presidential mandate—to enhance the access of Americans to the cultures of other peoples. This is an area of concern to the Agency, particularly given the potential demand on the Agency as we begin a more serious and concerted effort to present American arts abroad.
I begin with two assumptions: (1) that the widest possible exchange of art, artists and artifacts among nations is consistent with our mandate and should be encouraged by this Agency in the most efficient way possible; and (2) that this does not and cannot mean direct financial support to foreign exhibitions and performances in the United States. Our role in this area is analogous to our role in English teaching: our scarce resources can best serve as catalyst, identifier, facilitator of institutional linkages through programs alluded to elsewhere in this letter; we simply cannot mount a major program to finance the “reverse [Page 518] flow.” We can and will assist private organizations in attaining this worthy goal.
The best course, I believe, lies in working with the two organizations that have an existing relationship with the arts activities of private corporations, foundations, universities, state art councils, community organizations, museums, and the artists themselves—the Endowments. PGM has been charged with the responsibility of working out the details of a facilitative support arrangement with the Endowments and will let you know what is required of field posts.
Finally, I want to emphasize that everything I have outlined here relates solely to how we will communicate on and through the arts. This is one of our most significant responsibilities. It is not, however, our only responsibility. It should go without saying that you must continue to communicate fully about important American policies and bilateral concerns. Your obligation to fulfill your communication plans as outlined in your approved Country Plan remains undiluted.
I have come to the end of this admittedly lengthy letter. It is, however, only the beginning of what I believe may well become one of the most important contributions this Agency can make in the field of international communication—harnessing the potential of the arts for international understanding. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about what we should be doing in this most important field.
Sincerely,
Director
- Source: National Archives, RG 306, USIA Historical Collection, Office of the Director, Biographic Files Relating to USIA Directors and Other Senior Officials, 1953–2000, Entry A–1 1069, Box 25, John E. Reinhardt, Speeches, 1978–1980. No classification marking. Sent to all country and branch PAOs, Associate Directors, and heads of Offices and Services.↩
- Reference is to the 1978 documentary. “Leonard Bernstein: Reflections,” directed by Peter Rosen.↩