Hogan: S.C. Arts Commission breaks bad when fostering arts for all

UPDATED | The board of the South Carolina Arts Commission voted 5-3 Oct. 1 to not fund two state arts organizations, Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus and Proud Mary Theatre Company, based in Spartanburg. Meanwhile, the board funded 180 others with $3.7 million in grants.

Commission board members who each lobbed a terse-sounding “no” during the “emergency” Zoom meeting were Russell “Rip” Parks of Easley, Jessica Rourke, Linda Stern and Bhavna Vasudev, all of Columbia, and Danielle Thompson of Sumter. Those who voted yes were Heidi Carey and David Hodges, both of Columbia, and Barbara Nwokike of Charleston. The chair, Flavia B. Harton of Greenville, did not vote, but on Monday notified state officials she intended to resign Oct. 16, the day after the commission’s next scheduled meeting.

The reason for this denial? The mission of each organization, declared the commission in a Sept. 15 communication, was deemed “ideological,” explaining that “arts does not inherently promote ideology.” It then eked out its specious reasoning: “Any expression that is subject to more than one interpretation is art and not promotion. Conversely any expression that can only be interpreted as promotion of an ideology is not art.”

Huh? The S.C. Arts Commission seems to be confusing ideology with identity. The Orwellian commission-speak that fails to veil a patently homophobic hit on the two arts organizations is more riddled with holes than are in the souls of those naysayers.

Does that involve ideology? Possibly, as most humans embrace a worldview sprung from their identity, whether in a performance hall or on a gallery wall. Certainly that is the express misson of many of the approximately 180 funded cultural organizations.

So about art and identity. Compelling, resonant artistic expression is based on the experiences and curiosities of one or more individuals seeking to make sense of what they see. Artists work within their chosen discipline to share these perceptions, explore probing questions, shine light on both their triumphs and their struggles, lay bare the beauty and the sorrow. They do this so we can process it, too, often shoring up community among their audiences and well beyond.

Their art is a chronicle of how they are experiencing the world, mining themes and topics to grapple with complex truths. The aim often is to deepen understanding, process despair, promote healing, enhance empathy, unleash joy, foster connection, or all of the above. The artistic process may be based on the individual, but it frequently inhabits the universal. And that sense of a shared humanity is what our fractured universe needs now more than ever.

It should be underscored that artists frequently do this heavy lifting for substandard pay, juggling day jobs, hitting creative walls, lacking crucial mental and physical space as they keep the lights on. Funding is often essential to surmount these formidable hurdles.

Prior to the ideology hoop, the commission asked the groups for proof of artistic merit. It should be noted that, at a glance, the no-voters among them – a real estate agent, wedding planner, hospitality professional, family foundation vice president and architectural firm marketing director – do not themselves telegraph commensurate merit for artistic assessment.

That being said, they may have been given a heads-up on ideology. They were each appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster, who has a track record opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Among his actions was the 2021 request that the graphic Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobab be investigated, which led to it being pulled from Fort Mill School District high school bookshelves.

In 2022, according to The Post and Courier, “he said he’d support South Carolina’s voided bans on same-sex marriage if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned its 2015 ruling that guaranteed that right to gay couples nationwide.”

The commission’s Oct. 1 decision in itself sends a chilling message to the South Carolina arts community: Make your art, as we see fit, not you. It’s a message that the no-voting members of the S.C. Arts Commission have frontloaded with ideology, rather than the artists in question.

Note to the naysayers: That’s not how the arts function in a healthy, open society. And it’s an ominous precedent for erasing the vital truths hardwon by artists, by cutting off the oxygen of anyone deemed ideologically out of step by the very state agency put in place to support all voices in South Carolina arts.

Be prepared for more backroom strategizing, head-scratching obfuscation and defensively spat “no’s” from this rogue’s gallery. They have made their agenda painfully clear in Greenville and Spartanburg. This will only embolden them further.