Grants for Individual Artists

As I am a bit strapped for ideas, I thought I'd just briefly talk about a topic that I just finished writing a paper on for my Public Policy in the Arts class. Back in 1996, the NEA was forced to stop giving out grants to individual artists for a number of reasons, including the fact that many conservatives were upset with the funding of obscene art. Our question was to answer whether or not we thought the NEA should be able to reinstate these grants. I argued that they should, because in order to fully extend the arts to everyone and make great art available to all, we shouldn't stifle exclude certain types of art. A lot of individual artists are capable of contributing to society with their art, and many may not have the funds to fulfill their visions. Its important to take risks in order to progress in the arts and to maintain the arts existance.

What are your thoughts?