Hightower, John B.

NYS Council on the Arts 1969-70: Executive Director's Statement Bibliography

John B. Hightower, Executive Director of the New York State Council on the Arts, assesses funding and institutional crises as the Council enters its second decade (1969–70), warning that the Metropolitan Opera, Buffalo Philharmonic and Rochester Symphony face imminent bankruptcy and that many state museums are insecure. He traces funding from wealthy individual patrons aided by tax benefits to limited corporate giving and to public support hampered by bureaucracy and Title III grants; he cites Laurance Roberts' 1960 recommendation for a $450,000 initial appropriation and notes grassroots forms such as street theatre, electronic sound, rock, jazz and folk addressing new aesthetic and public demands.