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For Immediate Release

Artist and Activist Headlines Americans for the Arts’ 2003 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2003– Actor and filmmaker Robert Redford today talked about the importance of nurturing creativity, public support of the arts, film preservation, and film as an art form.

Mr. Redford was the featured speaker Tuesday at Americans for the Arts’ 16^th annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy held at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  The Lecture Series is the nation’s premiere forum for artistic, business, media, and government leaders to discuss policy issues of significance to the nonprofit cultural sector.  Produced annually by Americans for the Arts, this year’s lecture is also presented in partnership with The Film Foundation, founded in 1990 by Martin Scorsese and nine other eminent film directors, including Mr. Redford.  This event marks the beginning of a new partnership for the two organizations.

“Our new alliance with The Film Foundation is appropriately personified by Robert Redford, one of its founding members, discussing important policy issues like government support for the arts, freedom of expression, and film preservation as part of our annual Nancy Hanks Lecture series,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.  “Arguably the most popular and dominant art form of the 20^th Century, film is an important form of creative expression and uniquely documents our cultural heritage.  As Americans for the Arts advances the arts in this country, it is fitting that we work with The Film Foundation to ensure the artistic integrity and forward progress of this particular medium.”

Martin Scorsese, founding chairman of The Film Foundation and member of Americans for the Arts National Leadership Council, added:  “The movies reflect our history and are one of America’s greatest cultural contributions.  Yet film is highly unstable and vulnerable to deterioration and alteration.  Our collaboration with Americans for the Arts will help create greater awareness of the need to protect and preserve motion pictures. Robert Redford’s commitment to film and its preservation is well known. He's long been a champion of the arts and their vital importance to culture and society. His lecture will bring this important message about the arts to leaders in the arts, government, philanthropy, media, and education.”

In his speech, Mr. Redford emphasized the importance of the arts in his childhood and early education.  He also discussed the role that art can play in a society’s sustainable future.  “On the surface, it may not have the weight of the SEC, the Department of Defense, or Social Security, and other programs that may be easier to quantify.  But it is still a part of the whole.  More importantly, it exemplifies one of our great, maybe our greatest critical luxuries—freedom of expression.”

Regarding government funding of the arts, Mr. Redford stated, “We need people in office who understand that encouraging creative pursuit could be critical to any number of sectors, from the next great technological idea to the next historic medical discovery.  How do you put a price on that?…the nurturing of creativity comes into play in everything from world diplomacy to world economics, business endeavors to social endeavors, and everything in between….In all its forms, art plays a critical role in finding our way as people and as a culture.”

During his talk, Mr. Redford also discussed film preservation as a means of capturing America’s diverse perspectives.  Excerpts from a 1927 restored silent film, My Best Girl, starring Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers, accompanied on piano with original music by silent film composer Donald Sosin, preceded Mr. Redford’s remarks.  This film was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, in part through funding from The Film Foundation.

Mr. Redford was introduced by Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of PBS, who presently serves as the vice chair of the Sundance Institute, founded by Mr. Redford in 1981.

The Lecture is named in memory of Nancy Hanks, who served as president of Americans for the Arts from 1968-69, when she was appointed chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.  During her eight-year tenure, the agency’s budget grew 1,400 percent and changed the face of public funding for the arts in this country.

Previous Nancy Hanks Lecturers have included Maya Angelou, Leonard Garment, Barbara Jordan, David McCullough, and Frank Rich.

The 2003 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy was sponsored by the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, the Robert Sterling Clack Foundation, the Betty R. Sheffer Foundation, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Lockheed Martin sponsored the post-Lecture reception in the Kennedy Center Atrium.

Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.  With a 40-year record of service, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

The Film Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to fostering greater awareness of the urgent need to protect and preserve motion picture history. Through national educational programs, campaigns, and substantial annual support to the nation's leading archives, the Foundation actively works to preserve and protect our nation's film treasures.  

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