Corporate Support (A Positive or Negative Influence on the Arts) was presented as part of the New Museum’s public program series Art & Politics, organized in 1979, which provided a space for dialogue within the art community about controversial political, social, and economic issues.¹ Then-current increases in government and corporate funding, a renewed emphasis on human rights, and the decision-making processes involved in acquiring and exhibiting art, were issues that were receiving public attention. The series provided an opportunity for discussions among panelists and an active, at times aggressive, exchange between panelists and audience.

Issues for this installment included the advantages and disadvantages to artists of corporate support, new opportunities for art personnel, corporate selection process, and the roll of the corporate art buyer or private dealer.²