Ambitious politicians often spend their Saturday mornings schmoozing with powerful constituencies — labor unions, businesses, local political foot soldiers. But artists? That’s who had the ear of gubernatorial hopeful Steve Grossman last weekend.

Grossman, a Newton-based businessman who headed the Democratic National Committee and is a full-fledged Friend of Bill, has been canvassing the state since he declared his intention to run last summer. But he recently made time for the often-overlooked arts community when he sat in on the Cambridge Center for Adult Education’s Arts and Media conference. His wife, Barbara — who is an associate drama professor at Tufts and a former presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts — spoke on a morning panel on “The Politics of Art.”

Joined by panelists including former state representative Nicholas Paleologos, who is the founding producer of the Stuart Street Playhouse; Jane Deutsch, the president of the Fort Point Arts Community; and moderator Peter Nessen of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barbara Grossman gave a repeated and impassioned plea for more arts funding. “The making of art is essential to the future of our nation,” she said. But not, she added, because its utility can somehow be quantified: “There’s so much pressure on artists today to justify their existence because it’s useful.” Grossman did applaud artists for contributions such as volunteering in schools, but she noted, “I don’t think arts organizations need be apologetic about what they do.”

“I’d like to see our state and local governments step up and fund the arts,” she said, going so far as to propose a “dedicated revenue stream” such as a hotel tax. She also suggested that Boston learn from cities like Denver, which funds the arts handsomely and has even set aside a special arts district.

Though Grossman was speaking on her own, and not as a campaign representative, at least a few people noticed the political implications of her oration. After she concluded her call for increased funding, Paleologos jumped in. “You can get that by voting for Steve Grossman for governor,” he joked. He then peered out into the audience. “Steve, are you here? You’ve just been committed to a very ambitious agenda.”

Grossman, who was in the audience, just smiled and let his wife have the spotlight. But in a recent interview he noted that his own commitment to the arts runs just as deep. A trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts and the former chair of the Institute of Contemporary Art’s capital campaign, Grossman wouldn’t yet commit to a hotel tax, but he did say, “I’d want a senior person in my administration, perhaps as senior as a cabinet secretary ... who will be there 365 days a year to reinforce our commitment to arts in this state.” He also vowed to increase public/private collaborations on arts funding, and criticized the Weld-Cellucci years: “I think frankly we haven’t had gubernatorial leadership for the past 10 years which has been prepared to fight for the arts as a quality-of-life issue.” Arts organizations, he added, “have a right to a governor who will take that agenda and drive it forward with energy, passion, and success.” His wife, at least, is insisting on nothing less.

Issue Date: March 29 - April 5, 2001