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Arts and Culture - Overview

日本語

The development of the arts in the United States - music, dance, architecture, the visual arts, and literature - has been marked by a tension between two strong sources of inspiration: European sophistication and domestic originality. Frequently, the best American artists have managed to harness both sources.

The 20th century has been one in which artists in the U.S. have broken from Old World antecedents, taking the various cultural disciplines in new directions with impressive, innovative results. Music, film, theater, dance, architecture and other artistic expressions have been enhanced and transformed by the creative drive of American people, particularly in the years following World War II.

According to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002, and the Cultural Policy and the Arts National Data Archive (CPANDA), there are:

  • 81 million Americans (About 40% of the adult population) who attended at least one of the seven arts activities - jazz, classical music, opera, musical plays, plays, ballet, or art museums in the past 12 months.
  • 2,511,000 artists in the U.S. in 2001.
  • 1,500 professional theaters operating in the U.S.
  • More than 1,200 symphony orchestras, plus another 600 youth orchestras, and roughly 120 opera companies.
  • 5,000 writers' conferences now offered around the nation
- Abridged from State Dept. Publications and other U.S. government materials
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