THE ARTS

Arts Groups Talk to Washington: Leaders of national arts groups told White House officials this week that they were alarmed by the administration’s apparent decision to support a “general standard of decency” in federal arts grants through the Justice Department’s appeal of a lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts. In a Washington meeting, the arts advocates said they felt the move contradicted President Clinton’s statements during the campaign that he supported freedom of speech and artistic expression and opposed content restrictions on NEA grants. They said the wording of the appeals brief in the case of Finley vs. NEA had a “chilling effect” on artists and could affect the upcoming congressional reauthorization of NEA. Participants said they hadn’t expected firm answers from the Administration--and didn’t receive any--but were reassured the White House wasn’t backtracking on its support of the arts. “They were receptive to listening to our concerns and the points of view of different arts organizations,” said Robert Lynch, president of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies.