Michelle Obama on supporting the arts

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it.

“Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

Michelle Obama – at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to help reopen its new American wing.

[Los Angeles Times May 19 2009]