Thanks for taking the time to respond.
I certainly understand why the recipients enjoy these fellowships. Free travel, free food and drink, a chance to network and catch up with colleagues: these are all attractive to the conference participants.
It’s not clear to me, though, why the funding organisations pay for these conferences. Perhaps they get a bit of publicity out of sponsoring the conferences, but otherwise there doesn’t appear to be much benefit.
Regarding the highlighted text above, I don’t think the government should subsidise the lifestyles of the artistic community. If someone wants to write poetry or sing opera, they should support themselves, just as teachers and bank clerks do. If these artists can’t attract enough funding without government support, perhaps they can get higher-paying jobs and write in their free time.
