How arts grants ate the arts audience

"...somewhere along the way, the tie between artist and audience, that necessary feedback loop, has been severed. Instead of creating for a discerning audience, artists end up forming their projects into ideas that fit the tastes of the funding body. It’s more likely that an artist or writer who knows how to do the government/foundation-speak of grant writing gets their shit funded. I’ve even heard the neat slang 'grant-bait' thrown around for work that checks all the application boxes or participates in sa