Curator: Since ancient times, the fine arts were developed and sustained with the aid of large subsidies from the aristocracies and religious institutions that were the public sectors of their day; it is doubtful that the arts would have survived without these subsidies. Clearly, contemporary societies should fulfill their obligation as stewards of cultural heritage without the assistance of aristocracies or religious institutions, so governments must help finance the maintenance, advancement, and enrichment of the fine arts today.
Serving as stewards of cultural heritage requires that contemporary societies help to maintain the fine arts is an assumption required by the curator's argument.