This article aims to problematize and nuance the dichotomy between the intrinsic value of the arts versus their instrumental role, which is currently being debated within Swedish cultural policy on the national government level. Konstfrämjandets riksorganisation; an arts organisation whose art project Skiss illustrates this dichotomy, is here serving as a case study. The organisation receives a State grant for making art available to all. With the help of previous research dealing with the dichotomy between the intrinsic value of the arts and their instrumental role, I explore Konstfrämjandet’s view on the value of the arts, in relation to the view on the arts expressed within current national cultural policy documents. Which conflicts and agreements are there and what are the consequences? I further investigate the arguments used to legitimise the arts within Swedish cultural policy, and thus touch upon the legitimacy of cultural policy itself. The arguments used to entitle public grants to the arts are here further explored and problematized. In relation to the dichotomy between the intrinsic value of the arts and their instrumental role, a general view regarding the role of the arts and the artists’ roles in society is presented.