Arts Advocacy Update LXXX

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of March 11, 2009:

Hollywood goes to Washington
Variety, 3/9/2009
"The Motion Picture Assn. of America will amp up its Washington lobbying efforts on April 21 with an all-day symposium to 'educate top national policy and lawmakers about the economic impact of the motion picture industry.' The event, to be held at the Donald Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, mirrors a similar effort in 2007, which brought an array of studio execs and creative types to the nation's capital to make the case for the industry's contributions to the national economy.... This year, the event will focus on the industry's ability to provide middle- and working-class jobs."
So very Hollywood -- who knows who they'll trot out. Why doesn't the American theater -- or music or dance or any other discipline or genre -- try to do the same thing? Isn't this half the issue with the arts in America -- a lack of knowledge and awareness among senators and representatives? Instead of running around and trying to perpetuate aging business models, why not something like this?


Artists are losing jobs fast and furiously
Los Angeles Times, 3/4/2009
"The country's dire economic situation is hitting artists hard -- harder than other professionals. According to new research announced today by the National Endowment for the Arts, working artists are unemployed at a higher rate than other workers, and at a rate that is rising more rapidly than other professions.... Artists are unemployed at twice the rate of professional workers, a category in which artists are grouped because of their high levels of education."
To paraphrase Shakespeare, "The first thing we do, let's unemploy all the artists."


Taking Artistic Liquidities
Harvard Crimson (Cambridge, MA), 3/5/2009
"There will be no starving artists at Harvard. Just over a week after University officials announced that the endowment—the largest in higher education—fell a precipitous 22 percent in a four- month period, the University-wide Task Force on the Arts called for ambitious plans to bolster the place of arts on campus. The committee proposed the construction of major new arts facilities and sweeping changes to the undergraduate curriculum and graduate programs. "
Great article, although, once again, it's really difficult to find tears for Harvard.


Arts center stalled? Call it a stadium, Scott Randolph says
Orlando Sentinel (FL), 3/6/2009
"State Rep. Scott Randolph has a novel idea to try to save Orlando's delayed performing-arts center: Treat it like a sports stadium. The Orlando Democrat has filed a bill (HB 1183) to give performing-arts centers in Florida that draw 150,000 or more paying customers the same $2 million-a-year sales-tax rebate that many professional sports stadiums and spring-training sites get from the state."
Works for me. That's smart thinking.


Congress Passes $155M for NEA and NEH
Americans for the Arts website, 3/11/2009
"On Tuesday [March 10], the U.S. Senate passed the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. The bill includes a significant $10 million increase for both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which sets their budgets at $155 million each. The legislation also increases the budget for Arts in Education programs at the Department of Education to $38.16 million."
Yay! Oh, and how much of that $10 million won't go to previously funded NEA grantees, hm?


Corzine's 2009 budget would cut $5.2M in arts funding
Star-Ledger, 3/10/2009
"Gov. Jon Corzine today proposed cutting arts funding to $17.1 million, a drop of $5.2 million that would reduce arts support to 2004 levels.... The arts council's $16 million budget is the minimum called for in the hotel-motel occupancy tax, the dedicated revenue stream that funds the state's theaters, music groups, dance troupes and art museums.... The 2003 law that created the tax, which also supports the state's historical commission, cultural trust and tourism, includes a 'poison pill' provision that eliminates the tax if the arts council portion drops below $16 million."
It's just stupid. It's such a small cut and it will hurt the New Jersey economy far more than it will help. Then again, Corzine may not be reelected anyway.


Hard times no license to rob the arts
The Oregonian, 3/7/2009
"With a tumbling economy, declining attendance and tapped-out donors, things are hard enough for the arts, historical museums and other cultural institutions. That's why it's all the more disturbing to see Oregon lawmakers rummaging for money in the only statewide source of arts funding, the cultural trust.... Lawmakers must find a way to restore the $1.8 million taken from the cultural trust as part of the budget-balancing agreement approved by the Oregon Senate last week," says The Oregonian Editorial Board.
Notice the stern language. Good for the Oregonian. Make those people hang their heads in shame. Blithering fools for trying to raid the Cultural Trust.


NJ bill would lift nonprofit spending restrictions
Philly.com - AP, 3/8/2009
"With stocks in freefall and the economy sliding, nonprofit organizations have seen their endowments plunge in value, hurting their ability to feed the poor and run museums, among other activities. But the losses have created an unexpected consequence: Some groups can't use the funds that remain. New Jersey law prohibits many nonprofits from spending certain pools of money if the funds have decreased from their original value. The law, adopted by most states, has restricted the groups' spending as values of stocks and other investments have fallen this past year. But a new bill being tossed around by a New Jersey Senate committee could soon make the off-limit funds accessible."
This is actually as important, and perhaps more so, than whether Gov. Corzine slashes NJ arts funding or not. Very glad this legislation may get through. Arts groups need it, badly.


Philly mayor supports arts groups even amid cuts
Google News - AP, 3/8/2009
"Arts and cultural organizations are often dismissed as a frivolity, the first to go when the budget ax swings even as supporters tout them as powerful economic engines that employ workers and support businesses far beyond the cliche wine-and-cheese set.... But Philadelphia's mayor, in a departure from his predecessor, believes the arts are key to generating revenue and strengthening the community."
Here is a nifty and important excerpt from the story:

"Nutter cited figures from a recent Philadelphia Cultural Alliance report that arts and culture in the region employs 40,000 people and generates more than $1 billion in economic activity every year. More people visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art annually than a season of Philadelphia Eagles' home games, he added.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund's budget for fiscal 2009 was cut by 24 percent (from $4.2 million to $3.2 million) from the initial spending plan. However, that's still an overall budget increase from the previous fiscal year. The nonprofit entity allocates funds to hundreds of local organizations."


Seattle arts report: Corporate gifts down most
Seattle Times, 3/10/2009
A new report says "[t]he recession is hitting Puget Sound arts and cultural organizations hard," with endowments, contributions, and gifts from foundations and individuals all dramatically reduced. The study, commissioned by the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Seattle Foundation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and 4Culture, "identified ways donors could collaborate to help the arts sector, such as setting up a revolving loan fund and a collective investment for technology. Donors could also help support the arts without spending any money — by cutting application paperwork, extending current grants another year, offering loan guarantees or lines of credit, and encouraging arts groups to share resources and work with nonprofits outside the arts."
All good ideas. I'd love to know what the economic toll of excessive paperwork is and whether it varies by region or state and to what degree it can be quantified.


Study: Corporate giving to dip in 2009
Philadelphia Business Journal (PA), 3/4/2009
"The economic downturn will have a major impact on corporate philanthropy in 2009, according to a Conference Board survey of 158 companies about their planned changes in corporate giving programs. About 45 percent of those surveyed had already implemented a reduction in their 2009 giving budgets and 16 percent were considering it, while 35 percent said they would make fewer grants in 2009 and 22 percent are considering doing the same..... The biggest increase will come in volunteerism, with 45 percent of respondents reporting a resources increase in that area. Arts and culture will most likely see the biggest drop, with 34 percent reporting a decrease in resources devoted to the arts."
Ouch.


White House Rethinks Tax Hikes
Wall Street Journal, 3/5/2009
"President Barack Obama is meeting strong Democratic Party resistance to his proposal to reduce tax deductions enjoyed by upper-income Americans and could be forced to drop or modify the idea. Mr. Obama in his budget blueprint last week proposed a cap on itemized deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations to help pay for his health-care overhaul. The plan would cost wealthier taxpayers about $318 billion in new taxes over 10 years, according to government estimates. But after objections from Democratic lawmakers, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared to suggest at one point Wednesday that the administration was willing to consider dropping or modifying the proposal."
Because, after all, the wealthiest 1% of the American people have suffered so very disproportionately in the last eight years...

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXIX

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of March 5, 2009:


Fine arts are in survival mode as funds dry up
USA Today, 3/3/2009
"The downturn walloping the entire economy has hit non-profit arts organizations especially hard. With millions of people scrambling to pay for food and other basics, a night at the opera can seem frivolous. So museums, symphonies, theaters, ballet companies and opera companies have cut staff, canceled performances, shortened seasons and, in some cases, shut down.... A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll in December found that 69% of Americans are cutting back on entertainment."
Not especially groundbreaking reporting but what it does show is how the topic is really spreading into even most mainstream publications.


Study: Arts endeavors net $153.5 million in state
Lawrence Journal-World & News (KS), 2/27/2009
"The Kansas Arts Commission this week released a study showing expenditures by arts and culture organizations, as well as audiences, totaled $153.5 million in 2007. In addition, the study, by Americans for the Arts, found that arts-related activities generated 4,612 full-time equivalent jobs; $95 million in household income; $6 million in local government tax revenue; and $9 million in state government tax revenues."
As percentages of overall employment, income and local and state tax revenue, that strikes me as particularly high, no? Red state irony.


Study: Film industry adds $763M to state during 2007
Shreveport Times (LA), 3/3/2009
"In an economic impact study released Monday, the motion picture industry is estimated to have added $763 million to the Louisiana economy during 2007 at a cost of $105 million to the state."
And to think that Gov. Bobby Jindal want to divert some of that money to volcano research... :-)


Access to Arts Education
General Accounting Office, 2009
Asked by Congress to investigate four questions related to the the effect of NCLB on student access to arts education, the GAO found that 90 percent of elementary school teachers reported no change between the 2004-2005 and 2006-2007 school years, and four percent reported an increase. "However, about 7 percent reported a decrease, and GAO identified statistically significant differences across school characteristics in the percentage of teachers reporting that the time spent on arts education had decreased. Teachers at schools identified as needing improvement and those with higher percentages of minority students were more likely to report a reduction in time spent on the arts."
Here's more of the pertinent text: "Specifically, teachers at schools identified as needing improvement and those with higher percentages of minority students were more likely to report a reduction in time spent on the arts. In addition, when we examined the average amount of change in weekly instruction time among teachers that reported either an increase or a decrease, we found that teachers at elementary schools with high percentages of low-income or minority students reported larger average reductions than teachers at schools with low percentages of these students."


To win hearts and minds, get back in the game
Foreign Policy, 2/26/2009
Indiana Senator Richard Lugar opines, "As part of a broader overhaul of its public diplomacy effort, the United States should reinvigorate the old American Centers concept-putting, when possible, new ones that are safe but accessible in vibrant downtown areas-support active cultural programming, and resume the teaching of English by American or U.S.-trained teachers hired directly by embassies. That would help draw people to the centers and ensure that students got some American perspective along with their grammar. America's best players in public diplomacy have always been its people and its ideas. The United States should get them back into the game instead of standing on the sidelines."
People have been pushing this for years. Wasn't this part of Karen Hughes' job under Bush?


A really new deal would stimulate the economy of the future, not the past
Globe and Mail, 2/28/2009
Richard Florida argues that economic stimulus funds in both the U.S. and Canada are misdirected toward traditional infrastructure and the "old economy." "For a stimulus to work today it has to stimulate the emerging creative economy, the engines of regional economic growth and higher incomes across Canada and the U.S.... The creative economy already includes roughly 30 per cent of Canada's work force and about a third in the U.S. It accounts for more than half of all wages and salaries paid in each country. So, if the stimulus were allocated proportionately, between $250-billion and $375-billion should have gone to the U.S. creative economy; in Canada, the figure would be $12-billion to $20-billion."
What does this mean in practical terms when we say "creative economy"? I mean, I love Richard Florida, but how would these figures specifically translate on a granular level? I found a bit of a clue -- though arguably an elusive one -- by re-reading Florida's article a second time:

"The creative economy already includes roughly 30 per cent of Canada's work force and about a third in the U.S. It accounts for more than half of all wages and salaries paid in each country. So, if the stimulus were allocated proportionately, between $250-billion and $375-billion should have gone to the U.S. creative economy; in Canada, the figure would be $12-billion to $20-billion.

Stimulus funds could be used to strengthen Canada's science and technology infrastructure and its music, film and art scenes; it would provide entrepreneurial assistance and garage-like incubation spaces for innovators the Bloomberg administration is doing in New York City.

It would make far greater sense to invest precious infrastructure dollars in high-speed rail and broadband Internet lines to connect our communities than in roads and highways.

We will begin to move toward a durable recovery only when we stop unnecessarily propping up the old economy. Indeed, we have to make housing and transportation cheaper, as we did with agriculture during the New Deal, in order to free up the demand that will provide enduring stimulus for the creative-economy businesses and jobs of the future."

Lower Manhattan Arts Groups Join Forces for Survival
Tribeca Tribune (NY), 3/2/2009
"These days, arts groups are thinking creatively, not just about the work they produce, but about survival. Nowhere is that more true than in Lower Manhattan. Seeking clout in numbers, Battery Dance Company and 11 other Downtown-based small- and medium-size arts organizations recently banded together. Calling themselves the Lower Manhattan Arts Leadership Group, they are sharing their financial and audience numbers for the first time, hoping to convince policy makers that, together, those figures carry weight—in jobs, taxes, neighborhood business support..."
Here's some great stuff from the story:

"The 12 groups range from Blue Coyote, a theater group with an all-volunteer staff and operating budget of $29,000 to Dance New Amsterdam, with more than $3 million in annual expenses. But all share uncertain futures as public funding is cut and foundations—many tied to the fortunes of the stock market—search for ways to continue their missions.

“Some of us are on the verge of, or in, an immediate crisis. Some see a crisis six to nine months out,” the group warned in a report issued last month.

For 3-Legged Dog, the experimental theater and multimedia group at 80 Greenwich St., the need is immediate. The non-profit is behind on its payroll and rent, said the director, Kevin Cunningham, because its promised portion of $7 million in New York State Council on the Arts funds was not distributed last year. This, he said, at a time when individual donations have dropped and foundations are in a “wait and see mode.”

“We can’t wait and see,” said Cunningham. “We have to move or die, basically.”

With that sense of urgency, the groups came together, assisted by Paul Nagle, director of cultural policy for City Councilman Alan Gerson. The “micro economic picture” of what these Lower Manhattan arts group contribute, he said, “puts a face on [the arts community]. That makes it very neighborhood-specific and difficult to ignore.”

According to those figures, the 12 Downtown groups yearly serve an audience of nearly 300,000 (with hundreds of thousands more reached via the Internet). They spend more than $15 million and pay out millions of dollars in taxes.

“We aren’t just a bunch of kooky artists in a room with our fingers up our noses,” said Carol Ostrow, producing director of the Flea Theater on White Street. “We really are much more of an economic driver than people think we are, and if we’re not on this street a lot of other people are going to be hit.”

Neighborhood businesses benefit from the Flea, said Ostrow. Costumes must be cleaned, cars parked, sets built, scripts copied. And audience members who come to the Flea shows often eat in local restaurants."

Measure to fund arts fails in House
Argus Leader (SD), 2/26/2009
"Funding for the South Dakota Arts Council, and in turn dozens of art programs across the state, failed to pass the House of Representatives vote Tuesday. House Bill 1229 had a majority vote, 44-26, but was shy of the two-thirds it needed to pass. But that doesn't mean the hope for funding the arts is dead - it just was placed in the wrong vehicle for getting that done, said Rep. Shantel Krebs, who voted against the bill.... Proposed state budget cuts include $668,000 for the arts council, which is matched by the National Endowment for the Arts - money also lost without a state arts office, along with funding in the national stimulus package.... Gov. Mike Rounds recently spoke in favor of preserving arts office funding."
Let's not give up on this one.


Some Nonprofits Can't Touch Their Money
ABC News - AP, 3/1/2009
"It's a frustrating quandary for universities, orchestras and other nonprofit organizations in two dozen states. They have the [endowment] money they need to save jobs, offer scholarships and put on a solid schedule of programs, but face state laws that keep them from using any of it."
Read this, it's horrifying:

"It's a frustrating quandary for universities, orchestras and other nonprofit organizations in two dozen states. They have the money they need to save jobs, offer scholarships and put on a solid schedule of programs, but face state laws that keep them from using any of it.

"I don't imagine the donors anticipated a situation where the market would fall so dramatically that the money would be held hostage and unable to support the symphony at all," said David Chambless Worters, the symphony's chief executive.

Rules governing how nonprofits in North Carolina and 23 other states use their endowments date to the 1970s, when most states adopted a uniform law that prohibits withdrawing money from endowments that fall below their "historic dollar value" — the money given to create the endowment, plus any later gifts.

The law is designed to protect endowments by preventing institutions from dipping into the principal. An endowment is supposed to be a perpetual source of revenue, with institutions drawing off only the earnings.

The rule affects newer funds most severely, since they have had less time to invest a gift and build the endowment's value.

Neither the National Council of Nonprofits nor the Council on Foundations, both based in Washington, keeps track of how many of its members are struggling with endowments that are now underwater.

But "anecdotally, it is a serious problem. And if the current financial downturn continues, the problem will only get worse," said Harvey Dale, director of the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at New York University."

U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz Blasts Louisiana Governor
Bobby Jindal for Recent Statement on the Arts
PR Newswire, 2/26/2009
The nation's mayors criticize Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for "his remarks made at the White House questioning the economic impact of the arts on the national economy: America's Mayors are extremely disappointed by your recent statements questioning the economic impact of the arts to our national, state and local economies. We are also highly concerned by your repeated attacks of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the 'Act') by highlighting the $50 million dedicated to the National Endowment for the Arts. While we certainly respect your right to oppose the Act, this funding, which represents .00635% of the total funding provided in the Act, has, we believe, become a convenient political scapegoat.... The nation's 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences generate $166.2 billion annually in U.S. economic activity. They support 5.7 million jobs and provide nearly $30 billion in government revenue. This economic stimulus will minimize the concern that ten percent of arts groups could close this year and helps save thousands of arts workers from losing their jobs."
Yet some people don't want to acknowledge that the right is going to bash the arts as a way to unify its troops.


U.S. Stimulus Efforts to Have ‘Modest’ Impact, NABE Survey Says
Bloomberg News, 3/2/2009
"The $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama will have only a 'modest impact in shortening the recession,' a private survey of economists showed.... Survey respondents ranked infrastructure spending, expanded unemployment benefits and income-tax cuts as the three measures that will have the greatest effectiveness in stimulating the economy. The three that are expected to be the least effective are: spending on social endowments such as public housing and the arts, the earned income tax credit and lump-sum tax rebates."
Since this flies in the face of the fiscal-impact argument, who will challenge these people?

Arts Get Whacked by Rich as Companies Face Losses in Endowments
Bloomberg News, 3/4/2009
"Corporations and wealthy individuals are donating less to nonprofits, with arts groups taking the biggest hit, according to two new studies.... Arts and culture will see the biggest drop, with 41 percent reporting a decrease in resources."
It really does feel like 2002 and 2003 all over again.


Half of Wealthy Americans Say Taxes Don't Affect Their Giving, Study Finds
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3/3/2009
"A majority of affluent Americans say their charitable giving would be unaffected by the elimination of federal tax provisions designed, in part, to encourage philanthropy, according to a new study by Bank of America and Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Nearly 52 percent of wealthy donors said their giving would remain the same if they no longer received any income-tax deduction for their donations, while 54 percent said their level of philanthropy would remain unchanged if the estate tax were repealed. That said, a significant minority (47 percent) of people in the survey reported that they would give less if they could no longer claim a deduction for their charitable gifts."
This really surprised me. I would have thought the numbers would have been more extreme, especially in light of...

Limiting Deductions on Charity Draws Ire
New York Times, 2/26/2009
"Wealthy donors and the nonprofit groups they support were in an uproar over the Obama administration’s proposal to limit the value of deductions for charitable gifts, which was included in the budget the president presented to Congress.... Nonprofit groups have been urging the administration and Congress to increase incentives for charitable giving by raising the limits on deductions and eliminating taxes on the investment income of foundations."
The really intriguing/alarming copy comes toward the end of the piece:

"Roughly half of the high net-worth donors responding to a 2006 survey by the Bank of America reported that they would keep giving the same amount to charity if deductions for that giving fell to zero, while about 38 percent said their giving would decrease somewhat. Only 7 percent said their gifts would fall steeply.

Eli Broad, who has made some of the biggest gifts in recent years, said through a spokeswoman that his giving would not be affected, as he has already donated far more than he can deduct.

Robert F. Sharpe Jr., a fund-raising expert in Memphis, said many of the wealthiest donors are already limited to deductions of 28 percent for their charitable gifts because they are subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Congress has long debated whether donors should get the same subsidy for gifts to wealthy universities and art groups that they get for contributions to nonprofit groups serving basic needs like food, shelter and health care.

“The administration’s proposal is doing just that, reordering charitable priorities by taking money wealthy people would have given to other charities and making it go into the health care system” through higher taxes, Mr. Sharpe said."

Tax-Deduction Proposal Would Cause Giving to Drop by 1.3%, Study Finds
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3/3/2009
"President Obama’s proposal to limit the tax breaks would cause giving to decline by an estimated 1.3 percent a year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said today in a new analysis. They said that other proposals in the budget further minimized the effects of the tax changes."
I think this is called shared sacrifice, no? If so, it's going to be painful.

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXVIII

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of February 25, 2009:


Cheap Seats, Staff Cuts Are on Tap for U.S. Nonprofit Theaters
Bloomberg News, 2/20/2009
"U.S. nonprofit theaters are cutting staff and expanding discounts as they anticipate disappointing ticket sales and fundraising, according to a new survey by the Theatre Communications Group."
And yet I don't see Theatre Communications Group formulating a long-term, sustainable solution to the recurring problem of arts funding in the United States. Just give us more NEA funding! By the way, you can link to a PDF of the TCG study here.


First family of arts lovers
Los Angeles Times, 2/24/2009
The Obama family's attendance at an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance at the Kennedy Center "fed increasing hopes among arts advocates that the Obamas would generate a greater buzz for the arts simply by smiling in theater seats or strolling through museum galleries."
First of all, let's be grateful for a President who reads. All else flows from that.


Ailing economy is taking a toll on arts in Rhode Island and the arts scene
Providence Journal (RI), 2/18/2009
"As the economy goes, so go the arts. That was the word yesterday from Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, who reported that a declining number of arts events is affecting the state’s restaurant and hospitality industry."
And the thing is, Rhode Island has a particularly large and vivid, productive arts scene, so this is especially bad.


Arts district to transform lower Taylor Street
San Francisco Chronicle (CA), 2/21/2009
Three blocks of one of "the seediest stretches" in San Francisco "would become an arts district - some say akin to New York City's SoHo, which became an area of cheap artists' lofts and studios in the 1960s and '70s - under a plan being cobbled together by city officials, landlords, artists and Tenderloin-area nonprofit workers. The transformation gets under way today with the groundbreaking of Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, which is taking over a vacant 4,000-square-foot building that once was a porn theater."
But is there anything like rent stabilization or rent control in San Francisco? How would the artists know that they could hold onto these lofts and studios once the area gentrifies? The story doesn't address that.


Armani Donates $1 Million to Schools
New York Times, 2/17/2009
"The Italian designer and billionaire Giorgio Armani celebrated Fashion Week on Tuesday with the announcement of a $1 million donation to promote arts programs in New York City public schools. The money will be used to create the Armani Arts Institute, an umbrella program that will fund arts initiatives in schools serving some of the city’s most disadvantaged populations."
This is wonderful, of course.


Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who's Doing It Best
Edutopia, February 2009
"Arts education has been slipping for more than three decades, the result of tight budgets, an ever-growing list of state mandates that have crammed the classroom curriculum, and a public sense that the arts are lovely but not essential.... Yet against this backdrop, a new picture is emerging. Comprehensive, innovative arts initiatives are taking root in a growing number of school districts. Many of these models are based on new findings in brain research and cognitive development, and they embrace a variety of approaches: using the arts as a learning tool (for example, musical notes to teach fractions); incorporating arts into other core classes (writing and performing a play about, say, slavery); creating a school environment rich in arts and culture (Mozart in the hallways every day) and hands-on arts instruction. Although most of these initiatives are in the early stages, some are beginning to rack up impressive results. This trend may send a message to schools focused maniacally, and perhaps counterproductively, on reading and math."
What this requires is not only teachers but, equally important, parents not being afraid of creativity. If they remain that way, we'll have another generation of culturally ignorant, pointy-headed idiots.


Public, Private Sector Leaders to Present Administration with Recommendations 'To Restore Public Diplomacy as Vital, Viable Element of Smart Power'
PR Newswire, 2/19/2009
"Some seventy men and women, representing a broad spectrum of public diplomacy stakeholders and practitioners, are calling on the Administration and Congress to reinvent and restore public diplomacy as a vital and viable element of 'Smart Power'. The group today issued a set of ten recommendations to guide the new Administration and Congress as they seek to revitalize and adapt public diplomacy in the context of new geopolitical realities and new communications tools. Participants included former and current public diplomacy practitioners and thought leaders from the State and Defense departments, the National Security Council, the White House, the intelligence community, foreign assistance, the arts, academe, business, Capitol Hill, state government, the traditional and new media (including print, broadcast and Internet), think tanks and institutes, NGOs and national private sector citizen diplomacy groups."
Paging Mrs. Clinton...


$5.6M cut from Missouri Arts Council
St. Louis Business Journal, 2/19/2009
"The Missouri Department of Economic Development is withholding nearly $5.6 million from the Missouri Arts Council as the state works to close a $261 million budget shortfall this year."
Funny thing is, that's about five times what California allocates to its state arts agency. At least the proportions in this case make me understand why the actions are being taken, much as I think they're short-sighted and regrettable.


Film tax credit on cutting room floor
Wisconsin Radio Network, 2/19/2009
"Governor Doyle has scrapped the movie tax credit program which was spearheaded by his own Lieutenant Governor and non-profit group Film Wisconsin. It also lured recent filmmakers to produce the Johnny Depp flick 'Public Enemies' in the Badger State. Doyle has an alternative that allots $500,000 in grants for permanent movie making jobs."
Permanent jobs? In Wisconsin? Hey, Jonathan West, what's up with that?


Rounds wants arts money restored
Sioux Falls Argus Leader (SD), 2/19/2009
"The South Dakota Arts Council might live to see another year. Gov. Mike Rounds said Tuesday he will try to keep funding for the South Dakota Arts Council alive in the state's budget because the newly approved federal stimulus package could help free up state money."
A Republican will accept federal stimulus money to save arts funding? The dude is cruising for a GOP bruising.


Taxing situation for New York
Variety, 2/19/2009
After years of watching production lured away by government incentives, California's gotten into the game by approving a five-year $500 million tax credit program. . . . California's program, which goes into effect July 1 with a cap of $100 million annually, will likely strike at the heart of the New York production industry. Even though California's tax credit rates are far below those in some other states -- Michigan offers a whopping 42% credit -- the presence of Hollywood's existing infrastructure and the desire to stay close to home has the potential to reverse more than a decade of runaway production."
As I've always said, it's a race to the bottom, a zero-sum game. Bloomberg and Paterson now have to decide whether it's worth the fight. I would say it is, but I don't have the numbers they have.


Individuals Make Fewer $1-Million Gifts; Grant Makers Help Offset Decline
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2/25/2009
"Charitable gifts of $1-million or more from individual donors fell by 33 percent in the last half of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, according to a new analysis of big gifts by researchers at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.... On a more positive note, the center, which also tracks foundation and corporate grants of $1-million and up, found that grant makers’ giving was more resilient in the face of last year’s recessionary climate. Foundations actually increased the number of grants of $1-million or more by 10 percent in the last six months of last year, from 500 to 551, and by 16 percent for the entire year. Meanwhile, corporate grants of $1-million or more remained steady, with 146 such grants made in both calendar years."
As everyone knows, I've cut my own million-dollar gift-giving way back...

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXVII

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of February 18, 2009:

A (Half-Price) Night at the Opera
Wall Street Journal, 2/14/2009
"Many cultural groups, hit hard by the recession, are slashing prices at the box office. It's a controversial tactic in the arts world, where profits are always hard-won. But by offering low prices on high culture, the new crop of deals provide an attractive access point, especially for casual fans."
And isn't that better, sociologically, in the long-run? I mean, half the problem is the ineffectiveness of the arts, generally, in luring people to live performance.


New Smithsonian chief sees technological future
Los Angeles Times, 2/17/2009
Wayne Clough, the new secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, says "We need to make our collections, talented scholars and other resources accessible worldwide by providing additional platforms and vehicles for educating and inspiring large audiences.... Our job is to authenticate and inform the significance of the collections, not to control access to them. It is no longer acceptable for us to share only 1% of our 137 million specimens and artifacts in an age when the Internet has made it possible to share it all."
Will we need stimulus money to pay for that? Hire me!


Verdi With Popcorn, and Trepidation
New York Times, 2/15/2009
"Thanks largely to the efforts of the Metropolitan Opera, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are seeing live opera performances in movie theaters, and many others in repeat showings.... [But] a few voices have raised concerns about long-term effects on the art form. The dissenters say that the movement will lead to more conservative programming; that the voice will become subservient to appearance; that listeners will be trained to hear something electronic and lose an appreciation for a live experience. Some worry that vocal training will change, de-emphasizing the ability to project, and that the Met’s effort is a deal with the Devil, because it will divert audiences from local opera houses to make the easier, cheaper trip to the mall."
Well, the live-experience fear is certainly valid. That said, I think if you combine smart marketing with this trend -- see three operas on screen, get one ticket free -- it could be more than adequately addressed.


Officials favor turning facility into arts center
New Haven Register (CT), 2/16/2009
In West Haven, CT, "[l]ocal and state leaders have thrown their support behind a proposal to spend $1.2 million on renovating the old Masonic Temple on Center Street into the West Haven Cultural Arts Center. Mayor John M. Picard and City Councilman Edward M. O’Brien, D-At Large, are among those calling for state legislators to authorize bonds for the project, even as the state faces serious budget woes.... 'I think the arts center is not only important for the arts but also as an economic development driver,' Picard said."
And in West Haven in particular, that's quite true. Connecticut tends to be rather enlightened about the arts.


Asia still likes America
International Herald Tribune, 2/17/2009
"Unlike in the rest of the world, America's reputation in Asia remains robust. New evidence suggests that in East Asia, U.S. 'soft power' - the power to persuade others to do what you want them to do by attraction rather than coercion - has actually increased over the past eight years. Despite China's rise, the United States remains the leading source of soft power in the region.... When separated into categories, the United States led China in four measured areas - political, diplomatic, human capital and economic - while China led the United States in one - cultural."
How will Obama and Clinton transform the cultural export programs of the State Department? That's the question this story raises for me.

Barack and Slumdog
Huffington Post, 2/17/2009
"Unlike most countries, we are seen not only for what we are and what we do, but through the images we project globally through pop music, TV shows and Hollywood films.... If politics in the information age is about whose story wins, then, given this reality, America's storytellers -- Hollywood -- have a starring role in defining America's presence globally. For that reason, they ought to to be recruited for the new 'smart power' campaign, which must be two-fold -- projecting America abroad and projecting knowledge of others to ourselves at home."
Exactly. I refer, in fact, to the comment I posted just above.


Copyright reform unlikely, advocates say
CNet News.com, 2/11/2009
"With a new administration and a Democratic Congress, now is the time to overhaul copyright law, advocates for reform said Wednesday--but the complex nature of the issue makes copyright legislation nearly as unrealistic as ever. Representatives of songwriters and the recording industry faced off against open Internet advocates at the Future of Music Coalition's Policy Day here in Washington, demonstrating the entrenched divisions that remain within Democratic constituencies over copyright issues.... Yet even with bank bailout plans and billion-dollar efforts at economic recovery keeping lawmakers busy, the climate in Washington may finally be right for copyright and intellectual property reform. The House Judiciary Committee this year elevated intellectual property issues from the jurisdiction of a subcommittee to the full committee because of increased interest in the matter."
It's not just in the music industry -- it's literature and fair-use issues, too. I don't get the sense that they're looking for compromise, so I tend to agree -- Congress is not about to wade into this and get egg on its face. Let the parties battle it out for a little while longer first.


Arts advocates oppose Pawlenty’s budget proposal
Rosemount Town Pages, 2/17/2009
"Pawlenty is proposing to cut the [Minnesota] Arts Board and regional councils by 50 percent over the next two years - which [theater director Sean] Dowse called 'a disproportionate burden' - and then eliminate the Arts Board after 2011." Although Minnesota passed the Legacy Amendment in 2008, "the amendment states that 'the dedicated money ... must supplement traditional sources of funding for these purposes and may not be used as a substitute.'"
Ugh. Republicans.


Arts Council faces 23% cut in budget
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), 2/15/2009
"Grappling with a proposed 23 percent cut in its operating budget, the Kentucky Arts Council faces considerable pressure in maintaining its mission of serving 120 counties in the state."
Ugh. Kentucky.


California Beckons Film Crews
New York Times, 2/16/2009
"Not long ago, location filming in and around Los Angeles was viewed as a nuisance to be suffered with traffic on the San Diego Freeway and the occasional minor earthquake. But it dwindled as states like New Mexico, Louisiana and Michigan used tax incentives to lure film production, while California declined to play the subsidy game.... But that may change. On Monday the state’s legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to debate a budget proposal that included $100 million a year in tax credits for so-called below-the-line spending — payments other than those to the stars and filmmakers — on certain movies and television shows in the state."
That's what, $100M more than the appropriation for the California Arts Council? I exaggerate, I know.


Fundraising losses to state arts and culture groups could top $300M
Crain's Detroit (MI), 3/13/2009
"The loss of $6.1 million in state funding for arts and culture will impact arts groups’ ability to leverage federal funding and match grants in a big way. In fact, it could cause Michigan groups to lose opportunities to raise more than fifty times that amount - or a combined $310 million - through local match grants, said new ArtServe President Jennifer Goulet. Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, announced Thursday, eliminates all operational support for arts and culture but includes $1 million for capital improvement grants to those groups. It also calls for transfer of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and its staff to the Michigan Economic Development Corp., and the closure of the state Department of History, Arts and...
Here we go again -- it's the economic-impact question. People have got to make the case and stop advocating just for NEA handouts.


House Committee to Hold Hearings on Benefits of the Arts
ARTINFO, 2/13/2009
"U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced last week that the committee would hold a series of hearings this spring to examine how the arts benefit the nation's economy and schools, and what can be done to help support them during the economic downturn."
I'll be keeping an eye on this.

Is this any time to increase arts funding?
Crosscut (Seattle, WA), 2/16/2009
"Can the argument that arts funding is instant stimulus prevail against all the better-organized pressure groups trying to retain funding during hard times? There are three tests for the [Washington state] Governor and the Legislature. One is increasing funding for the State Arts Commission.... A second is securing some of the expiring stadium taxes for King County's arts-funding organization, called 4Culture.... The third test is a sleeper bill (HB 166 in the House, SB 5786 in the Senate) that would enable local counties to pass a tenth-of-a-cent increase in local sales tax to fund arts and cultural organizations (including such things as zoos, botanical gardens, history museums, and science museums)."
Thank you! Great story.


The Arts Need Better Arguments
Wall Street Journal, 2/18/2009
Classical music critic Greg Sandow offers a sober assessment of the fight for fifty million NEA dollars in the economic stimulus bill. The arts, he says, are not unique in generating economic impact. Further, as charities for the homeless and poor face cuts, some argue that "the arts have a lot of money, and that they largely serve an upscale audience." Although such statements may not be true, "let's not underestimate how persistent those perceptions are, especially when reality at least partly seems to back them up.... The arts are going to need a better strategy. And in the end it's going to have to come from art itself, from the benefits art brings, in a world where popular culture -- which has gotten smart and serious -- also helps bring depth and meaning to our lives. That's the kicker: the popular culture part. Once we figure that out, we can leave our shaky arguments behind and really try to prove we matter."
Well, no one said the arts are "unique in generating economic impact." The real question, Greg Sandow, is whether the GOP is prepared to attack or discount an economic sector putting $166 billion into the economy. It's not that the arts need better arguments -- the GOP needs finer arguments against it. And the left needs to stop looking to Congress for a $50M NEA boost and start thinking in terms of a long-term strategy for arts funding.


Charities Fear New Pay Limits Will Hurt Executive Donations
Wall Street Journal, 2/17/2009
"Nonprofits already face the prospect of fewer donations amid turmoil at Wall Street firms and other companies. Now, they could face another donation deterrent: Washington's plans to curb executive pay. Americans gave more than $300 billion to charity in 2007, according to the most recent figures. Some of the largest gifts from that pot have come from wealthy Wall Street bosses. Now nonprofit leaders, especially in and around New York's financial hub, are worried these big donors could feel squeezed further amid government edicts to limit pay packages."
Of course it will! But we're in a depression/recession. Them's the breaks. Why should nonprofits fight for captains of industry to take taxpayer money and give a portion of it to them?

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXV

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of February 5, 2009:

Recession Can Change a Way of Life
New York Times, 1/31/2009
"All recessions have cultural and social effects, but in major downturns the changes can be profound. . . . Many studies have shown that when a job is harder to find or less lucrative, people spend more time on self-improvement and relatively inexpensive amusements. During the Depression of the 1930s, that meant listening to the radio and playing parlor and board games, sometimes in lieu of a glamorous night on the town. These stay-at-home tendencies persisted through at least the 1950s. In today’s recession, we can also expect to turn to less expensive activities — and maybe to keep those habits for years."
In truth, I play online Monopoly when I'm bored. So there.


Why the arts matter
San Francisco Chronicle (CA), 2/3/2009
The President and CEO of the James Irvine Foundation writes about why it is important to "fundamentally change our collective understanding of why the arts matter. When times get tough and choices must be made, it is often the arts that lose. . . . Until we fully recognize how essential the arts are to the vitality of our communities and our quality of life, our cultural infrastructure will continue to be given short shrift. . . . [T]he importance of the arts extends well beyond economics and education. The arts expand our horizons, unleash creativity and build social bonds. During this period of unsettling change, the arts can provide us with pleasure and comfort, while also challenging us to see the world in new ways. . . . So, as your resources permit, attend a performance, buy a membership, and consider a contribution of any size. But also talk to your friends and neighbors about the transformative power of the arts and encourage them to support and advocate for the arts."
Republicans, as a race, either do not understand or do not comprehend the very sensible and, most important, true thought contained in this piece. So while I am utterly on board with the sentiments here, it's probably too crunchy-granola for the right. As the party of big business, the GOP understands money. This is not the case to make to them. Money -- fiscal impact -- is the case to make to them.


A Secretary of the Arts for America?
WNYC's Soundcheck, 1/21/2009
"In France, the government has had a minister of culture for over 50 years, but here in the U.S., a cabinet-level cultural affairs post has never existed. That could soon change, as members of President Obama's arts review transition team have expressed interest in creating an 'arts czar' position. William Ferris, former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Reason magazine columnist Ronald Bailey join [WNYC] to discuss the possibility - and necessity - of a Secretary of Culture."
Everyone should listen to this. They're both right and both wrong and kind of miss the point. A Secretary of the Arts -- or Secretary of Culture -- would not be charged with determining what art or culture is. It would, however, serve to help focus arts policy from a fiscal-impact point of view.


Conservation, arts advocates cry foul over proposed cuts
Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN), 2/2/2009
"After voters passed a constitutional amendment giving Minnesota another revenue source for the outdoors, clean water, parks and arts projects, Gov. Tim Pawlenty promised to do as the measure outlined and not raid it to plug holes in the state budget. But did the governor, facing a worsening budget climate, renege on that commitment? Some people believe or suspect he did."
He's not to be trusted for other reasons, too.


Fifth cent on tourist tax closer to reality
Tallahassee Democrat (FL), 1/30/2009
"Adding a fifth cent to the tax local hoteliers collect from visitors is one step closer to reality following a unanimous vote Thursday by the Leon County [FL] Commission to schedule a public hearing on the matter. Hoteliers are strongly against charging guests any more tax. The arts community, however, says adding another cent to the bed tax allows for a consistent source of funding for cultural activities in the community."
The article, alas, is sketchy regarding what cultural activities there are in Tallahassee. Any help on this?


Funding for the arts, state parks in jeopardy
Las Vegas Sun, 2/2/2009
In Nevada, Gov. Jim Gibbons’ proposed budget would hit the tourism industry hard, including "no funding for the Nevada Ballet Theatre, the Neon Museum, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center, a Las Vegas Wash trail system, the Atomic Testing Museum and rural tourism development grants."
No money for the Neon Museum or the Atomic Testing Museum! OMG!


Groups worry about state cuts
Detroit Free Press (MI), 1/3/2009
"News that Gov. Jennifer Granholm plans to eliminate the state Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) has arts organizations and libraries worried whether state dollars will continue flowing their way. Mike Latvis, director of public policy for ArtServe Michigan, the state's leading arts advocacy group, said closing the department would hurt the stature of arts and culture at the state level. 'For all we know, it could come with a cut in grant funding,' Latvis said. He said there is speculation that council would simply shift its administrative home to the Department of Management and Budget and that funding would continue."
I would not want to be a nonprofit in the upper Midwest as a whole right now.


Nearly 220,000 sign petition for US arts secretary
Google News - AFP, 1/30/2009
As of Friday, nearly 220,000 people had "signed an online petition asking President Barack Obama to appoint the first ever US secretary of the arts."
I am signatory 13,869. But as I said in my essay on Fox Forum, I signed it with major reservations.


What kind of cultural leader will Obama be?
The Art Newspaper, 1/30/2009
András Szántó considers what President Obama's arts policy might be. Given the views of Bill Ivey, who headed Obama's arts and culture transition team, Szántó expects a broadening of perspective -- "a new school of arts-policy thinking that places value on hitherto underappreciated, amateur, community-based, digitally-mediated, often commercial arts—the kind of creative pursuits, in short, which most Americans enjoy. This broadening of perspective would constitute the biggest shift in policy since the implementation of large-scale cultural support in the post- war era." Although not predicting an "arts czar" or "Secretary of the Arts," Szántó expects the administration "will likely emphasise coordination across the full breadth of government." Szántó also believes that public arts investment "will be directed to education and national-service initiatives." The article also touches on implications for the arts in public diplomacy, intellectual property, media and the FCC, and tax policy.
Much of which will be misinterpreted and twisted and pulled around by the radical right.

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Arts Advocacy Update, LXXIV

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of January 28, 2009:


We think: Arts center can bring jobs, transform downtown Orlando
Orlando Sentinel (FL), 1/25/2009
An Orlando Sentinel editorial argues that "local officials mustn't dawdle on securing financing for the Dr. P. Phillips Orlando Performing Arts Center. It will be a great asset to this community," including creating 1500 jobs and $50.4 million a year in direct spending.
And give Disney some, er, competition?


City receives arts audit
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), 1/28/2009
"An audit of arts programs and education within Lafayette Parish was released Tuesday.... Ultimately, the audit will be used to guide the Lafayette Parish School System’s development of a comprehensive arts curriculum to be implemented at all schools by 2010-11, per a state mandate passed in 2007.... Some recommendations based on the results include the formation of an alliance to promote arts in education; development of external funding sources; more training opportunities for teachers; a comprehensive arts curriculum; and increased public awareness of arts programming available in the community."
Numbers, please. But good for them! Very progressive thinking.


The Return of Cultural Diplomacy
Newsweek, 12/31/2008
"Americans have long believed that exporting movies, pop music, TV shows and other entertainment is both good business and good diplomacy. Is this belief still justified? Regarding business, the answer is yes. . . . Diplomatically speaking, however, the picture is mixed."
As Ambassador and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under George W. Bush, wasn't this what Karen Hughes was supposed to be spearheading? Before we debate it -- or do the "Party of No" Republican thing and trash it -- let's see whether it works. I bet it does.


An Old, Bad Idea for the Arts
Wall Street Journal, 1/23/2009
The idea of a cabinet-level office for the arts is not new, says David A. Smith. "The primary false assumption at play here is that more centralization is the best way for the government to address a problem and signify its importance. . . . Art is a type of human expression fundamentally different from the other activities carried on by people in society, let alone by a state. It is a far more individualistic enterprise and has to be conceived -- I almost am tempted to say jealously guarded -- as such. Similarly, the cultural programs carried out by the American government thrive on the individualism and energy found in their respective agencies. . . . To think of the government's widespread and variegated cultural programs as the proper responsibility of something as bureaucratically ponderous as a single department is, I think, a way to damage the way people ought to think about art."
This piece is a backward, dithering, fear-mongering mess. I have responded to it in an essay that will be on line shortly.


Arts Leaders Urge Role for Culture in Economic Recovery
New York Times, 1/25/2009
"In Congress the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill, approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee, includes a $50 million supplement for the N.E.A. to distribute directly to nonprofit arts organizations and also through state and local arts agencies. . . . Arts groups, meanwhile, are urging federal departments like Transportation or Labor to factor culture into their financing. A transportation enhancement program, for example, could pay artists for related public artworks; through the Labor Department displaced arts professionals could receive new training to stay in the work force. . . . The president is considering the establishment of an arts-and-culture portfolio within the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, according to Bill Ivey."
In the same essay noted above, I respond to this article as well.


Movie Production Incentives Are Said to Help New York
New York Times, 1/27/2009
"Costly state incentives to lure film production and jobs may be paying off, at least in New York. A study of New York’s tax breaks for movie and television production suggested that a 30 percent credit offered by the state, with an additional 5 percent offered by New York City, could be expected to keep or create about 19,500 jobs while yielding $404 million in tax revenue, at a cost of $215 million in credits. But the benefits were heavily weighted toward New York City. . . . The city collects about 6.4 times as much in taxes from film as it spends on incentives...
I'm not surprised and of course very pleased. Other states that jumped on the tax-break bandwagon should take their cue from New York in terms of how they market themselves to the film industry. Because that's an integral part of making this kind of thing work.


Obama Team Convenes Arts Leaders
Musical America, 1/21/2009
"Weeks before he took the oath of office, Barack Obama and his administration were laying the groundwork for sweeping changes -- even in the arts. On Thursday, Jan. 15, Bill Ivey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts who now heads Obama’s transition team for arts and culture, convened a meeting of about 20 arts-service organization heads at the Presidential Transition Team Headquarters on Sixth Street in Washington. . . . 'We didn’t begin by answering Bill’s question about the NEA,' says [LAO head Jesse] Rosen. 'I started by describing the surprising amount of commonality across disciplines and institutions about the challenges we face.' Those include understanding the new audiences they must attract, wanting to be closer to their communities, taking advantage of the new opportunities technology affords. 'There was a sense that our models and ways of doing business needed to be reconsidered and possibly redone or adapted. . . . 'Bill said at one point in the meeting that he was really surprised; he thought we were going to come in waving the banner for more money...."
And the great thing is that here we have a president who may actually get it.


Stimulus Package Includes Millions For The Arts
NPR's All Things Considered, 1/27/2009
The current economic stimulus package includes $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and $150 million for infrastructure repairs at the Smithsonian. While some disagree that such funding is the best way to stimulate the economy, Bill Ivey, former chair of the NEA and a member of the president's transition team, points out that "a healthy arts community is important, especially during hard times. 'We're not going to be able to think about happiness and quality of life only in terms of the next vacation or the bigger house or the new car,' Ivey says. 'Once we move away from a consumerist view of a high quality of life — once we're forced away from it — arts and culture, creativity, homemade art, those things can begin to come to the fore.' Ivey hopes government will play a role in making sure that happens."
Sure, ok, yeah, but this isn't Ivey's strongest argument. The strongest argument remains economic impact and jobs and he -- and the other arts leaders, such as Teresa Eyring at TCG -- have a moral responsibility to pound and pound on that information. They're doing a tremendous amount, but it's not enough. All talk is cheap when no Republican votes for the stimulus.


Unleash the arts -- 1 percent of the stimulus package
Mansfield News-Journal, 1/25/2009
The board chairman of the DC-Based Institute for Policy Studies calls for WPA-style support for the arts to be included in the stimulus package now before Congress. "The Institute for Policy Studies recently launched a petition calling for 1 percent of the stimulus package to be spent on the arts. This arts stimulus initiative wouldn't just boost funding for public programs. The money could create workplace arts and reading programs, increase fellowship and scholarship support for artists, foster cultural exchange programs with other nations and support artist- and writer-in- residence programs in schools and public libraries, and more."
Nice sentiment, but ain't gonna happen as long as no Republican votes for the stimulus.

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXIII

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of January 21, 2009:


Arts groups keep building through recession
Crain's New York Business, 1/14/2009
"Construction spending by New York City cultural institutions will have an economic impact of $2.2 billion and create 2,500 full-time jobs per year in the period from 2006 to 2010, according to a report released Wednesday by the Alliance for the Arts. The report, Culture Builds New York: The Economic Impact of Capital Construction at New York City's Cultural Institutions, also determined that the construction projects will generate around $28.5 million in local taxes for the city."
I referred to this report in an earlier post.


The New New Deal 2009: Public Service Jobs for Artists?
Community Arts Network Reading Room, December 2008
Arlene Goldbard explores ideas for public-service employment opportunities for artists. After surveying the WPA programs of the 1930's and CETA in the 1970's, Goldbard reviews three new ideas - The National Campaign to Hire Artists to Work in Schools; The National Green Arts Corps; and The Music National Service Initiative - and then shares four key lessons for going forward.
Oooooooh, this is just going to scare the bejesus out of the disenfranchised and mortified right-wing. Not only did they bankrupt the country, not only do they have the blood of American treasure running through their fingers on the basis of a war-inducing lie, but with stories and ideas like this one, there are going to be a lot more hyper-partisan, anti-Obama wingnuts screaming about socialism, as in this completely blithering article.


The New New Deal, Part 2 - A New WPA for Artists: How and Why
Community Arts Network Reading Room, January 2009
As a follow-up to her December essay on the idea of a "New WPA for Artists," this second essay by Arlene Goldbard "focuses on two new additional aspects of the topic: what a new WPA might look like, and a summary of strong public policy arguments for its creation."
I refer you, my right honorable friend, to the comment directly above.


7 ways to support artists
Toronto Star (Canada), 1/19/2009
"In Ireland, artists pay no income tax on earnings below 250,000 euros. In Scandinavian countries, artists deemed to have made significant contributions over the course of a lifetime receive special recognition – and income support – from the government. In Australia, legislation allows artists to average income over a five-year span, protecting them from the highs and lows of chosen careers that promise personal fulfilment at the cost of long-term security. In Canada, we have a lot to learn about how to nurture the people who help us define ourselves, say artists and experts who have studied their economic well-being." Bruce Demara offers seven ideas, ranging from income averaging for tax purposes to affordable live/work space to easier access to credit.
But will the right-wing go for it? Probably not. What they want is to silence artists and make their lives fiscally impossible. That gives them satisfaction.


Community Foundations and Arts Groups Ask for Economic-Stimulus Help
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 1/14/2009
"As Congress and President-elect Barack Obama grapple with how to structure their economic-stimulus measures, ...Americans for the Arts, an advocacy group, has proposed a package of measures to increase spending on arts groups.... The group proposed the stimulus measures provide at least $2-billion under the Community Development Block Grants program for projects to build and modernize arts facilities; and emergency funds to the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. It also proposed increased arts funds for a range of federal programs, including the Labor Department’s adult, youth, and dislocated worker programs; the Agriculture Department’s rural-development program; the Commerce Department’s economic-development grants; and the Transportation Department’s transportation-enhancement program."
I've also covered this in a previous post but this story is worthwhile reading.


Does U.S. Need A Culture Czar?
NPR's Morning Edition, 1/16/2009
"The idea of a Cabinet-level official for the arts has gotten some buzz lately. After all, many other countries have ministers of culture. High-profile artists such as Quincy Jones think it's necessary in the U.S., but not everyone agrees."
As of today, there are 181,226 signatures on the petition, but I don't think Obama is going to take this step. It's politically, sadly, too risky. But I think he may well appoint someone at cabinet level or near it to oversee arts policy, which would be far, far better than the snarling and benign neglect of former President Bush.


Ernst & Young: NM film incentives = good ROI
New Mexico Business Weekly, 1/16/2009
"The film industry and its supporters in New Mexico are most likely breathing a sigh of relief. The long-awaited study by Ernst & Young on the economic return by the state’s film and media incentives found that for every $1 extended in state tax credits, state and local governments received $1.50. . . . An earlier study by the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, commissioned by the Legislative Finance Committee, found that New Mexico gets about 14.4 cents in tax revenue for every dollar it spends on a tax rebate for film productions. Critics, including Richardson’s staff, said the report was not comprehensive enough in reviewing the total economic impact of the industry."
Don't you love when politicians use phrases like "not comprehensive enough" as code for "it's politically impossible to endorse this"?


NEA in Recovery Package
artnet, 1/20/2009
"The vast $825-billion economic recovery package unveiled by congressional Democrats on Jan. 15, 2009, does have a tiny little boon for the arts: a $50-million budgetary boost for the National Endowment for the Arts. Despite the modesty of the request -- about 3/500ths of one percent of the total -- some Republicans have already taken issue with the allocation."
Of course, because that $50 million could be used to furnish jobs to good white supremicists who vote reliably Republican.


Obama eyes NEA head
Los Angeles Times, 1/16/2009
"[I]t increasingly looks like Michael Dorf, a Chicago attorney who has played key roles in shaping arts policy in both his city and on a national level, is the leading candidate to become chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in the Obama administration. At least, he’s won the outspoken support of union leaders who represent workers in the arts and entertainment fields..."
Smart choice, I think. Certainly Dorf should be able to rise above partisanship.


Trends and Future Prospects for the Arts Predict Changing Role for State Agencies
Rand Corporation, 2008
From the Rand website:
State arts agencies — key players within the U.S. system of public support for the arts — face growing economic, political, and demographic challenges to the roles and missions they adopted when founded in the mid-1960s. This report, the fourth and final in a multiyear study, looks at state arts agencies' efforts to rethink their roles and missions, reflecting on what the changes may mean for the direction of state arts policy. Drawing on readings, discussions, and analyses conducted for the study, the author concludes that if current trends and strategies continue, future state arts policy is likely to focus more on developing the creative economy, improving arts education, and encouraging a broader spectrum of state residents to participate in the arts. To achieve these goals, state arts agencies will likely become more involved in policy advocacy, coalition building, convening, and gathering and disseminating information than in grantmaking. The transition to this future poses some risks for the agencies and for the arts community, but it also offers the opportunity to more effectively promote the conditions in which the arts can thrive.
You can download a PDF of the full report here.

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Arts Advocacy Update LXXII

The content below is from Americans for the Arts' Cultural Policy Listserv, email blast of January 15, 2009:


From Rust Belt to Artist Belt: Challenges and Opportunities in the Rust Belt Cities
Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, 2008
This report explains why artist-based community development (ABCD) is a smart strategy for revitalizing rust belt cities, and discusses issues that cities must address in order to foster such development.
And if not artist-based community development, what are politicians offering as a way to revitalize these areas? I strongly suspect that the right-wing will very soon be seizing upon art as a controversial hot potato, shades of the NEA wars of the early 1990s. Given our economic conditions, they do so at their own peril. Also, for purposes of understanding what the report is focusing on, consider these two graphs:

The term Rust Belt has become synonymous with Midwestern and Northeastern cities that experienced their heydays in the early 20th century and, by century’s end, suffered plant closures, widespread unemployment and general decline. These metropolitan areas were once home to "big factories, big autos, and big steel," but now find themselves the reluctant holders of countless hollowed-out factories, the reminders of a once-prosperous past.

In this paper, the term "Rust Belt" will refer to the area generally bounded by the cities of Syracuse, NY, and Milwaukee, WI, in the north; Milwaukee, Chicago, IL, Indianapolis, IN, and Cincinnati, OH, in the west; Cincinnati, and Allentown, PA, in the south; and Allentown and Syracuse in the east. Not all of the cities found within this region fit directly into the traditional Rust Belt image, such as Indianapolis, IN, Chicago, IL, and Columbus, OH, while many outside of it, including Baltimore, MD; Newark, NJ; and St. Louis, MO, are affected by Rust Belt-like economic patterns.

For this reason, these proposed boundary lines are for general illustrative purposes only. This paper focuses particular attention on Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Flint, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Milwaukee, WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Toledo, OH; and Youngstown, OH.


Study: Arts bring area big bucks
Rock Hill Herald (SC), 1/9/2009
"Arts and cultural programs generate $7 million in spending every year in York County [SC], a bigger number than arts boosters say they had estimated. Artists and their organizations account for $4.7 million of that total -- whether it's paying employees, buying supplies or hiring contractors to help set up for festivals. Audiences generate the remaining $2.3 million when they buy tickets, stay in hotels or spring for popcorn during intermission."
Lots of popcorn...


Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development
National Governors Association, 2009
"The creative industries offer numerous benefits to state economies, and states have an opportunity to both improve livability and boost state and local economies by investing in the arts and culture. This report offers insights and examples from states across the country to help governors incorporate the arts and culture into state economic development strategies. In particular, this report provides governors with tips on how to understand and measure their creative industries, develop plans to capitalize on the benefits of those industries, and provide support that helps sustain the contributions of the arts and culture sector. It also explores the arts and culture in the context of their contributions to local community development and state tourism, providing information on how states can incorporate these aspects into their overall economic development strategies."
And yet, what is the first thing that's cut? (Mind you, this doesn't mean I'm going to back away from my post of the other day questioning what is fair to ask the creative community in New York to sacrifice in terms of the NYSCA budget if we all must sacrifice something to do our part to save the economy.)


Report calls for re-energizing arts education
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI), 1/9/2009
"A task force of educators, arts professionals and business people called Friday for efforts to re-energize and expand arts programs at all levels of schooling in Wisconsin. Among the ideas floated by the task force: making demonstrations of achievement in the arts a factor in deciding admission to public and private colleges and universities in Wisconsin and creating a state-funded program to match the amounts put up by local school districts for new efforts promoting the arts and creativity. The 36-person task force was created by Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster, who says in the report, 'Like a GPS, this report outlines the course of action we must follow to make our schools work for Wisconsin today.'"
Great. Pay for it.


Everybody from government to loyal patrons are bailing
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 1/9/2009
A Fort Wayne News-Sentinel editorial makes a pitch for increased public arts funding. "Even in economically healthy times, there are debates about the proper role of the 'fine' arts in society....In these decidedly unhealthy times, the question is not whether to abandon the arts but how fast to bail. Governments are cutting back - the city of Indianapolis has reduced its 2009 arts funding by a third, and the state's contribution will drop by 10 percent. But that's not all. Even dependable patrons - those supporters who donate year after year - have drastically reduced their giving.... [I]sn't it fair to ask why government still subsidizes those who would survive anyway instead of those who are struggling? Think about that the next time you watch the Colts play."
Wow, nice slam on the Colts. Well, it has to do with left-right politics, people, and it has to do with the arts not making a good enough economic case for themselves directly to the people who control the money.


DO TO THE SEMI-HYSTERICAL OBJECTION OF A CERTAIN SO-CALLED LEADER OF THE INDUSTRY, THE ORIGINAL LINK AND REPLY FROM THIS SPACE HAS BEEN REMOVED.


Quincy Jones Leads Chorus Urging a Cabinet-Level Arts Czar
Washington Post - Reuters, 1/14/2009
"A call for President-elect Barack Obama to give the arts and humanities a Cabinet-level post -- perhaps even create a secretary of culture -- is gaining momentum. By yesterday, 76,000 people had signed an online petition, started by two New York musicians who were inspired by producer Quincy Jones. In a radio interview in November, Jones said the country needed a minister of culture, like France, Germany or Finland has.... Recently, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and former NEH chairman William Ferris have pushed for unification of the government's efforts under one office.... Last month, 15 organizations joined Americans for the Arts in petitioning the Obama-Biden transition team to stop the fragmentation of cultural policy."
I was number 13869. As of this writing, there are 133,641 signatures.


The 10 first steps that Barack Obama could take to renew the arts
The Art Newspaper, 1/14/2009
David A. Ross, a gallery owner and former museum director, shares 10 ideas on how President Obama could help renew the arts by amending the tax code, an artist employment program, revitalization of the arts and humanities endowments, increased funding of the IMLS, investment in arts and music education, a new Arts America program, a simplified and expedited visa process, direct grants to artists, a cabinet-level Secretary for Art and Culture or a White House arts advisory office, and an emergency bailout fund for cultural institutions.
Brilliant. Here are the 10 ideas, all of which are worth discussion (though I think number 4 is kind of off the point -- the NEA and NHA should be funded and spun off as autonomous -- and thus depoliticized -- genuine endowments):

1. Support the tax code amendment currently in the works that would give artists tax incentives for donating their work to public museums, and fully restore the tax incentive for gifts of appreciated property to museums and other non-profit educational organisations.

2. Re-establish a programme employing artists in a wide range of cultural institutions.

3. Revive and rebuild the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, de-politicising their processes, and providing them with budgets necessary to support the American cultural community. Nothing less than annual appropriation of $750m (as opposed to $290m today) is needed.

4. Create an independent study of the operating expenses of our museums and libraries, and then fund the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) sufficiently, so that the core costs of our museums and libraries can be properly met. (The same should be done in support of reinvigorating the infrastructure of our institutions of music, dance and theatre.)

5. Invest in art and music education for all school pupils, and ensure that these efforts are coordinated with the increased spending in direct artist support, as well as renewed institutional infrastructure and programme support.

6. Rebuild a new Arts America programme to allow American artists, musicians, dancers and writers to serve as cultural ambassadors and help rebuild the image of the United States around the world.

7. Simplify and expedite the process for obtaining (de-politicised) visas for visiting foreign artists, musicians and academics.

8. Restore direct federal and state grants for artists, musicians and writers (including critics).

9. Establish either a cabinet-level Secretary for Art and Culture, or at the very least, create a White House arts advisory office to coordinate and show presidential support for American culture.

10. Create an emergency bailout fund for cultural institutions in dire need during this current credit crisis. At least $250m will be necessary, but this is a drop in the ocean when compared with the value these institutions return to the nation as a whole. This single act will affirm to all that the federal government will not stand by and allow these great resources to falter.


Minnesota Foundations, Corporations Expect Giving to Decline in 2009, Report Finds
Philanthropy News Digest, 1/12/2009
"After several years of increases, giving by Minnesota foundations and corporate grantmakers is expected to decline in 2009, a new report from the Minnesota Council on Foundations finds.... 40 percent of grantmakers in the state expect their giving to decline in 2009, 41 percent expect their giving to remain flat, and 15 percent hope to increase their grantmaking.... The survey also found that the number of grants awarded by Minnesota grantmakers will most likely fall; that grantmakers expect to maintain their current priorities, adjusting somewhat to meet shifting community needs; and that grantmakers are likely to offer more non-monetary and in-kind support to nonprofits facing economic challenges."
Well, I guess they can forget about any corporate philanthropy from the Minnesota Star-Tribune, right?

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