“State funded arts programs have survived but with significant economic scars,” ~ Laurel Murphy, community arts blogger.
I received many emails this year from arts organizations urging me to lobby on behalf of the arts. There were times when it appeared that National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) would lose all funding and the Washington State Arts Commission would cease to exist as a separate agency.
Financial funding for art looked bleak.
The FY 2011 budget battles are over and federal and state funded arts programs have survived but with significant economic scars. The Federal budget was passed in April and NEA’s budget was reduced $12.5 million from its FY 2010 level of $167.5 million. The budget also included $25.5 million in funding for the Arts in Education program at the U.S. Department of Education. However, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved a bill on May 26 that would eliminate this arts education program. (The beginning of the FY2012 battles.)
Governor Gregoire’s proposed budget called for an 80% reduction in funding to the Washington State Arts Commission, dropping its annual support from $1.2 million to $250,000. The Governor also proposed moving the Commission from an independent agency into the Department of Commerce. The final budget, which passed after a special session on May 25, approved an operating budget of $1.1 million (a 10% reduction from last year) and retention of the Commission as an independent agency. There were no changes to the public arts program.
We can be very grateful that we do not live in Kansas. Over the Memorial Day weekend, their Governor, Sam Brownback, eliminated state funding for the state arts program. This leaves Kansas as the only state without an arts agency. The good news is that 49 states still have funded state arts agencies.
As I am writing this, the news is all about a double-dip recession. Economics will continue to affect the arts. The 2009 National Arts Index, a report from the Americans for the Arts, indicates that arts events attendance and funding has declined during this recession.
However, the report also shows that the number of Americans who are participating in arts activities is up 5% since 2005 and volunteering has risen by 11.6%!
We can see this trend in our community. Lord & McCord Art Works and two quilt shops have opened during these economic bad times and are surviving. The Quilt Nest in Castle Rock has increased its stock from 500 to 5000 bolts of fabric in the last five years. Our community has pledged over $10,000 in the last year to the Longview Outdoor Gallery, a program that will place sculptures in downtown Longview.
So while we hope that Washington does not become the next Kansas, let us all rejoice in our abundance of local art events and activities.
This the first in an ongoing series of articles about the arts economy by Laurel Murphy, community arts supporter, who blogs about the arts at ExperienceArt.