News from the NEA

A message from the National Endowment for the Arts:

President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union speech before the United States Congress where he addressed three areas of concern that resonate with arts advocates: federal spending, jobs and education policy. Earlier this week, 165 conservative members of Congress representing the Republican Study Committee called for termination of the National Endowment for the Arts and key arts education programs at the U.S. Department of Education. We know that the battle to protect these programs will be tough this year, but with your help, not insurmountable.

Please take two minutes to take action and send a message to your member of Congress in support of the National Endowment for the Arts or arts education at the U.S. Department of Education.

Several major newspapers across the country interviewed Americans for the Arts President and CEO Bob Lynch in response to the dubious notion that cutting the arts will actually reduce the nation’s deficit. In today’s New York Times, Bob pointed out that the arts support 5.7 million jobs in the United States that generate about $30 billion in taxes, nearly $13 billion of which goes to the federal government and said, "If they’re serious about jobs and they’re serious about income, they would invest more in the arts.”

Since 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has been serving arts organizations and artists in every state and every community. The arts not only play an important role in our nation’s well-being and foster creativity and innovation, but they also create jobs and prepare our workforce to compete in the global economy. Including the arts in a comprehensive and formal education for every student is critical. The education reforms that the President and leaders in Congress should be looking at are ones that strengthen the role of the arts and truly implement it as a core academic subject in schools throughout the country.

Help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. If you are not already a member play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today -- it's free and simple.

The Symphony (and more) Ask You to Lend a Voice

From the Allentown Symphony:

The state of Pennsylvania has finally reached a budget deal, but with a cost to arts and culture. Included in the budget proposed by Governor Rendell is a provision to extend Pennsylvania’s 6% state sales tax to include concert and theatre tickets, dance and performing arts events, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks. The impetus for this action is that the revenue generated from these taxes could result in long term funding for the arts and cultural sector. However, sports and movies, which are known to be big revenue generators, are able to keep their tax exemptions in Pennsylvania.

Allentown Symphony Association (ASA) reaches 55,000 people each year including 14,130 children through its educational programming. This year, in a difficult economy the ASA decided to keep ticket prices the same and increase the number of events offered, giving the ASA the opportunity to see an increase in ticket sales and patron involvement. Under this proposed budget ticket prices will go up placing an additional burden on our patrons, but the extra money will go to the State with the promise of ‘some’ of the funds being used to fund arts program and the State keeps the rest. No more information than this has been shared with the organizations that will be affected!

Pennsylvania is also threatening to eliminate its Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC), a program that encourages area businesses to fund educational programs, defined by law to be “innovative” educational programs. Allentown Symphony has six curriculum based programs that would be negatively affected by the loss of these EITC funding m including Musicians in Schools, Musical Treasure Chest, Master Classes, Instrument Petting Zoo, the Arts Walk, and City Arts Camp.

Finally, the lack of State funding for the arts is impacting and ultimately reducing the level of funding support from the County of Lehigh. The negative impact of these changes are still unknown, however, they will certainly affect operations and education. Most Pennsylvania arts organizations have already taken drastic staffing cuts.
Allentown Symphony Association offers reasonably priced tickets to all of its symphonic concerts, the new Met: LIVE HD series, and all educational programs are offered at little or no cost to schools in an effort to be accessible and invest in our Lehigh Valley community. These community educational opportunities should not be weighed down with increased admission costs due to a new sales tax inclusion.
I am writing to ask you to help the Allentown Symphony Association and arts and culture in the Lehigh Valley by writing to your state representative and addressing this important issue

Here is what you can do:Using the contact information at the bottom of this email, call in or e-mail the following message:

Hello, my name is _____________, and as a resident of Lehigh/Northampton/______ county, I’m contacting you in opposition to an expansion of the state sales tax to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in order to balance the FY10 state budget. In these tough economic times, increased ticket prices only tax working families out of arts and cultural venues such as concerts, museums, and parks. Interestingly, sports and movies – which are huge revenue generators in Pennsylvania – remain exempt from the tax. This doesn’t seem right. I think that those of us who work in or support these nonprofit institutions in our region should be a part of the conversation on long-term solutions for cultural funding. I ask that Senator/Representative __________bring this message to caucus leadership before the budget is signed into law.


Your help in keeping Arts and Culture in our community affordable and accessible is greatly appreciated.

With No Budget in Sight, Arts Action is Still Needed

Some innovative ways to attract attention to the proposed cut in arts funding from the Council on the Arts:

As you well know, we are in month 3 of the Pennsylvania Budget Battle with no budget in sight as of today. Pressure still needs to be put on the members of the PA General Assembly by arts advocates if we want the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) funded at the $14 million level for arts grants and at $1.2 million for the administration of the PCA.

We, at Citizens for the Arts in PA, have been thinking about what an "artless" Pennsylvania might look like if funding for the PCA is eliminated or severely reduced. Musikfest in Bethlehem and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art have given us some idea as to what might happen with their organizations if they received a severe reduction in PCA grant funds. Inspired by these two organizations, we are asking you to participate "ArtLess Wednesdays" starting 9/9/09 and continuing each Wednesday until a state budget is passed. Please make a symbolic gesture that will demonstrate the impact of the absence of state support on your organization.

Lots of ideas are being discussed, including a temporary landing page for arts organizations' websites to push the message as well as awestricken for your use. These are is currently under construction. Arts organizations in Altoona are banning together to drape black coverings across their windows that contains a sign statements such as "this is what your downtown will look like without state arts funding" and "would you pay 5 cents per week to keep the arts in Pennsylvania?" Covering outdoor art and window cards in galleries on First Fridays or other gallery walks are other suggestions. Maybe you can organize a quartet playing without instruments in the town square.

We want to spark innovative, creative and artistic action by you and your grantees, either collectively or individually. The purpose is to attract media and public attention to the importance of arts support and to use that to promote advocacy.

If you have other ways to draw public attention to how your communities might be impacted by a Draconian cut to the PCA budget, please share them with me at jlh@citizensfortheartsinpa.org and I'll post them on our website and in this newsletter. We're counting on your participation for Artless Wednesdays. Keep in touch and let us know how you plan to participate. Thanks for all of your help and let's keep fighting!

Jenny

PCA to be eliminated in 2010 budget - Help Needed

The state legislature is considering eliminating the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in the 2010 budget. Millions of dollars in funding would be cut to programs throughout the state, including dozens of arts programs and institutions in the Lehigh Valley.

The PCA provides grants for arts projects, fellowships to artists and funds to great organizations, such as Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, Allentown Art Museum and many, many more.

Please contact your legislator. This is not a partisan issue, both the House Republicans and Democrats are proposing elimination of the PCA.

Go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ to look up your representative so you can let them know your views on arts funding in Pennsylvania.