Here we go again… Rhode Island is broke, so how do we stem the tide? Cut spending for the arts.
Good grief. In the grand context of the state’s budget troubles, support for the R.I. State Council on the Arts seems like small potatoes. This week Gov. Carcieri submitted his budget to the General Assembly and with it a 58 percent cut in funding for the arts council, which funnels money to non-profit arts organizations throughout the state.
Why do we have to go through this every year? Even in some years when the state has been flush, political leaders have tried to reduce spending for the arts. When you consider that most school systems have stripped arts related programs to the bone, it makes you wonder how any kid attending public schools will ever be inspired to embrace art, music, dance or theatre as essential to their quality of life.
Beyond philosophy, cutting the meager amount spent by the state on the arts makes no practical sense. It isn’t going to have any impact on the state’s deficit, nor will it help re-direct the negative economic trends that have catapulted the deficit into the relative stratosphere. In the long run, a cut of this magnitude in the Arts Council’s budget will cost the state jobs, not to mention part of its cultural fabric.
According to R.I. Citizens for the Arts, a non-profit advocacy group that is leading the charge against the proposed budget reduction, every dollar invested by the state through the Arts Council generates $21.55 in funds from other sources (mostly matching grants from foundations and other donors). Even more to the point, arts activities in Rhode Island generate millions of dollars for businesses throughout the state.
Citizens for the Arts claims that in Providence alone non-profit arts and cultural organizations generate over $111 million in economic activity for hotels, restaurants, shops and others. They say that the state has more than 2,000 businesses that are directly or indirectly involved in creative industries, and these businesses employ nearly 12,000 people.
Can Rhode Island afford to lose half of those 12,000 jobs? Why would you cut arts and cultural investment when that sector of the economy has grown while others have shrunk? It makes no sense, especially when you consider how small the investment is compared to the overall size of the state budget.
Every community stands to lose in this scenario, especially Newport, where cultural tourism forms one of the foundations for the city’s economy.
Anyone who is concerned about the proposed cut in arts and cultural funding should make themselves known to legislators and state leaders. Fixing Rhode Island’s fiscal problems isn’t a simple task, but chipping away at good investments like arts and culture shouldn’t be part of the solution. There are much bigger fish to fry, and some of them take far more from the state than they contribute.
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Newport, RI
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d trade unions pensions for arts funding. In fact, I’d trade unions entirely for a hamburger next tuesday… the state pension fund is consuming all of our resources and is unsustainable. So, if you want to start cutting…
“Citizens for the Arts claims that in Providence alone non-profit arts and cultural organizations generate over $111 million in economic activity for hotels, restaurants, shops and others. They say that the state has more than 2,000 businesses that are directly or indirectly involved in creative industries, and these businesses employ nearly 12,000 people. Can Rhode Island afford to lose half of those 12,000 jobs?”
I’m not comfortable with this argument that art and art funding should exist because it has the potential to create jobs. This is misguided thinking that characterizes our conception of culture and the arts.
I assure you that none of my artistic endeavors create much revenue or much income. Does that lessen my value?
In case you didn’t see it, the economic benefits of the arts and creative sector were highlighted on the front page of today’s (2/8) Providence Journal.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/ARTS_CUTS_02-08-10_O7HBOFP_v25.3cfa1f4.html
Today’s demanding employers seek the skills provided by a comprehensive education in the arts. Arts education has been proven over and over to help students increase cognitive development, inspire motivation and discipline, develop confidence and inventiveness, and hone communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, children who study the arts continue to outperform non-arts students on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs).
Cultural tourism is the leading reason cited by travelers for visiting a community, critical to Newport’s sustainability. The arts
enhance community development, promote cultural planning, stimulate business development, spur urban renewal, attract new businesses, and improve the overall quality of life in our cities and towns. The arts nourishe our minds and souls.
Art matters!
John Hirschboeck
Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County
Paul’s right to bring up the importance of art for its own sake and for the sake of our souls. And although neither he nor I get paid much for devoting our lives to art, we do manage somehow to pay the rent, buy groceries and, yes, pay taxes. And if there were somehow NO ART, both Paul and I would be competent to find other ways to while away the daylight hours. But, this is our profession, and is the profession of many people, like my dancers. If arts funding and support for the arts goes away, the immediate effect would be that many people would not be able to pay the rent or taxes. Unemployed artists go on unemployment just like unemployed auto workers. How much better for the legislature to keep artists employed (to the very small degree that state arts funding even has much to do with it) than to unplug this very neat relationship where they kick in $700,000 (yes, out of a $400 million deficit, this is the savings we are talking about) to generate $1.5 million kitty out of which we all pay our rent and our taxes. it’s not romantic, but it is the truth.