For the past several months, the arts and culture communities of New Jersey have rallied their supporters in opposition to the proposed state budget cut of 27 percent to state cultural funding in 2009. In previous blog posts, we’ve discussed how it affects McCarter for the coming Season; every arts organization, across all distinctions of size and media, will feel the impact of this reduction of state-supplied funds, and it will affect the breadth and amount of arts programs available throughout the state. 

 Now, here comes the cautious optimism—thanks to individuals across the state, who wrote their legislators, tabled at public events, and came out in droves in support of arts, history, and culture organizations, over 3.25 Million dollars in cultural funding  was restored, and awaits the Governor’s signature. The campaign for restoration of funding was spearheaded by ArtPride New Jersey, an organization that emphasizes the cultural and economic importance of the Arts in New Jersey.

 

 

(McCarter Pride Moment: Artpride’s Executive Director, Ann Marie Miller, formerly held the post of Director of Development here; she’s poured a tremendous amount of effort into this campaign, and it really shows. Congratulations, Ann Marie!).

 

 So, long story short, here’s the state of the arts right now, in regard to state funding: arts organizations braced themselves for a state funding cut of 27 percent; the funding cut looks to be closer to 12 percent now, which is a victory for all of us that called, wrote letters, or otherwise stood up for the importance of arts in our lives.

 

But here’s the thing I’m stuck on—what happens next time? What happens next year, if (or when?) there’s another proposed drastic funding cut? Do we gear up and rally once more, like we did this year, or five years ago? How many times can we speak out only in times of potential crisis before it stops working?

 

We have to develop a habit of talking about how the arts affect our lives year-round, even when (especially when!) funding is available and all seems to be going well. The outpouring of support in this time of year was phenomenal; I’m making a personal call to keep it going.

 

When you see a play you love, when you visit a museum with an extraordinary exhibit, when you find yourself transformed by a dance piece or sculpture or spoken word artist or happening—sit down and write your local legislator. They’re listening; it only takes a few minutes to make a tremendous impact. Artpride has a great list of quick and concise ways to make your voice heard here.

 

There’s a host of reasons why support for the arts is vital to our state; I can cite economic reasons, I can offer information on current funding initiatives in place for arts and cultural tourism, I can share information on the crucial role of arts education in personal development.

 

And all of this is important to me; each and every one of the above reasons is a good reason to support arts funding in New Jersey. But I have to be honest in saying that what drives me to action on this goes beyond my working for McCarter—it’s the amazing arts experiences I’ve had the good fortune to witness in this state. From the unbelievable Appel Farms Arts and Music Festival in Elmer earlier this month, to long afternoons roaming Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, to family trips to Paper Mill when I was younger, to discovering McCarter when I was a teenager, I find that a great deal of the benchmark moments of my life thus far occurred while participating in the arts. And I want to ensure that those same experiences are in place for others for generations to come. And I know that there are many of you out there who share these feelings.

 

So, speak out! Use the resources of ArtPride to keep the flow of positivity about arts funding going.

McCarter will be on summer recess next week; we’ll be back July 7^th, with more blog posts and news about the upcoming 2008-2009 Season. So, have a great 4^th of July—we’ll see you when we get back!  

 

Posted by Jonathan Elliott, Marketing Manager at McCarter Theatre Center

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.