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Contact your Senators!

posted by Susie Medak on Tue, Feb 10, 2009
in General theatre talk

President Obama proposed including $50 million for the arts in the stimulus package and, once again, the culture wars are upon us. Our senators have defeated efforts to support the arts. Now is our last chance to fight to include artists among the people who can be put to work as part of stimulating our economy. It is also the final opportunity to remove the onerous amendment that would prohibit arts organizations from receiving the benefits of any stimulus money... be it NEA funds, environmental funds, capital improvements funds, education funds, etc.

Click here to take action: http://theperformingartsalliance.org/campaign/SupporttheArtsintheEconomicStimulusBill/65b56x947iwtxm3.

And, in case you're interested, here are some more of my thoughts on this topic:

Since when are artists not workers? During the Great Depression, artists of every persuasion were employed by the government... actors, directors, writers, painters, and musicians were all eligible for subsidized work. And the result was that some of the most important artists of the 20th century were given the chance, early in their careers, to hone their skills. Authors like Saul Bellow and directors like Orson Welles, to name only two, were fed by the WPA. And our post offices and schools are embellished with the work of sculptors and painters like Diego Rivera who immortalized that period through their unique sensibilities.

In the late '60s or early '70s, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) was open to artists and arts organizations along with every other industry in the country. The result of that initiative is the hundreds (if not thousands) of arts organizations that have enriched our communities throughout the last 40 years. There is a great tradition in this country of recognizing that artists have real, substantial value and that they contribute to a societal good. They contribute to the common good. They should be entitled to all the same benefits as the rest of our American workforce.

As for infrastructure, we have already submitted to the City of Berkeley a list of shovel-ready projects that we’d like to see included for consideration, should our city receive stimulus money. We’ve taken the position that our ability to spend money for physical improvements has as much validity as does programs for the City pound, street improvements, local housing projects, or university expansion. Our ability to impact the viability of the area’s restaurants and shops is well documented. Our impact within the schools is unparalleled in the state. And artists, just like every construction worker, pay taxes, purchase groceries, and pour money into the local economy.

I came across this opinion piece in the Boston Globe last week. It is specifically about Brandeis University's decision to sell its art collection, but at some level it speaks to this issue of why we must support art and artists. You can read it at http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/02/05/why_should_we_care_about_the_arts/.

Please join us in supporting the arts as an essential part of the American economy.