Dedicated arts funding is essential for the stability of the local economy. Learn more about local arts funding and take action to support the arts today.
The District of Columbia needs to amend the Universal Commercial Code to protect Artists involved in artist/gallery transactions. Learn more about the issue, and take action today.
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The arts are at the core of the District of Columbia, and are central within local policies for development, sustainability, education, and community health. The DC Advocates for the Arts work to increase support for District arts through interaction with arts leaders and policy-makers. We conduct research, track policy, and serve as a resource for policy-makers and the arts community. If you'd like to participate in our group activities and advocacy, please sign up for our mailing list by using the form to the left. Are you a parent? Join our group, "Parents for Arts Education in DC Schools" on facebook.
If this is your first time visiting the site please take a few minutes to browse the arts policy resource materials in the Blog and Research pages. To see the draft FY 11 arts budget, click here. On March 3rd, 2010 the DC Advocates for the Arts conducted our 9th annual Arts Advocacy Day. To see what we talked about, check out our Summary of FY 11 Legislative Requests here, or visit the Arts Advocacy Day page on this site.
Whether you are an artist, or a fan of the arts, arts advocacy can be part of your support for the arts. Many people don't understand why the arts are important, or why the government should be involved in support of the arts. The most powerful way that you can advocate for the arts is to educate yourself on the issues, and speak to your friends, family, and colleagues about why you support the arts.
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New York City Art Coalition Launches 1% Campaign
Reporting August 29th, 2010 in Crains New York, Miriam Kreinin Souccar reported on a new multi-year effort to secure one percent of New York Citys budget for the arts. An excerpt: "Stung by the recession, budget cuts and a drop in charitable giving, New York Citys cultural institutions are launching a major campaign to convince the city to allocate 1% of its annual budget to arts funding. The groups will announce the three-year effort, called the 'One Percent for Culture Campaign', on Labor Day at the West Indian American Day Carnival parade, one of the city's largest parades.
Arts executives say city funding has been declining for years, even before the recession. This year, the cultural groups -- of which there are around 1,200 throughout the city, ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Staten Island Childrens Museum -- received about $149.5 million, just 0.23% of the municipal budget. Last year, they received around $158 million, or 0.26%. Their goal is to prove to both elected officials and the general public how important the cultural industry is to the city. Recent reports show that nonprofit cultural groups attract 26 million tourists and generate $5.8 billion in economic impact each year. 'We need to communicate to current elected officials and future ones and to the public that the funding is abysmally low and it has not kept up with inflation for two decades,' says Norma Munn, chairperson of the New York City Arts Coalition." Click here to read the article.
Day Eight founder Robert Bettmann founded the DCAA Steering Committee in 2007. He is currently Board Chair. Mr. Bettmann is a dancer, choreographer, writer, and editor. He is the Artistic Director of Bettmann Dances, the editor of the local arts magazine Bourgeon (online at http://www.bourgeononline.com), and the author of Somatic Ecology, a book of environmental history/theory published by VDM: Verlag in May of 2009. To learn more about Day Eight visit www.dayeight.org.
