Canaries in the Mineshaft
The State of Public Funding for the Arts
Monday, October 10, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Organized by Robert Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts.
According to reports from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), six state arts agencies faced elimination proposals in 2010 and, so far in 2011, four state agencies defeated elimination proposals. Earlier this year, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback issued a reorganization order eliminating the Kansas Arts Commission, and the general fund appropriation for the Arizona Commission on the Arts was eradicated. Budget projections by NASAA for state arts agencies show eleven states projecting flat funding for 2012, with thirty-one states projecting decreases. How do changes in private funding mirror the reductions to public funding for the arts? Who is at risk in the nonprofit arts sector? Are we prepared to address changes in the public and private funding infrastructure in our country?
