Arts funding on chopping block

By MARK SAGE/Staff

Barter Theatre’s Producing Artistic Direct Rick Rose said political, not fiscal, reasons led to the House Appropriations Committee’s plan to slash arts funding next year and do away with the Virginia Commission for the Arts completely as of July 1, 2011.
Rose said the panel of legislators is cutting arts not because it makes sense or cents, but because the opportunity presented itself.
On Feb. 21, the Appropriations Committee voted 15-7 to cut state funding to the Commission for the Arts by 50 percent in 2010-11 and to eliminate the agency in July 2011.
Bob Cassell of the Arts Depot said the arts is a great tourism draw and a funding cut would reduce income from that.
Rose agreed, saying that for every cut, there will be an equal dollar amount in job losses. He said that generally investments into the arts are returned on a $7 to $1 level. It makes no business sense at all, he said, especially for an administration that is promoting job growth.
“You can’t tout jobs and cut them on the other hand,” Rose said.
The cuts go beyond state money, however. Cassell said the Commission acts as the clearinghouse for any federal dollars supporting the arts. Without it, the federal money goes away, he said.
The proposed cuts, not supported by the Senate’s spending plan, would hit Washington County hard. In fiscal year 2009-2010, Delegate Joe Johnson Jr.’s district, according to state reports, received $259,800. The Barter was the biggest recipient, getting $112,5000 for General Operating Support. The Virignia Highlands Festival received $22,600. Round the Mountain received $12,300 and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion $27,600. Much of other funding was in smaller amounts, such as $3,500 for the Arts Depot, $2,200 for the Birthplace of County Music Alliance and $1,900 for the Bristol Concert Ballet Company. William King Museum, however, got a fair chunk - $44,400.
Emily Woolwine, director of development for William King Museum, said the funding is 10 percent of the museum’s annual operating budget. The cuts would significantly impact the museum, she said, since it would have to make up that funding elsewhere. In a poor economy, she said, grants and individual and corporate giving tend to go down.
With cuts to education and health and human services coming, Woolwine said she fears funding for the arts may not seem as important as it is. The outlook is grim, she said, but she and others at the museum, which serves 11 counties and three cities, are keeping their fingers crossed.
Two years ago, Woolwine said, legislators voted to do away with the practice of the state giving money directly to the arts. That cost William King around $200,000. Finding money gets harder every year, Woolwine said, as less and less aid comes from the state.
The Commission for the Arts said Virginia’s arts budget has always lagged far behind surrounding states.
Cassell said the goal has been to get funding up to $1 per capita. It’s been a goal that’s never been met. During the Warner Administration, he said, it was around 80 cents per person. At other times, it’s been as low as 20 cents per capita.
Cassell said for a historic state with lots of arts and culture to rank low in funding for the arts is a shame.
Only once since the creation of the Virginia Commission has the government proposed its elimination, the Commission said. The proposal, made by former Gov. Doug Wilder in the early 1990s, was overwhelmingly rejected by the General Assembly.
Rob Jones, project manager for Heartwood, hopes this plan is rejected, too. He said the economic crisis will pass. Jones said it is short-sighted and conflicted to do away with investment in cultural tourism, especially as the state, on one hand, is giving money to get Heartwood built. He said it sends mixed messages about the importance of a tourism economy.
Diana Blackburn, executive director of Round the Mountain artisan network, said plans to eliminate the commission are “not reasonable.”