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Four Bills Address the Arts and Creative Industries This Season

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:35:29 -0700

The legislature is considering four bills this session that will impact Colorado’s creative sector. A summary of the bills is below. We encourage you to attend committee hearings and to contact your legislator to share your views. We also encourage you to become a member of Arts For Colorado www.artsforcolorado.org , the voice for the arts and creative industries at the legislature. Below is a summary of the bills and their current status.

Senate Bill 94, Definition of Capital Construction Appropriations for Purposes of the Art in Public Places Program, clarifies that the thirty-three year old Arts in Public Places Statute applies to all capital construction projects funded with state dollars, regardless of the funding mechanism. The initial hearing has been scheduled with the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee on Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m., Room 354.

Senate Bill 158, Creation of the Creative Industries Division within the Colorado Office of Economic Development, merges the statutory provisions for the Office of Film, Television, and Media, the State Council on the Arts, and the Art in Public Places Program, and renames the State Council on the Arts as the Council on Creative Industries and authorizes the Council to establish policies for the merged entity. The initial hearing has been scheduled with the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee on Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m., Room 354.

House Bill 1180, Criteria to Qualify for a Performance-Based Incentive for Film Production Activities in Colorado, changes the criteria required of a film production company to qualify for a performance-based incentive for film production activities in Colorado. It is designed to make the incentive more usable and thus attract more film and television work to Colorado. It passed 10-0 in its initial hearing before the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee and has been referred to House Finance Committee.

House Bill 1273, Arts Education for Workforce Development, requires all Colorado public schools to provide education in the visual and performing arts and requires satisfactory completion of a course in visual or performing arts as a condition for high school graduation. The bill also incorporates visual and performing arts education into the description of postsecondary and workforce readiness. Additionally, the bill provides for innovative strategies including BOCES/RSA partnerships, public-private partnerships, and non-traditional delivery such as online coursework. The initial hearing has been scheduled with the House Education Committee on Feb. 25, 1:30 p.m., Room 112.

Job Description: Part Time Administrator/Bookkeeper

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:40:59 -0700

Arts for Colorado & Colorado Citizens for Culture

AFC/CCC seeks a part time administrator & bookkeeper to manage the day-to-day activities for the two organizations. Arts for Colorado (AFC) is a non-profit 501(c)4 statewide arts advocacy membership organization dedicated to improving the climate for culture throughout the state, with a focus on helping to preserve and expand state support of the arts. Colorado Citizens for Culture (CCC) is the non-profit 501(c)3 charitable arm of Arts for Colorado. CCC works to raise public awareness of the vital role the arts play in education excellence, economic health and quality of life for all Colorado citizens.

Duties include:
Attend and arrange monthly Board conference calls, including preparing meeting minutes and other materials as needed;
Assist in the development and distribution of bi-monthly AFC/CCC newsletters, advocacy emails, website text, and other written materials as needed;
Maintain accurate financial records and prepare monthly financial reports for both organizations using Quickbooks software;
Prepare and track invoices, write checks and reconcile back accounts monthly;
Establish and maintain AFC/CCC database of contributors, event attendees, AFC/CCC members and others who support AFC/CCC;
Help to develop a rationalized records system for AFC/CCC (including current membership list) and work to consolidate existing records and files into this system;
Provide support to Board Members, Lobbyist and Program Director on special projects, as needed;
Respond to emails in a timely manner;
Be available to attend occasional meetings and events around Denver and the state, as needed;
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Strong administrative and accounting skills
Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills
Strong knowledge of and familiarity with Quickbooks software
Must be able to handle multiple tasks concurrently
Willingness to learn new software programs
Be self-motivated and have good time management

This is a part-time, work-from-home contract position (no benefits are offered). The candidate must have their own computer, Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and access to the internet. A majority of meetings are conducted via conference call, and most discussions take place via email. The candidate must be trustworthy, and be able to work independently, with minimal oversight.

Pay range: $15-$18/hour for approximately 10-20 hours a week, depending on workload.

Please send a cover letter, resume and list of current references to info@artsforcolorado.org by Feb 12.

Visit www.artsforcolorado.org to learn more about the organization. No phone calls please.

Stimulus Cash Puts Arts to Work

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:51:00 -0600

By The Denver Post
09/20/2009
retrieved from: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_13360638?source=rss

The rules were clear for the Colorado arts groups applying for funds through the federal government's economic stimulus plan: Each grant had to be tied to an actual job. Real positions had to be created or preserved directly with the money.

When the grants were announced last week, 47 arts groups made the cut, splitting a total of $568,040 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Their promise is to keep 313 people gainfully employed either by preserving workers laid off or threatened, or by restoring reduced positions to full-time.

For the organizations that received grants, the cash infusion means keeping valued programs running. For the employees who keep their spots on the payroll, it means maintaining regular paychecks. Here's a look at four of them and why their employers believe their work is crucial.

Jim Denton, technical director, Su Teatro

At the planning meeting before every play goes into production, artistic director Anthony J. Garcia razzes technical director Jim Denton by sliding him a piece of paper and saying, "This is your budget."

It always has a big zero on it. For lights. For sound. For everything that gives a play its technical sophistication.

Jim Denton has been on Su Teatro's team full-time for 14 months, but his position was in danger before the call went out for applications to President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Su Teatro won by far the largest grant among 47 Colorado arts organizations -- $33,040. Denton's annual salary.

"When Tony applied, he said, 'We're going to save your job," said Denton, 23. "This makes me ecstatic."

Part of the application process was proving the jobs that would be restored or preserved by the stimulus money were essential. "Art is to society as my job is to theater," Denton said. "People wouldn't miss either one - until they are gone."

Preserving jobs in the arts, he said, is just as vital as in other industries like construction. "It's basic, and it's good," he said. But he knows some won't see equivalence.

"They don't believe it if they don't see it," he said. "They can see a highway. They know that it was put there by a man who was paid. But you can't drive past a theater and see what was made there."

You have to go inside and see.

In all, nine Colorado theater companies will receive grants totaling $126,000. Each grant has an actual human being attached.

At Curious Theatre, it's Community Affairs Manager Mare Trevathan. Her hours had been cut from 20 per week to 10 last year, and now will be restored thanks to a $21,000 grant.

Her job is to plant and cultivate positive relationships in the community, and to develop partnerships with other theater companies. It's not technically a revenue-generating position, said Curious founder Chip Walton. It's a fulfillment of a founding principle for any nonprofit organization.

To be without her, he said, "would be a recipe for disaster."

Trevathan, and many others in her position, had heard there might be stimulus funds coming to save the day, but five months of waiting had forced them to make contingencies.

"I planned my year as if this was not going to happen," she said. "Now that it has, it's just ... excellent gravy."

John Moore; photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

Kathy Beeck, director, Boulder International Film Festival

Dedication is a hard thing to put a price tag on. After all, Kathy Beeck admits she would have had a wrenching time walking away from the Boulder International Film Festival, which she and her sister, Robin, founded.

So the festival director offers another way to grasp the value of her position: She raises money, making her worth a lot more than the $10,000 the Colorado Council on the Arts gave to the fest's parent organization, the Colorado Film Society, to keep her on.

"We just nailed a new gold-level sponsor," Beeck says.

With corporate sponsorship down, she says, the $25,000 commitment from Premiere Credit Union is more than a boon. It's a sign of how pivotal Beeck's job is.

Sister Robin is responsible for the butts-in-the-seats programming. Kathy Beeck's fiscal efforts ensure there are actual seats and theaters and rooms for filmmakers.

She's in charge of sponsorships, marketing and publicity. Beeck also heads perhaps the most vital operation at any film fest: its volunteer force. BIFF has two paid staffers and more than 200 volunteers.

"We're a lean and mean organization," she says.

Evidently not so mean. In late August, indie film mag MovieMaker named the Boulder event "one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals."

Lisa Kennedy; photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

Claudia Moran, education director, Museo de Las Americas

Claudia Moran faces a daunting task each year, regardless of her job's financial resources.

As education director at the Museo de Las Americas for the past three years, she has been responsible for teaching school kids through workshops and tours that expose them to the Museo's unique Latin American cultural treasures.

"There were two full-time positions in the education department, but unfortunately, with the recession the director needed to cut one and make me part time," Moran said. "It really complicates things because we are teaching between 25,000 and 30,000 kids a year, and we would have had to cut half our education programs."

The Denver-based Museo was one of the 47 arts nonprofits to get a chunk of the federal recovery funds. Granted, the $24,000 the Museo garnered is only 4 percent of the larger $568,040 recently doled out to arts organizations, but it's enough to keep Moran on full time at $30,000 per year and enough to bring back the community-research position.

"I was really sad because education is always one of the first things to go when you see (organizations) affected like this," said Moran, 33. "I know everybody is trying to keep their jobs, but community education is one of the most important things a museum can do."John Wenzel; photo by Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

Kathy Brantigan, executive director, the Denver Brass

As the bottom was dropping out and the bubble was bursting last fall, ticket sales for the Denver Brass were holding steady. But then March and April 2009 happened.

"It was then when we realized that every single grant we'd written since the previous October had fallen through," said Kathy Brantigan, executive director of the popular ensemble.

Panic mode for Brantigan meant less money — and more programming. After cutting her own salary by 33 percent, from $45,000 annually to $30,000, she announced pay cuts for her staff (10 percent) and musicians (5 percent). And then she added more shows.

"We're taking a different approach than most arts groups," said Brantigan. "We're expanding our family offerings and lowering ticket prices."

Roughly 45 of the 200 Denver Brass shows in 2008 were self-produced; in 2009, 55 will be, Brantigan estimates. It's a unique strategy, but she has faith. It helps that her salary has been restored, thanks to a $17,200 grant administered through the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs.

"I have a strong sense that people really want to be entertained and smile and surround themselves with the bright side of humanity," said Brantigan. "It's our job to make it easier for them to do that." Ricardo Baca; photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

The stimulus grants: Who gets what?

Here are the 47 Colorado nonprofit arts organizations that will receive $568,040 in federal recovery funds to preserve or restore 313 salaried and contract positions as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grants were administered by the Colorado Council on the Arts, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs and the Western States Arts Federation.

Western States Arts Federation grant:
El Centro Su Teatro, Denver, $33,040

Denver Office of Cultural Affairs grants:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, $25,000
Museo de las Américas, Denver, $24,000
Curious Theatre Company, Denver, $21,000
Denver Art Museum, $20,000
Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Denver, $20,000
The Denver Brass, $17,200
Denver Botanic Gardens, $16,640
ArtReach, Denver, $12,000
Chicano Humanities & Arts Council, Denver, $12,000
PHAMALY (Physically Handicapped Actors & Musical Artists League), Denver, $12,000
Friends of ArtStreet, Denver, $10,660
Mizel Arts and Culture Center, Denver, $10,000
Colorado Chamber Players, Denver, $8,500
Harmony A Colorado Chorale, Denver, $8,500
The Spirituals Project, Denver, $7,500

Colorado Council on the Arts grants:
Adams State College, Alamosa, $10,000
Anderson Ranch Arts Foundation, Snowmass Village, $10,000
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, $10,000
Bas Bleu Theatre Company, Fort Collins, $10,000
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, $10,000
Bravo! Colorado at Vail-Beaver Creek Inc., $10,000
City of Longmont Museum, $10,000
Colorado Children's Chorale, Denver, $10,000
Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, Wheat Ridge, $10,000
Colorado Film Society, Boulder, $10,000
Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra, $10,000
Colorado Symphony Association, Denver, $10,000
Creede Repertory Theatre, $10,000
Delta Montrose Youth Services, Inc., $10,000
Denver March Powwow, Inc., $10,000
Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, $10,000
Durango Latino Education Coalition, $10,000
Fort Lewis College Theatre, Durango, $10,000
Gunnison Council for the Arts, $10,000
Imagination Makers, Boulder, $10,000
International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, Denver, $10,000
Koshare Indian Museum, Inc., La Junta, $10,000
PlatteForum, Denver, $10,000
Rocky Mountain Children's Choir, Denver, $10,000
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, Colorado Springs, $10,000
San Juan Symphony, Durango, $10,000
Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, $10,000
TheatreWorks, Colorado Springs, $10,000
Vail Jazz Foundation, Inc., $10,000
Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, $10,000
YMCA of Boulder Valley, $10,000

The Colorado Council on the Arts Announces the 2010 Governor’s Arts Award

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:08:34 -0600

Nomination Form Now Available Online

DENVER—(September 10, 2009) The Colorado Council on the Arts and Arts for Colorado announce that 2010 Governor’s Arts Award nomination forms are now available online at www.coloarts.org.

The Governor’s Arts Award is given annually to one Colorado city or town which has effectively utilized the arts to enhance the quality of life and economic vitality of their community. The 2008 recipient was the City of Loveland, which was honored by Governor Ritter last August for their long term commitment to integrating the arts as a tool for economic and community enhancement. The City also received an original oil painting by Duke Beardsley.

The 2010 Governor’s Arts Award Nomination forms are available online at the Colorado Council on the Arts’ Web site at www.coloarts.org, or may be requested by mail by calling 303-892-3802. The postmark deadline for nomination forms is October 23, 2009.

The 2010 award will again consist of two original works of art created by a commissioned Colorado Artist. A separate Call to Artists interested in competing for this commission will be available on www.callforentry.org. One of the artworks will be presented to the winning community, while the other will hang in the State Capitol.

About the Colorado Council on the Arts
The Colorado Council on the Arts, a state agency, combines state funds with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and invests in communities across the state to ensure that the cultural, educational and economic benefits of the arts are enjoyed by thousands of Colorado youth and millions of Colorado citizens and visitors every day.

About Arts for Colorado
Arts for Colorado is a statewide nonprofit (501-C4) organization dedicated to improving the climate for culture throughout the state and whose mission is to facilitate statewide advocacy for Colorado's arts culture. Because public sector funding--and particularly state arts funding--has played an important role in building Colorado's cultural infrastructure, Arts for Colorado focuses much of its attention on the preservation and expansion of state arts support. For further information about AFC, please visit www.artsforcolorado.org or call 303-629-1166.

Needed: A Federal Arts policy

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:54:12 -0600

By Michael Kaiser
President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
July 6, 2009 11:25 AM

There is frequent discussion about the validity of federal funding for the arts in this nation; most recently, the inclusion of $50 million for employment in the arts in the stimulus package was the source of heated debate.

What we really need is a debate over federal arts policy. Most people do not know that no fewer than nine government agencies provide support to arts in this nation. That is not a typo. In addition to the National Endowment for the Arts, the national Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, arts money is also granted by the Departments of Commerce, Education, State, Agriculture, Defense, and Transportation!

Those of us in the arts are grateful for the many opportunities presented for federal support. The problem is that there is literally no coordination between these agencies on their arts spending, nor is there any central governing philosophy or policy.

For example, grants for arts education are given by several agencies yet there is no effort to coordinate the educational programming of the arts organizations receiving federal funds. This cannot yield the most effective or efficient results.

There is also no organized process for sharing what has been learned so that every arts organization must learn from its own mistakes. As a result, the federal government has been funding arts education in our public schools for decades and we still have not implemented a coherent approach to using the arts to benefit our children.

The problem is not that federal funding for the arts is unwarranted; the problem is that we need to be assured, as citizens, that we are getting the most value for our money. What is needed is a coordinated approach to arts grants to ensure that the arts programming supported by federal funds truly serves our national interest.

But how can we accomplish this? How can we coordinate the efforts of so many federal agencies? There has been discussion of the need for a Ministry of Culture in the United States. I am concerned that the formation of such an entity would cost too much and put too little money in the hands of the grassroots arts organizations which truly do the most important arts work in this nation and rarely get the spotlight. (Why do we always use arts celebrities to lobby for government support? Doesn't anyone realize that the American people do not believe their tax dollars should support the work of the most famous and richest performers?)

Instead, we need someone in the administration, perhaps the new Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, to provide leadership and coordination to ensure that all grants-making agencies are working in a common direction and that the money expended creates an arts ecology that benefits all Americans. We need policies in at least three key areas: sustaining American arts organizations (both large and small), arts education, and cultural diplomacy.

The arts have so much to contribute to this nation. We can teach our children to be the creative thinkers that our economy requires now and in the future, we can help rebuild the image of our nation abroad, we can assist in the effort to bolster tourism in the wake of the current economic crisis, and we can publicly celebrate the diversity of our nation.

But these vital goals will not be accomplished with the current helter-skelter approach to federal arts funding.

retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kaiser/needed-a-federal-arts-pol_b_226041.html

Why You Must Lobby for Your Non-Profit

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 08:51:08 -0600

By Richard Male, Richard Male & Associates, Denver, CO

As we all know, the United States is experiencing some tough economic times. Most states are running significant deficits that will likely force them to cut millions -- in many cases billions -- of dollars in services. Because of this, non-profits will probably see a decrease in government funding in the next year or so. Some states (Louisiana comes to mind) are even looking into taxing properties owned by non-profit groups as a way to generate needed revenue.

This summer I am teaching a graduate class at Regis University on non-profit public policy/advocacy. I must say, I find the reluctance of non-profits to get involved in public policy very damaging to this sector. Public policy and advocacy should be front and center on all non-profits' agendas. The question is not whether non-profits should get involved in public policy but how FAST. If we do not get more involved, our sector as a whole and the 1.4 million non-profits in this country will lose billions of dollars of support, which will directly impact the millions of people non-profits are helping every day.

Let's look at some of the key reasons why we must become involved in lobbying for our causes NOW.

We can make a difference in so many ways to help fulfill our mission regardless of whether it is in human services, arts and culture, health care, international affairs, etc.
Lobbying helps assure that we have a strong democratic system in America. Almost every social change issue in America has been championed by non-profit organizations. The non-profit sector acts as the guarantor that our democratic way of life continues.
The government allows and encourages tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organizations to get involved in lobbying for legislation, referendums, and initiatives. If you want to spend 20 percent of the first $500,000 of your budget on lobbying all you need to do is file an H Election form with the IRS.
The laws will change if people change the laws. There is a legacy of people and groups who fought to pass civil rights legislation, changes in women's rights, etc. I was intimately involved in the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. You too can get involved in making change happen at the government level.
Decision-makers need our opinions and views. Senators and representatives rely on non-profit organizations to provide the testimony and expertise that helps them make intelligent decisions. Non-profit organizations are close to the grassroots and generally understand the issues best.
Lobbyists can help find solutions to difficult problems. Most non-profits are very close to their issues and contingency and understand the solutions much better than politicians. Non-profits therefore need to be heard in order to effectively shape legislative initiatives.
Lobbying is simple and usually means making phone calls, sending e-mails, periodically testifying, and talking to your friends and neighbors. There are a few rules that you need to adhere to. (If you want the rules of what a non-profit can legally do in terms of lobbying email info@richardmale.com.)
Lobbying is critical to the survival of the nonprofit sector. Approximately 75 percent of all dollars coming into the non-profit sector stem from public support. We need to make sure that these dollars support the organizations that are truly committed to helping. In addition, there are constant threats to the sector from for-profit corporations and government agencies that do not want to see non-profits succeed.
Lobbying is helpful to the people that we serve. Every strategy that you use as part of a public policy campaign (e.g., phone calls, e-mails, testifying, visits) will help you accomplish your mission.
Lobbying will help build trust between non-profits and the key decision makers in our communities. Every time we lobby we are helping to educate and inform decision makers. This is extremely helpful in building a trusting relationship with them.

Retrieved from http://richardmale.com/richtips/20080724.htm

Wynton Marsalis Gives Inspiring Nancy Hanks Lecture during 2009 national Arts Advocacy Day

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 11:58:50 -0600

April 03, 2009—World-renowned trumpeter, composer and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Wynton Marsalis dazzled and inspired his audience with a moving lecture mixed with performance titled The Ballad of the American Arts. The 22nd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy was presented to a capacity crowd at the Kennedy Center on the eve of Arts Advocacy Day. Marsalis addressed the essential value of culture in the recalibration of American identity. After two standing ovations Marsalis wrapped up the evening with a lively performance alongside members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (Chris Crenshaw, trombone; Victor Goines, saxophone; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Ali Jackson, drums; and Dan Nimmer, piano).

Arts Advocacy Day 2009 presented annually by Americans for the Arts and held in conjunction with the Congressional Arts Caucus and 83 national co-sponsors, empowers a broad cross section of America's cultural and civic organization and hundreds of grassroots advocates to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased funding for the arts. This year nearly 500 arts advocates from across the nation met with their representatives on Capitol Hill on March 31, calling on them to support arts-friendly legislation and policies.

A Congressional hearing entitled The Arts = Jobs was the pinnacle of the day’s activities. Hosted by House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior Chair Norm Dicks (D-WA), a distinguished panel called on Congress to support strong public policies for the arts, appropriating increased public funding for the arts, and supporting arts workers. Witnesses included: Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center; Josh Groban, GRAMMY®-nominated singer-songwriter; Linda Ronstadt, GRAMMY®-Award winning singer; Jeremy Nowak, President and CEO of The Reinvestment Fund; and Robert L. Lynch, Americans for the Arts President and CEO.

For more information please see the Americans for the Arts recap page here: http://americansforthearts.org/events/2009/aad/aad_round_up_2009.asp

The art of tough times

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:27:15 -0600

By John Wenzel
The Denver Post

Daunting lines at unemployment offices. Grubby souls counting pennies. A collective malaise that seems to thwart government intervention.

And a thriving film industry.

The Great Depression? Not so much. Try today's economic climate.

Just like the film business of the 1930s — one that flourished during that otherwise devastating period — today's movie houses are seeing record upticks in viewership despite competition from home theaters and other diversions.

The trend provides a window into the release valve that arts and entertainment offer in times of turmoil. It's also a nod toward the economic impact we can have by turning out to support our cultural fare.

We need our pretend laughter and tears as much as we do food and shelter, and hunkering down for the next storm only reinforces the siege mentality. Closing ourselves off to the public catharsis that arts and entertainment provide is no solution at all.

"The arts are an essential part of the human experience, particularly in a time like this," said Dorothy Horrell, president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation.

The brutal irony, of course, is that funding and attendance for most arts are usually the first to get squeezed when we tighten our collective belts. Operas and art exhibitions around the country have recently closed by the dozen due to cutbacks.

"I have no doubt that we will lose some arts organizations over the next year," said Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. "It's an unfortunate reality, but we have to be very careful to preserve what we've built and understand that the job of an arts worker is no less important than a police officer, construction worker or hospital job."

Roughly 10,000 arts organizations employing 260,000 artists could disappear this year, erased by funding cuts, according to Washington-based arts advocacy group Americans for the Arts.

So why is it important to support arts — and artists — during these tough times?

Because it helps all of us stay sane and connected to the world around us. The arts have an inherent value in the way they frame and engage our public and private debates. We needto look in that funhouse mirror from time to time and see our lives both reflected and altered by its contours.

"Arts are central to the fabric of a community," Horrell said. "We had a conversation with our trustees about arts funding versus social services when our resources are down. We decided we can't imagine a community without a symphony or a theater."

Horrell's Bonfils-Stanton Foundation has distributed more than $44 million in charitable contributions since its 1962 inception. Lately, 60 percent of that funding has gone to the arts, with the rest split between human services and science and medicine.

The foundation's stay-the- course philosophy on arts funding also relates to the cyclical nature of the economy.

"It comes back to a sense that we will emerge from this economic crisis," she said. "We would essentially have to start from the ground up to rebuild those (arts organizations) if they went away."

Survival mode

Whether you're seeing Ballet Nouveau Colorado's upcoming "Dancemakers" show or buying a painting from a local artist, it's usually a much cheaper way to deal with your woes than therapy.

It's also a business transaction. It benefits the people directly involved by making them productive in their small businesses and nonprofits. And with 69 percent of Americans cutting back on entertainment, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll, many artists are in survival mode.

Americans for the Arts lobbied hard for the $50 million that made its way into the recent economic stimulus bill. It's up to the National Endowment for the Arts to dole out the money, but Americans for the Arts president Robert L. Lynch was pleased that Congress recognized the cultural, educational and economic contributions that investments in the arts bring.

"The arts are integral to rebuilding our economy and workforce," he asserted.

The organization even took out an ad in newspapers last month noting the nearly 6 million jobs and $166 billion overall impact that the arts have in the national economy. In Colorado, 186,000 jobs were related to creative enterprises and occupations, according to a 2008 study conducted by the Colorado Council on the Arts.

In other words, when you buy a ticket to a show you're putting money in someone's pocket — someone who lives in your city and maybe even next door.

"Folks sometimes forget that the arts are an industry that employs people and generates jobs," said Horrell. "They contribute money to our state's economy and are part of what attracts outsiders to the state."

Many people's dismissive attitudes toward the arts comes from long-standing ideas about their role and significance.

"Putting people to work is more important than putting more art on the wall of some New York City gallery frequented by the elite art community," said U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., during a debate over the economic stimulus bill.

"We don't have the long history of government patronage of the arts, as some countries do, so there's a misunderstanding of what government money is doing in the arts," said Cultural Affairs director Trapp. "We have to do a better job of helping people understand what it means to support the arts and how it impacts us."

That money, in fact, goes to keeping museums and the people who run them in business. It goes to arts education in schools, which keeps students well-rounded and competitive. It goes to small-business owners, who contribute as much in taxes as auto shops and bakeries do.

"Even more so in these economic times ... (the arts help) us to cope and to deal with the madness around us, which virtually none of us can do anything about," said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in a recent Associated Press article.

Madness, indeed.

In search of relief

Taking your mind off a late credit card payment or collections call also has immediate value.

"People need the relief," said Wende Curtis, owner of Denver's Comedy Works clubs. "There's proof about how laughter and emotional responses are good for your health in releasing endorphins. We're too much of a society that sits around doing nothing, and if you can get out and do something on a regular basis, that's a good thing."

And a Celine Dion concert at the Pepsi Center or a David Alan Grier show at Comedy Works might even give you a bit of insight into yourself.

"Artists always have a chance to reflect something, particularly when times are tougher," said Tommy Smothers, one-half of legendary comedy-music duo the Smothers Brothers, who performed Saturday at Boettcher Concert Hall. "Whether it's humor or making a social statement of fairness, it's been tradition."

John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com

Adding it up

From symphonies and theaters to art galleries and dance companies, arts organizations in America contribute beyond simply enriching the culture. Here's a look at the numbers.

5.7 million — jobs

100,000 — nonprofit arts organizations

612,000 — arts-centric businesses

4.3 percent — of all American businesses

$29.6 billion — in tax revenue

$166.2 billion — total economic impact

Source: Americans for the Arts

From: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11899577

Artists in Survival Mode as Market Crumbles

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:51:46 -0600

As galleries cut back and sales plummet, many artists are struggling to scrape by with odd jobs.
By Matthew Shaer
The Christian Science Monitor

New York - BY ALL ACCOUNTS but one, Fred Cray is a successful, thriving multimedia artist. He studied at Yale University's prestigious graduate school and has several solo exhibitions under his belt. He is the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner grant, and in 2003, he won a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives in Brooklyn, in a three-story house with a rooftop garden, and spends up to 10 hours a day in his studio.

Mr. Cray is represented by a well-regarded Manhattan gallery, and his work – when it sells – still commands a substantial price. But like many artists, he now lives in a state of alarm, threatened on one hand by the deepening recession and on the other by the cratering art market. The mood, he says, is "worse than anything I've ever experienced before. The severity of it is enough to induce panic."

Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts released research showing that artists are now unemployed at about twice the rate of other professional workers. Approximately 129,000 artists were out of work nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the report – up 63 percent from the same period in 2007. The NEA estimated that the figures might have been worse had thousands of artists not left the workforce due to retirement, a desire to pursue outside opportunities, or general discouragement. And the forecast for the next few years is no brighter. Sunil Iyengar, the director of research and analysis at the NEA, said unemployment was a "lagging economic indicator," and that the figures can still rise even months or years after a general economic recovery. Artist unemployment, for instance, did not reach its zenith until two years after the 2001 recession, when the markets had regained their strength.

"There's a reason for the severity of these numbers," Mr. Iyengar said, referring to the NEA report as a whole. "Artists are entrepreneurs in terms of their employment character. They're the equivalent of small businesses – they require a lot more investment up front. They're already in a pretty precarious situation. And in a market like this, artists are really hit pretty hard."

Meanwhile, arts institutions across the country are struggling to stay afloat. According to USA Today, theaters from Utah to Kentucky are resorting to public pleas for financial assistance. In January, the Los Angeles Opera laid off 17 employees; that same month, the city's Museum of Contemporary Art announced plans to reduce staff by 20 percent. Here in New York, the world-renowned Carnegie Hall sliced its performance schedule by 10 percent.

"It's getting really tough for everyone now," says Richard Burrows, the director of Arts Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is fighting against looming budget cuts. Complicating the situation is the widespread and often drastic winnowing of grants and fellowships – long the life raft of many a starving artist. In Michigan, for instance, the state has announced plans to eliminate almost all the arts and culture grants for 2010.

In interviews this week with the Monitor, artists expressed dismay at the situation and worried that the government was not doing enough to halt the economic slide. Jonathan Kemp, a musician living in Brooklyn, calls the unemployment figures "a serious problem." In a way, he says he is "embracing" his own joblessness, and intends to focus even more intently on his music. Still, he adds, he feels more than a little disillusioned.

Cray, the Brooklyn artist, says his art attracts about the same level of interest it always has. But the occasional sale isn't enough to keep him solvent, and over the past few months, things have gotten progressively worse. Not long ago, Cray's wife died, and in order to pay the medical bills, he took out a second mortgage on his house. For a while, some savvy investments helped keep him afloat, but then the stock market plunged, and he lost most of that money.

As a younger man, Cray would pick up the slack by working as a decorative painter. Now, offers have almost vanished, and when he does land a gig, it is usually only for a day or so at a time. He thinks regularly about the possibility of the bank foreclosing on his home, and on a warm day recently he was on his way to north Brooklyn, where he planned to give a home improvement survey. The pay was $100.

Cray said he agreed to speak to a reporter because he wanted his fellow artists to know that they weren't alone. "I know there's a lot of fear out there," he says. "I know other people are feeling that. I also know that we can get through these difficult times. We've done it before."

Others aren't so optimistic. For Christopher Brumfeld, a New York designer, the woes of 2008 were "just a glimpse." Freelance work, he says, is drying up, as companies keep their work in-house, and "[overload] their salaried designers."

Hector Perez, a graphic artist living on Manhattan's Upper West Side, says his work has "evaporated. It's a catastrophe," Mr. Perez says. "Clients are less willing to negotiate – a lot of people are willing to work for almost nothing. I know a lot of artists who have left the business and I'm seriously considering it, too."

But Jesse Schoem, an actor living in New Jersey, argues that artists have always soldiered through less than ideal economic climates, working when they can find work and waiting when they can't [Editor's note: The original version misidentified Jesse Schoem as an actor living in New York. He lives in New Jersey]. "It's not like things have gotten so markedly worse," Mr. Schoem says. "It's more like that they're always really bad, until you get famous."

Furthermore, laughs Cray, it's not like artists have much choice in the matter. "The highlight of my life," he says, "is my time in the studio. I can't imagine doing anything else." Besides, he adds, "these up and down cycles? Sometimes they're the best thing that could ever happen to an artist. They make you stronger."

From: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0313/p13s01-algn.html

NEA REleases Strict Rules for Arts Stimulus Grants

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:22:06 -0600

by Elizabeth Blair, All Things Considered, NPR

When it comes to passing out economic stimulus funds, President Obama has stressed that his administration will be exercising careful oversight.

One agency that will be giving away some of those funds — the National Endowment for the Arts — knows a little something about operating under watchful governmental eyes.

In the late '90s, some members of Congress objected to the fact that artwork they deemed offensive had been funded by the NEA. Bill Ivey, then the endowment's chairman, remembers the firestorm that resulted.

"There was a time — certainly in '98 and '99 — in which there were staff members assigned within congressional offices to basically review everything the NEA did on a daily basis. ... There were congressional observers looking over the agency's shoulder."

Lessons from that scrutiny will come in handy as the NEA doles out the $50 million it received as part of the stimulus package Congress passed last month. It took the NEA less than two weeks to get strict grant-making guidelines posted on the agency's Web site.

One of those guidelines states that only groups that have received NEA grants in the past four years will be eligible for money from the stimulus package. Patrice Powell, the NEA's acting chairwoman, says the provision will ensure that applicants have been "vetted to some degree."

The NEA has also made it clear that job preservation should be the primary goal for groups applying for grants. That's a guideline arts managers are more than willing to follow.

The Synchronicity Performance Group in Atlanta wants to turn its part-time marketing-assistant post into a full-time position; the Albany Institute of History and Art wants to preserve a job it calls "digitization director." The Boston Ballet plans to ask for money to pay one of its ballet masters.

Another restriction: For most nonprofits, grants will be made only in the amounts of $25,000 and $50,000. The NEA set these two grant amounts to streamline the process and get the money out faster.

But that's one grant protocol that poses a challenge for grant writers. They never want to ask for too little — arts groups are constantly cash-strapped.

Ask for too much, though, and they might price themselves out of the competition and get nothing at all. It can be a tricky calculus.

"There are so many other organizations in the country that are applying for not a very large pot of funds," says Rachel Yurman, a Boston Ballet fundraiser. "You never want to ask for too much, because it's all or nothing."

But Ivey defends the rules. He sees them as a product of the intense scrutiny the NEA underwent in the late '90s.

"Out of that process came a very precise and very careful approach to disbursing money, one that will stand up to any scrutiny that comes along," he says.

The NEA grant application deadline for state and regional arts agencies is this Friday. Other nonprofit arts groups have until April 2.

The agency expects hundreds of applications, from theater and dance groups, orchestras, museums and media companies — including NPR.