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Representatives from several
regional arts organizations converged on the state’s capital earlier
this month to protest Governor David Paterson’s proposed state and
regional cuts to arts funding.
Three representatives from the
Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts attended the rally – dubbed
“Arts Day” by officials – led by acting manager Jamie Strader, who
was scheduled to testify before the committee for Tourism, Arts and
Sports Development.
Joining Strader were Adirondack
Lakes Center for the Arts program manager Susan Sessions and newly
appointed executive director Stephen Svoboda.
“Our goal was to try to put a face
on the arts,” said Strader. “In our case, to put a face on rural
upstate New York arts.”
Strader was unable to testify in
person due to scheduling conflicts, forcing her to submit a written
testimony to Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who chairs the Arts
Development committee.
“Even though I wasn’t able to
verbally testify, it was good to go down there and see what was
happening,” Strader added.
In September, New York State placed
an immediate freeze on Council on the Arts (NYSCA) funding, severely
impacting cultural and community events throughout upstate New York.
According to Strader, most legislators do not understand how
important arts funding is for rural communities.
Additionally, the spending freeze
comes at a precarious time for most organizations, as they now must
scramble to put together emergency budgets.
“For many of these organizations,
events and programs have already happened and they are relying on
Council on the Arts funding to pay for them,” Strader said. “We have
not been told definitively that we will not receive funding in 2009,
but it certainly doesn’t look good.”
For her part, Strader is trying to
be optimistic, but she anticipates that much of the money that is
spent through the State Council on the Arts will only be used for
general operating costs at nonprofit arts organizations.
“The second part of the funding
goes toward performances so we will have to make cuts there,”
Strader said. “We’re trying to be upbeat and NYSCA has always been
supportive, but there is only so much they can do.”
A final decision regarding 2009
funding for the New York State Council on the Arts is expected
sometime in March.
-Chris Morris, 2-17-09
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