I was fortunate enough to be selected for EdTA's "Hawkins Award", named after the late Daron Hawkins, former chair of Florida Thespians, which gave me the opportunity to participate in this year's Arts Advocacy Day in Washington D.C.
It was an absolutely incredible experience. After I take a few days to process and collect my thoughts, memories, and pictures, I'll share a more comprehensive blog about my time at Arts Advocacy Day 2016 (AAD16). In the meantime, I wanted to share the one thing I learned about the arts that made the biggest impact on me.
Most people acknowledge the cultural importance of the arts, but very few recognize the true scope of the arts' impact on our countries economy. Many may feel as if the arts are "nice" but more of an optional, unnecessary frill, and not something that the federal government should be spending money on.
The data, however, tells another story. Let's do a quick comparison with the agriculture industry...
The Arts' contribution to the gdp: 4.3% / $698.7 Billion (1)
Agriculture's contribution to the gdp: 1.2% / $195 Billion (2)
Budget for the Department of Agriculture (USDA): $156,000,000,000 (3)
Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): $148,000,000 (4)
That's not a typo. The level of funding for the NEA is just 0.1% of the budget for the Department of Agriculture, despite the fact the arts share of the GDP is more than triple that of agriculture. I want to be clear and say I'm not trying to devalue the importance of the USDA or the agriculture industry at-large, but I think comparing the two is very revealing in terms of what our government prioritizes. The NEA was considered "fortunate" to get a $2 Million increase over a previous funding level of $146 Million that had remained in place for two years. And yet the NEA provides some of the best "bang" for the Federal Government's "buck": Every dollar in NEA funding is matched by $7-10 of funding from local and state governments and private organizations. That's a truly incredible level of return when you're talking about a federal program.
So why are the arts so often overlooked by our legislature? Why does it feel like pulling teeth for the NEA to secure funding increases that are about as minimal as it gets on the federal level? Because too often, we in the artistic communities do not make our voices heard. I say that as someone who is as guilty as they come. But even if you've never been actively involved with advocacy before, like I was before AAD16, it's never too late to start.
Ask your representatives to support increasing funding for the NEA to $155 Million for FY2017. (5)
It's never been easier- Write an email to your representatives here: https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/PAA/Address
#ArtsVote #AAD16 #ArtsAdvocacyDay #ProudToBeAThespian
Sources:
1: https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/general/acpsa/acpsa0115.pdf
2: http://www.bea.gov/industry/xls/io-annual/GDPbyInd_VA_1947-2014.xlsx
3: http://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/fy16budsum.pdf
4: https://www.arts.gov/open-government/national-endowment-arts-appropriations-history
5: http://www.theperformingartsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NEA-Brief-2016.pdf