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Start the Year with Good News for the Arts!
By Pat Boyd, Executive Director, South Dakotans for
the Arts
Start the Year with Good News for the Arts!
On December 26, President Bush signed an omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2008 that includes $144.7 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This represents an increase of $20.1 million over the 2007 funding level of $124.562 million. The new appropriation raises the NEA to its highest level in 13 years.
It is the largest dollar increase in the NEA appropriation since 1979 and will allow the agency to devote more funds to direct grants to arts organizations and to extend the reach of the agency's National Initiatives that support touring and arts education in theater, music, dance, literature, and the visual arts. The highest level of the NEA's appropriation was $175.9 million in FY 1992.
The effort to achieve this funding increase has been built over the course of several years. In June, NY Congresswoman Louise Slaughter led the U.S. House to reject three amendments specifically designed to cut funding for the NEA, and instead approve a significant increase. During the floor consideration, South Dakotans joined with Americans for the Arts advocates from all 50 states who sent over 26,000 messages to their Members calling on them to support an increase for the NEA.
NEA Chairman Dana Gioia said, "The strong bipartisan support of Congress and the Administration for the NEA demonstrates the value of the agency's programs. This budget will afford us even greater opportunities to bring excellent art and arts education to all Americans through direct grants, which now extend to every community, and through our National Initiatives such as American Masterpieces, The Big Read, Poetry Out Loud, and Shakespeare in American Communities. The National Initiatives have reached more than 20 million students throughout the country. More theater, more music, more dance, more literature, more visual arts, and more arts education will now be available to more Americans."
The bill also includes statutory language for an honorific award to artists working in opera that is similar to the NEA's Jazz Master Awards and National Heritage Fellowships. Said Chairman Gioia, "It is important for America to honor its great artists and their work. This new award category will give the NEA an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of one of this nation's great -- but often neglected -- musical art forms. We'll have much more to report about this in the coming months."
The Consolidated Appropriations Bill also includes funding increases for arts education, the humanities and public broadcasting. Funding for arts education at the U.S. Department of Education will receive a slight increase to about $38 million, from $35.3 million. The bulk of this increase is intended to provide funding for administering the first national survey since 1999 on the status and condition of arts education - a key element of our advocacy agenda, and an important state project in South Dakota this year through the SD Alliance for Arts Education.
The National Endowment for the Humanities is set to receive $145 million, an increase of about $4 million. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the federal agency that provides support to our national public broadcasting network saw their annual budget increased from $400 million to $420 million for FY 2010. CPB is typically provided funding in advance due to the long range planning they must do.
We anticipate that this great news from Washington will have a positive impact here in South Dakota, as the Federal government leads by example. As South Dakotans for the Arts, let’s translate the current NEA national message, “A Great Nation Deserves Great Art”…this great state and its art are at the heart of the nation, let’s keep it beating strong!
The change in the calendar has brought changes to the SoDA Board of Directors, ringing in the new year with welcomes and thanks. Welcome to our new president, Shawn Lyons, Executive Director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, and to the new chair of the Community Arts Network, Stacy Braun, Executive Director of the Aberdeen Area Arts Council. Our sincere appreciation to outgoing president Dale Lamphere and CAN chair Donna Robbennolt for their outstanding leadership and dedication. Dale will continue to serve on the board as Past President, but we will miss Donna and wish her all the best after her many years of service to CAN. A hearty welcome to new board members Kristin Donnan Standard, Hill City, Wendy Mendoza, Spearfish and Howes, and Peter Strong, Director of Red Cloud Heritage Center, Pine Ridge.