A legislator asked me last week what the Vermont Arts
Council was doing to create jobs in Vermont.
The current recession has gone on for so long and transformed our
historical employment patterns to such a degree that it appears that the only
relevant public policy conversation anyone can have now is about jobs. It is an important and relevant topic for
everyone, including the arts community.
The legislator was talking with me about our request for
a 100% increase in our State Appropriation and her concern was that we were
asking for an increase even as Federal funds for low-income heating assistance
were being diminished, food bank shortages were mounting, and essential health
and human services were being discontinued.
In that context, it was going to be hard to entertain a request for more
support for the Arts in Vermont. It
might sound a little like asking for more sheet music for the string quartet on
the deck of the Titanic.
Here, then, is what the Arts Council is doing about job
creation. In collaboration with State and local partners too numerous to
mention, we are:
·
Strengthening our educational system so that our
students are not just “taught to the test” but are being trained to think
critically about core subject areas, make public presentations on topics they
have researched themselves, and work collaboratively with their peers on
complex projects to “bring them in on deadline” (this is 21st
Century Creative Workforce Training at its best; turning STEM to STEAM!)
·
Constantly encouraging our local partners to
create meaningful public places and ceremonial activities (like First Nights or
multicultural Farmers’ Markets) in our downtowns which, in turn, encourage
people to open new businesses or relocate already existing businesses to those
places (Creative Placemaking for one and all!)
·
Providing core business training to
artist/entrepreneurs through our “Breaking into Business” and “Nonprofit
Management Training” workshops and scholarships (No, fries don’t come with
that…)
·
Supporting the delicate infrastructure that supports
the Arts sector statewide; a sector that ALREADY employs 6,400 people (more
than are employed in Vermont’s insurance sector), and is the source of nearly $19.5
million in state and local tax revenues (Wait…repeat that please? One more time?!)
Here is the first message we must constantly hammer
home: the Arts are a force to be reckoned with.
It is not just that the Arts
entertain and enlighten (which, of course, they do). It is also that they employ, beautify,
revitalize, and pay taxes. Artists are
often the first to move in to a “depressed area” to revitalize it. Artists need
space, time, and an affordable (read “inexpensive”) cost of living. This has
been true in places like Soho and Chelsea in New York City, and increasingly in
Vermont in towns like Brandon, Barre, White River Junction, and South
Burlington. Bring in art and artists,
and revitalization is just a matter of time…
Here is the second message that we must constantly remind
policy makers: the State budget consists
of an expense side and a revenue side.
Right now, state and local investment in the Arts sector is less than $3
million dollars (of which $500,000 is the Arts Council’s appropriation).
Revenues from the sector, as mentioned above, are nearly $19.5 million. If the State needs additional revenue for
LIHEAP or the Vermont Food Bank, or to address any of the countless societal
needs that this recession has wrought, it seems like a little more investment
in the Arts sector could quite possibly be the “silver bullet” that
policy-makers have been looking for all these years.
If you think this is true, you are not alone. No one wins when we each act like a Lone
Ranger where supporting the Arts is concerned.
Join our effort to double the Council’s budget by contacting Governor Shumlin today!
Hi Ho, Silver Bullet…Away!
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