PA Council on the Arts Funding
Pittsburgh New Music Net is, above all else, about advocacy for our City’s contemporary music scene, and by extension, advocacy for the arts in general. That’s why I wanted to make sure everyone was aware that the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, an organization that supports the offerings of numerous non-profit presenters in our region, is in serious danger of being de-funded. The state Senate already passed a bill with no funding for PCA grant making, but the house is considering a bill that restores this funding. Fortunately the arts community isn’t just sitting on its hands and our friends at Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania have plentiful resources to help you decide what action to take. Particularly helpful is their Legislative Action Center which posts information about arts-related legislation under consideration at both state and federal levels. Finally, for what it’s worth, I’m including the text of the message I sent to my own representative, Don Walko. It sums up my thoughts on the subject pretty well.
The Honorable Representative Don Walko
Dear Sir,
I was very disappointed to hear that the PA Senate passed SB 850, a budget bill which includes no funding for Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grants. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is an indispensable source of funding to many of our state’s most important non-profit arts organizations and I urge you to support HB 1416 which includes 14 million for arts grants.
Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act many important steps have been taken to rebuild our nation’s transportation and energy infrastructure. But we must also rebuild our intellectual infrastructure if we are to meet the challenges that face us. Arts funding (along with funding for education and public broadcasting) is a critical component in equipping Pennsylvanians with creative, and intellectual vigor that will be required to solve the problems that lie ahead.
I urge you to support HB 1416 that includes $14 million for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grants to arts organizations.
Sincerely,
Philip Thompson
Pittsburgh, PA