50% Cut to the Nevada Arts Council

Dear friends, colleagues, artists, and arts supporters,

The Nevada Governor’s Office has recommended a 50% reduction for the Nevada Arts Council (NAC) budget for each year of the FY10-11 biennium. A cut this deep signals serious consequences to your NAC grants, programs, and professional development services from which you, your organizations, and your community benefit.

I'm writing to ask for your help.

Should the Governor’s proposed reduction go through, the following are very real scenarios?
• The Nevada Arts Council grants would be reduced by 50-80 percent.

• Funding for programs like Circuit Riders (art consultants) and Professional Development Grants could be exhausted by fall, 2009.

• Challenge Grants funding major institutions like the Nevada Museum of Art will be eliminated for two years.

• Outreach programs such as Tumblewords, Traveling Exhibition Program which bring high quality visual and literary arts to Nevada’s rural communities will be suffer suspension and/or marginalization.

• NAC will layoff staff, including my position, Community Arts Development Associate, working with Nevada Arts Organizations around the State.

This is a very real threat to our state’s cultural infrastructure.Please let your legislators hear from you by doing the following two things.

1. Come to Carson City on Thursday morning, February 5, from 9 – 11 a.m. Quite simply, we need to pack the room with NAC grantees, constituents and artists. Your physical presence is vital, whether you speak or not.

2. Contact your Legislators and tell them that the arts matter in Nevada.Write to them via http://capwiz.com/artsusa/nv/state/main/?state=NV or call:

Senate Finance Committee
Senator Bernice Mathews 775-684-1433
Senator William Raggio 775-684-1419

Assembly Ways and Means Committee
Sheila Leslie 775-684-8845
Debbie Smith 775-684-8841
Heidi Gansert 775-684-8837
Tom Grady 775-684-8507
Pete Goicoechea 775-684-8573

Talking Points
Comments should/may address economic impact and diversification (jobs, payroll, taxes, etc), access and participation, cultural tourism, arts education, services to populations typically underserved and community vitality.

Your message should be clear – Nevada’s investment in the arts for more than 40 years through the Nevada Arts Council has been good use of public dollars and continuation of public funding for the arts is essential in Nevada. AND artists count as taxpayers and entrepreneurs.

Your voice is critically important. Again, this is a very real threat to public funding for the arts—not only here in northern Nevada, but throughout the state.

Remember the recent student demonstrations on behalf of higher education? Legislators saw and heard their message; it is now time to deliver the same message on behalf of the arts.

Higher education is the brain of Nevada, the arts are Nevada’s heart. Don’t leave Nevada without a mind and soul.

As always, thank you for your personal support
- Rossi