Thursday, February 12, 2009
Visual Art / Arts "Arts Jobs Are Real Jobs"
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 8:45 AM
That's the title of LATer Christopher Knight's latest on the fracas over whether the arts should be cut off from the economic stimulus bill.
He writes
Lilly cited a government study that showed at least 3 million arts industry workers are in support jobs—electricians, carpenters, seamstresses, janitors, accountants, publicists, etc.—and they'll be just as out-of-work as a Wall Street trader or a Wal-Mart clerk if an arts center cuts back or closes. So what gives? Why are so many blind to the simple reality that arts workers are real workers?
I chalk it up to our celebrity culture.
Funding for theater? Tim Robbins doesn't need money! Funding for art museums? Jeff Koons is rich! Funding for concert halls? Yo-Yo Ma is a superstar!
The glare of the celebrity spotlight obscures our view of the ticket-taker at Robbins' play trying to make ends meet, the preparator at Koons' museum exhibition struggling to put a kid through college or the education program coordinator at the concert hall where Yo-Yo Ma performs who has a pile of medical bills. Their jobs are at risk.
I'd like to hear stories from real live ticket-takers, preparators, education coordinators, gallery assistants, et al. Are any of you faced with extinction or have been laid off already? I want to hear about the work you do (or did), how much you make for it (This is the internet! You can be anonymous!), and whether you think the stimulus bill would affect you.
Leave them in comments and I'll bump them up to Slog.
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1
I work at a cultural center in Las Vegas (yes, we have ballet, theater, paintings, history, archeology, etc.). I was just announced that salaried personnel will be taking a 5% pay cut this year and a mandatory day off a month (another 5%). If things don't pick up, our guest services, maintenance, technology and curation staffs will be undergoing forced reductions. Nobody working in a non-profit situation is rich... nobody.
2
I was laid off in late 08 from a Seattle art gallery that specializes in glass. You bet the stimulus would affect the rest of the employees still there: PRATT and Pilchuck are the two venues from which most of the new glass artists hail. Without access to programs at those two sites the developing artists won't have a place to hone their skills, or the extra income the gallery provides. A lot of emerging artists use their time to teach at PRATT/Pilchuck as well.
And those artists who have become popular enough to be 'known' often have relied on grants and arts funding to engage in residencies. Residence at a college or arts center means that you need not worry about rent or material cost, and that instead you can spend 3 or 6 months just developing new series and styles. The best emerging artists that I've seen are those who nabbed a couple of residencies and spent a lot of time figuring out how they can better their art.
The less quality art that's out there, the fewer buyers, the fewer galleries, the fewer jobs, and a dearth of art culture. Bad cycle. Oh, but you can still buy a Chihuly mini edition for $6000, so who needs to worry about developing artists?
And those artists who have become popular enough to be 'known' often have relied on grants and arts funding to engage in residencies. Residence at a college or arts center means that you need not worry about rent or material cost, and that instead you can spend 3 or 6 months just developing new series and styles. The best emerging artists that I've seen are those who nabbed a couple of residencies and spent a lot of time figuring out how they can better their art.
The less quality art that's out there, the fewer buyers, the fewer galleries, the fewer jobs, and a dearth of art culture. Bad cycle. Oh, but you can still buy a Chihuly mini edition for $6000, so who needs to worry about developing artists?
3
I work in PR at a well-known Seattle non-profit that shall remain anonymous. Luckily, we're doing all right this year, especially in comparison to some arts organizations in this city whose big-ticket holiday shows got wiped out by the freakish snow. (Seattle Men's Chorus, I'm so sorry.) Many organizations here coping by taking pay cuts so that crucial staff don't get cut, and you'll see more mainstream, money-making shows coming out of theaters next year.
But, with the way grant money comes in, it won't be this year but the next that will determine our solvency. And the stimulus money, if there is any, probably won't make it to any of us until two years from now. Things are going to get worse before they get better.
But, with the way grant money comes in, it won't be this year but the next that will determine our solvency. And the stimulus money, if there is any, probably won't make it to any of us until two years from now. Things are going to get worse before they get better.
4
I was laid off from my Ticket Services Rep job in the box office at a regional producing theatre in Buffalo, NY about a year ago when, after 45 years, it went bankrupt. My position paid $8/hr with no benefits and I was working two other jobs at the time (working three jobs and still living below the poverty line is what GW Bush would have called a true American experience), but I ended up having to leave Buffalo just like the thousands of other people in the last 20 years who couldn't make a living there. (Now I live here in Washington and work in higher education, which is looking bleaker by the day.)
I only worked there for six months, but many of my coworkers had been at that theatre for years and made successful careers as electricians, sound techs, accountants, HR reps, designers, marketing and PR reps, bar managers, database administrators, house managers, custodians and facilities techs, etc. Some found work in Buffalo's other theatres, which are surprisingly many and successful (at least last year), but a lot of them collected unemployment and frantically job-searched, and at least two that I know of - both with years of experience that would be relevant to any job that involves people and customers - still haven't found work after a year. And now one of Buffalo's flagship spaces is sitting empty and dark in their already sad, struggling downtown.
My brilliant mother, who loves her job teaching art (and every other subject) in a poor public high school, recently made a non-brilliant remark to me about how Obama needed to cut arts funding completely out of his stimulus and "focus on more important things in a time of crisis." What disturbs me is that if even people like my mom are so freaked out and paranoid to believe that arts funding is a ridiculous, frivolous investment, no one will get on board.
More...
I only worked there for six months, but many of my coworkers had been at that theatre for years and made successful careers as electricians, sound techs, accountants, HR reps, designers, marketing and PR reps, bar managers, database administrators, house managers, custodians and facilities techs, etc. Some found work in Buffalo's other theatres, which are surprisingly many and successful (at least last year), but a lot of them collected unemployment and frantically job-searched, and at least two that I know of - both with years of experience that would be relevant to any job that involves people and customers - still haven't found work after a year. And now one of Buffalo's flagship spaces is sitting empty and dark in their already sad, struggling downtown.
My brilliant mother, who loves her job teaching art (and every other subject) in a poor public high school, recently made a non-brilliant remark to me about how Obama needed to cut arts funding completely out of his stimulus and "focus on more important things in a time of crisis." What disturbs me is that if even people like my mom are so freaked out and paranoid to believe that arts funding is a ridiculous, frivolous investment, no one will get on board.
5
The glare of the celebrity spotlight obscures our view of the ticket-taker at Safeco Field trying to make ends meet, the user at Qwest Field struggling to put a kid through college or the announcer where the Sonics used to perform who has a pile of medical bills. Their jobs are at risk.
6
The New Deal helped artists and this new stimulus pack age should be no different. I'd like to see the arts as a Cabinet position, and have a Ministry of Culture like just about every other Western nation Infrastricture jobs are great, but not all of us are great at shoveling asphalt.
7
Actually, I don't think it's that people think art jobs aren't REAL jobs (after all, working in porn will pay the bills too), I think it's that people think these jobs aren't (as) necessary in a time of crisis. Now, there could be a debate over whether that's true, but I can at least understand the argument that funding schools, police, transit, and other basic needs should be a priority. I don't think it's about whether artists are rich, I think it's about whether they're providing a vital service. Again, not sure where I fall on that argument, but it's a very different debate.
I also think that for the average person, art is very, very much a luxury. I enjoy going to the theater occasionally, but to be honest (especially given the price), I'd probably rather go see a movie. I'd never buy an expensive painting because I can easily buy an inexpensive pretty piece of fabric or hang something painted by a friend that I love just as much. Spending a ton of money on the arts is in some ways very much a status thing, and so I think that's part of it too...the reason people don't see it as so necessary is not that artists are rich, but that the people consuming art are rich (or it can seem like it--how many poor or even middle class folks do you know who regularly go to the ballet or orchestra? At least for me, that number is a big ONE, and that's a friend who grew up very wealthy).
I also think that for the average person, art is very, very much a luxury. I enjoy going to the theater occasionally, but to be honest (especially given the price), I'd probably rather go see a movie. I'd never buy an expensive painting because I can easily buy an inexpensive pretty piece of fabric or hang something painted by a friend that I love just as much. Spending a ton of money on the arts is in some ways very much a status thing, and so I think that's part of it too...the reason people don't see it as so necessary is not that artists are rich, but that the people consuming art are rich (or it can seem like it--how many poor or even middle class folks do you know who regularly go to the ballet or orchestra? At least for me, that number is a big ONE, and that's a friend who grew up very wealthy).
9
I too work at a cultural institution in Vegas. We've already done two rounds of layoffs and some have experienced salary cuts and hour reductions. In addition, we lost some of our health benefits. We are closed an extra day of the week as well.
11
Sara, your post made me sad. Everything humans wear, live in, drive, ride, eat, read, etc., etc., was designed by someone. Art is not luxury, art is completely vital to our humanity. That fabric on your wall? Designed by a textile designer. Museums, theatres, music venues, bring cultural LIFE and money to a community. Patrons of these institutions must eat somewhere, park their cars, or bikes or whatever. Sheesh. Attitudes like yours impoverish us all.
12
I work at a Museum that has had it's share of major setbacks in the last few years.
Only having been employed for the past year, I have seen our staff cut down in the last 6 months: grant writers, designers, Security guards, bookkeepers...As someone fairly low on the totem pole I was terrified that my first job out of college would be taken away from me.
As things have gotten worse this winter, our board members have decided to declare an emergency budget plan where we will not receive raises or increased compensation until "further notice."
I make an hourly wage. I'm not salary at all. I am full time, yet my paychecks alone would make me homeless if it were not for my partner. In a job where I function as the sole "face" of my department, my responsibilities and work load have increased, my compensation has not.
The new stimulus (that we have all been crossing our fingers for) would have helped us, at the very least to set the board member's minds at ease to keep those of us on the lower end of the seniority spectrum from losing more hours, and benefits.
Who knows what will happen now.
Reinforcing what the first commenter said about "nobody being rich in a non-profit" is very true. I never expected to make a large amount of money, but when the board members deciding our fate see this as an investment, the Senate's decision casts a grim reflection on the security of their money. What's more tragic is that Museums are now grouped in with casinos and golf courses under this package. According to KUOW, from a story they did on red tides and razor clams in the pacific northwest (http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=16902), program funding for them will increase, while the already meager government funding we receive is getting axed.
It's easy to cry and complain about fairness, but non-profits work fiercely hard to simply exist. It would be nice to be recognized for that.
Thanks for opening up the comments for this, it's nice to have an outlet to bare my frustration.
More...
Only having been employed for the past year, I have seen our staff cut down in the last 6 months: grant writers, designers, Security guards, bookkeepers...As someone fairly low on the totem pole I was terrified that my first job out of college would be taken away from me.
As things have gotten worse this winter, our board members have decided to declare an emergency budget plan where we will not receive raises or increased compensation until "further notice."
I make an hourly wage. I'm not salary at all. I am full time, yet my paychecks alone would make me homeless if it were not for my partner. In a job where I function as the sole "face" of my department, my responsibilities and work load have increased, my compensation has not.
The new stimulus (that we have all been crossing our fingers for) would have helped us, at the very least to set the board member's minds at ease to keep those of us on the lower end of the seniority spectrum from losing more hours, and benefits.
Who knows what will happen now.
Reinforcing what the first commenter said about "nobody being rich in a non-profit" is very true. I never expected to make a large amount of money, but when the board members deciding our fate see this as an investment, the Senate's decision casts a grim reflection on the security of their money. What's more tragic is that Museums are now grouped in with casinos and golf courses under this package. According to KUOW, from a story they did on red tides and razor clams in the pacific northwest (http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=16902), program funding for them will increase, while the already meager government funding we receive is getting axed.
It's easy to cry and complain about fairness, but non-profits work fiercely hard to simply exist. It would be nice to be recognized for that.
Thanks for opening up the comments for this, it's nice to have an outlet to bare my frustration.
13
"have a Ministry of Culture like just about every other Western nation "
Which may explain why American arts (particularly music: jazz, blues, hip hop) dominate in those countries.
The last thing we need is the state deciding what is good art and bad art. They can barely make the buses work.
Which may explain why American arts (particularly music: jazz, blues, hip hop) dominate in those countries.
The last thing we need is the state deciding what is good art and bad art. They can barely make the buses work.
14
@7 A very good point you make and a very tough fact (for me as an artist, at least) to own up to. Arts = elitist for many, many people. This is not debatable, it is a fact. The question is not how did this happen (Jesse Helms, NEA, conservatives, post-modernism, artists attitudes, sure okay), but how to reverse it. This issue alone has been and will continue to suffocate the arts.
The LAT argument is a valid and worthwhile argument (jobs are jobs are jobs), and it deserves to be made strongly by someone without a direct stake in the arts, that is, someone who is not an artist.
My answer to whether or not artists provide a vital service in this culture: They do. They are literally the poster children for the first amendment. Yes, there is excess and elitism and corruption (just like, uh, everywhere else. BIAW anyone?), however, free expression is not frivolous nor should it be pushed to the margin. This, if indirectly, is what has kept the social conservatives flapping their gums for so long. Any job that supports, promotes or performs the arts is in some way the caretaker of our cultural soul. And I don't care where you go to church or if you go at all, that's a vital service.
The LAT argument is a valid and worthwhile argument (jobs are jobs are jobs), and it deserves to be made strongly by someone without a direct stake in the arts, that is, someone who is not an artist.
My answer to whether or not artists provide a vital service in this culture: They do. They are literally the poster children for the first amendment. Yes, there is excess and elitism and corruption (just like, uh, everywhere else. BIAW anyone?), however, free expression is not frivolous nor should it be pushed to the margin. This, if indirectly, is what has kept the social conservatives flapping their gums for so long. Any job that supports, promotes or performs the arts is in some way the caretaker of our cultural soul. And I don't care where you go to church or if you go at all, that's a vital service.
15
@7
Arts jobs are absolutely necessary to our economic recovery. Nonprofit arts organizations, museums and public artists are integral members of our regional business community—employing people locally, purchasing goods and services within the community, and involved in the promotion of our communities that bring outside tourism dollars to be spent locally, and attracting new businesses to move here.
Nationally, there are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10% of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 – a loss of 260,000 jobs. These are tax-paying jobs, and when these jobs are lost, tax money is lost. Out of work arts administrators are just as likely to need unemployment, welfare, food banks, and etc as any other out-of-work person is.
Arts jobs are absolutely necessary to our economic recovery. Nonprofit arts organizations, museums and public artists are integral members of our regional business community—employing people locally, purchasing goods and services within the community, and involved in the promotion of our communities that bring outside tourism dollars to be spent locally, and attracting new businesses to move here.
Nationally, there are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10% of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 – a loss of 260,000 jobs. These are tax-paying jobs, and when these jobs are lost, tax money is lost. Out of work arts administrators are just as likely to need unemployment, welfare, food banks, and etc as any other out-of-work person is.
16
@ 15: As I said in my post, my point isn't that art jobs aren't jobs: they clearly are! And an arts person out of work loses that income/spending power/etc. just the same as any other person (be they a teacher, a janitor, a lawyer, or a McDonald's worker). My point is merely that, given LIMITED funds, I can understand the argument of why those funds should be prioritized for crumbling schools/schools that can't afford teachers, transit/infrastructure, police forces, etc. over arts. The question isn't whether arts are absolutely valuable (they clearly are) but whether they are comparably valuable in a crisis (and actually, I don't know--maybe they are, but I'm not willing to 100% concede the point either way). I guess the point is, if we could save 100% of jobs, that would obviously be awesome, but it doesn't seem feasible to me, anyway. So you have to prioritize.
17
I am an artist, and I EMPLOY people. Usually 2 full time, and 3 to 5 part time.
There is no question that these are real jobs. My full time guys usually have 2 year AA degrees, and mostly weld and forge metal. My part time people do stuff not much different from other office jobs- computer, image management, model building, and other things that are similar to jobs in graphics or architecture.
And all of these jobs are at risk in our current economy.
A portion of my income is from public art projects, and those are slowing down. The stimulus package specifically excluded many art categories from funding.
One point that I think should be brought up is that Arts jobs, be they with individual artists or institutions, are mostly very efficient uses of money- aside from the Seattle Arts Musuem, most arts organisations I know of in the Northwest work very close to the bone.
Most arts professionals make from 30% to 70% of what similar jobs pay in other fields- my welders, for example, could make close to twice what I pay em, if they worked big construction or shipyard or oil refinery work.
Administrators in the arts make half or less what a similar job pays at a real company.
And then, arts organisations spend a fraction what other fields do on overhead, benefits, leather chairs, company cars, bonuses, and so on, not to mention "profits". Of which, of course, there are none.
Any dollar spent on the arts goes fast and furious like right into the local economy. The multiplier effect is large. No stockholders, no profits, no savings accounts.
There is no question that these are real jobs. My full time guys usually have 2 year AA degrees, and mostly weld and forge metal. My part time people do stuff not much different from other office jobs- computer, image management, model building, and other things that are similar to jobs in graphics or architecture.
And all of these jobs are at risk in our current economy.
A portion of my income is from public art projects, and those are slowing down. The stimulus package specifically excluded many art categories from funding.
One point that I think should be brought up is that Arts jobs, be they with individual artists or institutions, are mostly very efficient uses of money- aside from the Seattle Arts Musuem, most arts organisations I know of in the Northwest work very close to the bone.
Most arts professionals make from 30% to 70% of what similar jobs pay in other fields- my welders, for example, could make close to twice what I pay em, if they worked big construction or shipyard or oil refinery work.
Administrators in the arts make half or less what a similar job pays at a real company.
And then, arts organisations spend a fraction what other fields do on overhead, benefits, leather chairs, company cars, bonuses, and so on, not to mention "profits". Of which, of course, there are none.
Any dollar spent on the arts goes fast and furious like right into the local economy. The multiplier effect is large. No stockholders, no profits, no savings accounts.
18
If this issue angers you, for the love of all that is holy DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Send an email to your senators through this link http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?… and make sure they are voting against the Coburn amendment to cut Arts funding from the Stimulus Bill. I've already done it. I watched several people I adore lose their jobs last week and it will be near impossible for the museum I work in to function if this goes through. We're already facing the worst year we'll ever have, with the least amount of staffing possible.
PASS THE LINK AROUND AND GET INVOLVED! Do it for all of us who live and breathe the arts. Even when we don't get paid that much!!
Send an email to your senators through this link http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?… and make sure they are voting against the Coburn amendment to cut Arts funding from the Stimulus Bill. I've already done it. I watched several people I adore lose their jobs last week and it will be near impossible for the museum I work in to function if this goes through. We're already facing the worst year we'll ever have, with the least amount of staffing possible.
PASS THE LINK AROUND AND GET INVOLVED! Do it for all of us who live and breathe the arts. Even when we don't get paid that much!!
19
I work at one of the largest museums in NY and the first people that were cut here, last July, were painters, carpenters, phone operators, security, etc.
20
I once worked for a museum in a very small town in Washington. It was the biggest tourist draw for that town, and brought in tons of out-of-towners who not only supported the museum, but the local artists who displayed at the gift shop, the restaurants around the museum, the stores down the street and the police officers who caught them speeding in the speed traps. Without the museum's publicity that town would have had less entreprenurial businesses and could offer less to prospective home buyers.
Now, that same museum is fighting tooth and nail to keep its funding, its board members are dwindling, and those same businesses that were supported by the museum are finding themselves without tourists to cater to. You tell me that the museum isn't important to job growth in that town, and all others like it.
Now, that same museum is fighting tooth and nail to keep its funding, its board members are dwindling, and those same businesses that were supported by the museum are finding themselves without tourists to cater to. You tell me that the museum isn't important to job growth in that town, and all others like it.
21
Hey Jen, ex-intern here.
Over the summer I got a job as a ticket taker at a local museum. I worked hard, I shoved my credentials in faces, and in October I was promoted into the Education department. It was a good job: I got benefits, decent pay, and a bus pass. This job is the exact job I wanted to get after graduating college - working in the education department of a museum, with kids, trying to figure out ways to get lower incomes in the door. It was perfect - until a 40% budget cut caused the museum to eliminate positions, including my own. I was removed from my current position and moved to a part time temporary position through May, which will then go to full time June through August, after which I will be unemployed. And while I got an employment option, many people who have been at this museum far longer than I have got the royal boot with barely a severance to speak of. I just graduated college and have huge student loans to pay off, credit debt to work on, and bills that never go away. It seemed to good to be true when it happened, but i honestly thought I'd have at least a year of medical. As is, I'm stuffing my February full of appointments until my full time runs out at the end of the month.
I had a real job, one where I was an educator, a kid wrangler, a maintenance staff, and now I have something that will hold me up temporarily. I wish I had applied to grad school in early Feb.
Over the summer I got a job as a ticket taker at a local museum. I worked hard, I shoved my credentials in faces, and in October I was promoted into the Education department. It was a good job: I got benefits, decent pay, and a bus pass. This job is the exact job I wanted to get after graduating college - working in the education department of a museum, with kids, trying to figure out ways to get lower incomes in the door. It was perfect - until a 40% budget cut caused the museum to eliminate positions, including my own. I was removed from my current position and moved to a part time temporary position through May, which will then go to full time June through August, after which I will be unemployed. And while I got an employment option, many people who have been at this museum far longer than I have got the royal boot with barely a severance to speak of. I just graduated college and have huge student loans to pay off, credit debt to work on, and bills that never go away. It seemed to good to be true when it happened, but i honestly thought I'd have at least a year of medical. As is, I'm stuffing my February full of appointments until my full time runs out at the end of the month.
I had a real job, one where I was an educator, a kid wrangler, a maintenance staff, and now I have something that will hold me up temporarily. I wish I had applied to grad school in early Feb.
22
What seems to be overlooked in the debate of "is culture necessary in a time of depression" is that during the WPA years of the 1930's. The public had access to the art created by the government. Plays, art exhibits, operas, dance recitals, sculpture classes, lecture series, etc. were toured all over the country to every city and small town... even to mining camps and construction sites and military bases. Most of these things were offered free or at very little cost. The point was to give jobs to artists and RAISE THE SPIRITS of those who witnessed the works (by some of the most brilliant and important artists of their time).
23
Not only are arts jobs "real" jobs, but in general, each single arts "job" would be 2-3 jobs in the for-profit world. What this means is that laying off a single person in an arts institution means that their job will essentially not get done once that person has been elimiated. Consequently, the public loses artistic and educational resouces that they deserve to have offered within their community. As an educator, for every program I execute, I do everything myself: I work on the idea behind it, the coorination of all logistical details, promotional efforts, the physical set up of any space required for the program, the execution the day-of, and the clean-up following its completion.
The public perception of large arts institutions such as the one I work at is that there are plenty of monetary and staff resources at our disposal because we receive funding from wealthy donors and sources such as Microsoft and the Paul Allen Family Foundation. In reality, our resources are minimal even at our peak of success, and as the economy crumbles, we cannot rely on the generousity of business now filing for bankrupcy or being bailed out by stimulus plans. Likewise, foundations are being forced to limit their giving as their endowments have been depleted by the stock market fallout. As a result, organizations must cut the minimal staff they currently have in an effort to avoid folding comptlely. It would be highly beneficial to be able to once again rely on the government for assistance after more than a decade of their arts funding becoming increasingly limited to conservative projects that often fail to challenge audiences' perceptions and intellect, hence reinforcing the idea that the arts have little impact on the public at-large.
Eliminating positions in public arts institutions directly affect the taxpayers whose money is going to pay for the stimulus bill, but unfortunately it seems this will only be realized as our staffs and budgets become smaller and smaller, and the resources and programming we offer the community quietly fade away.
More...
The public perception of large arts institutions such as the one I work at is that there are plenty of monetary and staff resources at our disposal because we receive funding from wealthy donors and sources such as Microsoft and the Paul Allen Family Foundation. In reality, our resources are minimal even at our peak of success, and as the economy crumbles, we cannot rely on the generousity of business now filing for bankrupcy or being bailed out by stimulus plans. Likewise, foundations are being forced to limit their giving as their endowments have been depleted by the stock market fallout. As a result, organizations must cut the minimal staff they currently have in an effort to avoid folding comptlely. It would be highly beneficial to be able to once again rely on the government for assistance after more than a decade of their arts funding becoming increasingly limited to conservative projects that often fail to challenge audiences' perceptions and intellect, hence reinforcing the idea that the arts have little impact on the public at-large.
Eliminating positions in public arts institutions directly affect the taxpayers whose money is going to pay for the stimulus bill, but unfortunately it seems this will only be realized as our staffs and budgets become smaller and smaller, and the resources and programming we offer the community quietly fade away.
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