NEA CHAIRMAN DANA GIOIA SPEAKS AT ARTS FORUM

More than 175 representatives of New York's cultural community heard Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, at the Alliance's Arts Forum on October 21.

In his first public policy speech in New York, entitled "Building a National Consensus for Arts Funding," Mr. Gioia laid out his mission and goals for the NEA. He told the audience that the NEA primarily exists to serve the American people. He proposes a "populist" approach by bringing cultural activity to all Congressional districts, especially those areas which are underserved. His first attempt to achieve this goal is Shakespeare in American Communities, a new program which will bring productions of Shakespeare to rural communities and small towns around America. (The program includes two New York-based companies, the Acting Company and the Aquila Theatre Company, which will perform Othello at the Queens Theater in the Park January 5-18.)

Asked about the 15 percent cap on funding to any state, which reduced NEA grants to New York, Mr. Gioia said New Yorkers would benefit from an increase in his budget and requested their support.

Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate D. Levin welcomed Mr. Gioia and pledged her support for his efforts to increase the NEA appropriation. Her predecessors Mary Schmidt Campbell and Schuyler Chapin attended, along with the Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts, Richard J. Schwartz, and his predecessors Kitty Carlisle Hart and Earle I. Mack.

The Arts Forum was hosted by Bernstein Investment Research and Management.

NEA AND NEH FUNDING LIKELY TO INCREASE

On October 27, the House-Senate Conference Appropriations Committee agreed to reconcile their differences over the 2003 Interior Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Committee agreed to an appropriation of $122.5 million for 2004, an increase of $6.8 million over the 2003 budget of $115.7 million. This bill will now go back to both chambers for a final vote. If approved, the NEA increase will be earmarked for arts organization grants and increased administration expenses.

STATE AND PRIVATE ARTS FUNDING DOWN

State legislatures throughout the United States are making drastic reductions in arts spending for the second year in a row, according to a recent article in the Art Newspaper. Research from the Americans for the Arts, a national arts advocacy group, reveals that the biggest cuts are being reported in California, where the State Arts Council budget has been slashed from $18 million to $1 million for 2004, and Florida, where the arts budget has been cut from $28 million to $5.9 million. (In contrast, funding for the New York State Council on the Arts stands at $37.4 million for the 2003-04 fiscal year, down 15 percent from the previous year.)

Private support for cultural organizations declined as well, according to a recent survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Contributions to cultural organizations totaled $1.15 billion in 2002, a 26.5 percent decrease from 2001. According to the survey, the majority of this decrease can be attributed to the absence of a one-time gift in 2001 from the Wallace-Reader's Digest fund to two cultural groups.

NYC NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT 2003

On December 3, the Department of Small Business Services will hold the New York City Neighborhood Development Summit 2003 at P.S.1 Museum of Contemporary Art (22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens). The summit is entitled "The Arts and Economic Development" and features a day-long program of panel discussions. Carol R. Brown, former President of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is the keynote speaker.

The Alliance, in partnership with the Department of Small Business Services, is conducting an arts and economic development survey of all Business Improvement Districts throughout New York City; the survey findings will be presented at the summit.

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at www.nyc.gov/summit or by phone at (212) 513-6334 before November 28. Tickets may also be purchased the day of the event for $35.

FRIENDS OF THE ARTS PARTY

On Monday, November 10, the Alliance will host a fundraiser to support the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellowship for Public Policy and the Arts at Christie's New York (20 Rockefeller Plaza, on 49th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). A cocktail reception will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 pm during a private preview of Post War/Contemporary art. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased online at www.allianceforarts.org/wagner.htm, by phone at (212) 947-6340 or at the door.

In 2002, the Alliance inaugurated the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellowship for Public Policy and the Arts, a program aimed at training cultural policy leaders.