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The BlueMoon is published bi-monthly by the Kentucky Arts Council. Please
send comments, questions and information to The Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts
Council, Old Capitol Annex, 300 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY 40601-1980 or call
502/564-3757V/TDD Toll Free: 1-888-833-2787
E-mail:
kyarts@mail.state.ky.us
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President Bush
Nominates Poet and Critic Dana Gioia as Next Chairman of the National Endowment
for the Arts
 President George W. Bush recently announced
his intention to nominate poet, critic and educator Dana Gioia as the next
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Gioia (pronounced JOY-uh), 51,
is best known for his book, Can Poetry Matter?, about the role of poetry in
contemporary culture. The Sonoma County, Calif. resident has published three
full-length books of poetry in addition to numerous translations, essays and
reviews. A longtime cultural commentator for BBC Radio, Gioia is also classical
music critic for San Francisco magazine. In addition, he has taught as a
visiting writer at academic institutions including Johns Hopkins University,
Sarah Lawrence College and Wesleyan University. Previously, he spent 15 years
as a business executive for General Foods. “I am deeply honored by
President Bush’s nomination to be Chairman of the National Endowment for
the Arts,” Gioia said. “If confirmed by the Senate, I shall do my
best to be worthy of this public trust. I am particularly excited by the
opportunity to help guide an agency whose role is so important to our society
and culture.”
Once the nomination is made, it will be reviewed by the Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sen. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.) is the committee chairman and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) is the ranking
Republican member. Once confirmed, the new Chairman would serve a four-year
term.
How Will the Arts Fare in the 108th Congress, Controlled by the
GOP?
During the 108th Congress, which convenes in January 2003, the
prospects for federal support of the arts should not be expected to change.
Support for the National Endowment for the Arts, which was rebuilt in recent
years, has depended equally on champions in the Republican and Democratic
ranks. In fact, it was bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled House
that increased the NEA's appropriations in 2001 and 2002. The Democratic
majority on the Senate Appropriations Committee weighed in this year with a
lesser increase for the arts endowment than the amount passed by the House.
In 2003, much will depend on the leadership and initiative of
Dana Gioia, nominated by President Bush to chair the National Endowment for the
Arts. Confirmation of his nomination should move easily through the Senate
shortly after the new Congress is sworn in.
Any difficulty ahead for national arts advocates will be caused
by fiscal, not political, issues. In October, the federal Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) announced that the federal budget deficit was $159 billion in
2002. In 2001, the federal budget accumulated a surplus of $127 billion. The
new budget deficit, the first since 1997, caused the OMB director to say that
spending has to be controlled while "new defense and homeland security spending
is needed." Facing deficits, Congress will find it harder to come up with the
money it wants to invest in domestic programs.
Study Shows that the Nonprofit Arts Industry Generates $134
Billion in Economic Activity and $24 Billion in Tax Revenues
 Arts & Economic Prosperity: The
Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts Organizations and Their Audiences, recently
published by Americans for the Arts, reveals that America's nonprofit arts
industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including
$24.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues. The $134 billion total
includes $53.2 billion in spending by arts organizations and $80.8 billion in
event-related spending by arts audiences:
- The $53.2 billion represents a 45 percent increase (from $36.8
billion) since 1992, when Americans for the Arts last studied spending by arts
organizations.
- The $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences
reflects an average of $22.87 per person in spending for hotels, restaurants,
parking, souvenirs, refreshments, or other similar costs, with non-local
attendees spending nearly twice as much as local attendees ($38.05 compared to
$21.75).
The $134 billion in total economic activity has a significant
national impact, generating the following:
- $89.4 billion in household income
- $6.6 billion in local government tax revenues
- $7.3 billion in state government tax revenues
- $10.5 billion in federal income tax revenues
“When communities invest in the arts, there is a tendency to
think that they are opting for cultural benefits at the expense of economic
benefits,” state Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO for Americans for the
Arts. “This demonstrates that the arts are an industry that generates
extraordinary economic activity, jobs, and tax revenues. When we say that the
arts mean business, that’s not just a slogan; it’s the
truth.”
Arts & Economic Prosperity: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit
Arts Organizations and Their Audiences, the most comprehensive economic impact
study of the nonprofit arts industry ever conducted, is based on surveys of
3,000 nonprofit arts organizations and more than 40,000 attendees at arts
events in 91 cities in 33 states, plus the District of Columbia. More information...
NEW STUDY EXAMINES HOW OTHER COUNTRIES USE INFORMATON TO DEVELOP
CULTURAL POLICIES
Possible Models for the United States
The Pew Charitable Trusts
recently announced the release of an important new book, Informing Cultural
Policy: The Research and Information Infrastructure, by J. Mark Schuster. Part
of the Trusts' national culture program, Optimizing America's Cultural
Resources, the Schuster book takes a look at how other countries collect,
analyze and disseminate the information that forms the basis for sound policies
on cultural matters. One of the program's fundamental premises is that the
development of positive and effective cultural policies depends on providing
more and better information on arts and culture to policymakers.
In Informing Cultural Policy, Schuster, a noted international
cultural policy scholar and researcher, relates the findings of an
international comparative study of the research and information infrastructure
for cultural policy. The report carefully documents this infrastructure in
France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Canada, but also considers a wider
array of initiatives in a number of countries as well as within the Council of
Europe and UNESCO.
GO
TO PUBLICATION: "Informing Cultural Policy"
The Pew Charitable Trusts support
nonprofit activities in the areas of culture, education, the environment,
health and human services, public policy and religion.
Extensive Online Database Now Available from NYFA
NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS In partnership with the Urban
Institute, the New York Foundation for the Arts is providing free online access
to the all-new NYFA Source, the nation’s most extensive databank of
grants, residencies, publications, and resources for artists. NYFA Source is
just one facet of NYFA Interactive, designed
to interact with and serve the needs of artists, art organizations, donors, and
the art-curious public.
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