In Monday’s (3/28) Seattle Times, Queenie Wong reports, “Government funding for the arts is falling on hard times amid the state’s multibillion budget shortfall. Gov. Chris Gregoire proposes eliminating the Washington State Arts Commission and slashing state funding for grants to hundreds of nonprofit arts organizations, ranging from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra to the Icicle Creek Festival in Leavenworth. … The amount of money involved is modest: The state now spends about $3 million a year total for the public art program, the arts commission and the grants it awards. But with the state budget shortfall topping $5 billion, lawmakers are weighing the state’s role in promoting and funding art. The proposed cuts come as no surprise to artists and arts advocates, who have seen state support for art decline nationwide during the economic downturn. … Gregoire suggests cutting the commission’s state share this coming fiscal year by 80 percent—from $1.2 million to $250,000. The state money makes up less than half of the agency’s budget, but federal funding is expected to drop as well. Gregoire’s proposal also would eliminate the agency and move its core functions to the state Department of Commerce.”
Posted March 30, 2011
