The Arts Advocacy Day call to action included:

Restore National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Funding to $176 million
Ask Congress to support a budget of $176 million for the NEA in the FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill to restore funding for the creation, preservation, and presentation of the arts in America through the NEA’s core programs—Access to Artistic Excellence, Challenge America: Reaching Every Community, Federal/State Partnerships, and Learning in the Arts. The NEA is a solid investment in the economic growth of communities, as well as in the educational success of children and youth, through its commitment to reaching underserved populations and ensuring that all Americans have access to the arts. We request that the NEA restore its 1992 funding level of $176 million, which represents a $52 million increase, allowing it to increase its grants to arts organizations.

Increase Funding for Arts Education through the U.S. Department of Education
Ask Congress to support a $53 million funding level for the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts in Education programs in the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. The Arts in Education programs support newly emerging models in high-poverty schools that improve arts learning. The Model Development and Dissemination grants program has funded a total of 105 projects, identifying models of excellence in arts education that impact schools and communities nationwide. The Professional Development grants program has supported 56 projects that serve as national models. Increased funding will allow more model projects to be supported and will allow their findings to be more widely disseminated.

Allow Artists a Tax Deduction for Gifts of Their Own Work
Under current law, creators and collectors are treated differently when they donate tangible works (e.g., paintings or manuscripts) to museums, libraries, educational, or other collecting institutions. A collector may deduct the fair-market value of a work, but creators may deduct only its "basis" value—essentially the cost of materials such as paint and canvas. We urge members of Congress to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation, S. 548 or H.R.1524, which would allow artists to take a fair-market value deduction for works given to and retained by nonprofit institutions.

Congressional Arts Breakfast

Arts Advocacy Day officially kicked off at a Congressional Arts Breakfast on Capitol Hill, organized by Americans for the Arts in conjunction with the Congressional Arts Caucus. At the breakfast, Americans for the Arts and The U.S. Conference of Mayors jointly presented the 2007 Award for Congressional Arts Leadership to U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN).

Speakers at the breakfast included:

  • Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO, Americans for the Arts
  • Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Co-Chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus
  • Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), Co-Chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus
  • Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), recipient of the 2007 Congressional Arts Leadership Award
  • Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA), Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
  • Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Chief Sponsor of H.R. 1524, the artists' deduction bill
  • Chairman Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
  • Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana
  • Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Keynote Speaker
  • Dr. Sheila C. Johnson, CEO and nationally recognized arts philanthropist and the co-founder of BET Television.
  • Mayor David Cicilline, Providence, on behalf of The United States Conference of Mayors
  • Jane Powell, Actress
  • Chris Klein, Actor
  • Morgan Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education
  • Anna Weselak, President of the National PTA
  • Musical performances at the event were given by:

    • Melody Gardot, recently awarded the 2007 VSA arts International Young Soloists Award
    • Dudley Connell and Sally Love, performing bluegrass music

Rep. Betty McCollum (center) accepts the 2007 Award for Congressional Arts Leadership from Robert Lynch (right), president and CEO, Americans for the Arts and Mayor David Cicilline (left), Providence, RI.

 

Wynton Marsalis gives his keynote address at the Congressional Arts Breakfast.

Special Hearing of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee

Immediately after the Congressional Arts Breakfast, there was a special hearing on the importance of investing in the arts—the first such hearing in 12 years. The hearing was called by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA), the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, which has jurisdiction over funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the subcommittee, Rep. Dicks invited Americans for the Arts to organize a panel of witnesses to give official testimony.

Celebrity advocates meet with Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA)
From L-R: Chris Klein, Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch, Jane Powell, and Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA).

In these meetings, advocates also provided members of Congress with copies of the 2007 Congressional Arts Handbook, which includes information on important issues affecting the arts.

The Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy

Robert MacNeilOn the eve of Arts Advocacy Day, veteran broadcast journalist and Chairman of the Board of The MacDowell Colony Robert MacNeil delivered the Americans for the Arts 2007 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy to a capacity crowd in the Concert Hall of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

 

 

 

 

Selected Press Coverage about Arts Advocacy Day

 

Rep. Norm Dicks and Americans for the Arts Spearheaded First Hearing in More Than 12 Years on the Importance on Investing in the Arts

In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) hosted a hearing on the importance of investing in the arts in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day, sponsored by Americans for the Arts. Rep. Dicks invited Americans for the Arts to organize witnesses to give official testimony. This subcommittee has specific jurisdiction for setting the budget levels of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The hearing, "Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation," was held on Tuesday, March 13, following the Congressional Arts Breakfast.

Wynton Marsalis and others 

Wynton Marsalis gives his testimony to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.

Those testifying and topics addressed were:

Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Mr. Marsalis spoke about how the arts help shape a nation’s identity, cultural diplomacy, and disaster relief for cultural organizations in rebuilding communities. He is also the Co-Chair of the Cultural Subcommittee of the “Bring New Orleans Back” Commission.

 

Dr. Sheila C. Johnson, CEO and nationally recognized arts philanthropist
Johnson is the co-founder of BET Television; a partner in Lincoln Holdings LLC, which owns the Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics; President and CEO of Salamander Hospitality; and a board member of several cultural organizations, including Parsons The New School for Design, The Whitney Museum, VH1-Save the Music, and Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts. She discussed arts education. Read Dr. Johnson's testimony (PDF).

James Raisbeck, CEO of Raisbeck Engineering
As the Chairman and CEO of Raisbeck Engineering, Mr. Raisbeck’s aeronautical firm developed, among other things, the Armored Cockpits for Passenger Planes after September 11. He serves on the nonprofit boards of the ArtsFund, which raises corporate funds to regrant to cultural organizations in the Puget Sound area; the Seattle Opera; the Pacific Northwest Ballet; the Seattle Symphony; and the Museum of Flight. He talked about corporate giving to the arts, the impact on business of America’s negative reputation abroad, and the federal partnership role in supporting the arts. Read Mr. Raisbeck's testimony (PDF).

 

Mayor David Cicilline, Mayor, Providence, Rhode Island
Mayor Cicilline spoke on the transformation that his city has undergone from an industrial economy to a cultural economy, using the arts as the central strategy. He also represented the entire United States Conference of Mayors in talking about how the arts are an economic and community development engine for cities across the country. Read Mayor Cicilline's testimony (PDF).

Chris Klein, Acclaimed Actor
Mr. Klein has appeared in films such as Election, opposite Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, and American Pie. He also starred in This is Our Youth in London's West End. Mr. Klein discussed the importance of providing children with opportunities to participate in the arts, both in and after school with community-based arts organizations. Read Mr. Klein's testimony (PDF).

 

Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts 
Mr. Lynch discussed trends in arts giving at the federal, state, local, and private-sector levels; economic impact of the arts (including about-to-be-published statistics for some of the subcommittee members’ communities); and the dynamic work of community-based organizations that are providing resources and programs to millions of citizens daily (e.g., united arts funds, local arts agencies, arts and business councils). Read Mr. Lynch's testimony (PDF).