Monday, August 23, 2010
Nonprofit art organizations are big business in San Francisco, employing 28,000 people and providing tens of millions in state and local revenues. And they want politicians to pay attention.
"There is nothing more important we can do than advancing art in America," said Randy Cohen, vice president of local arts advancement at Americans for the Arts. He said the arts have a large impact on job creation and state and local government revenue. "Arts are part of the solution, not the problem. Art means business."
Cohen and other speakers at a public forum this week challenged candidates in the fall elections to pledge their support for the arts at a gathering held Tuesday at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. It was sponsored by San Francisco art and non-profit organizations including San Francisco Grants for the Arts, the San Francisco Foundation and the San Francisco Symphony.
