Arts leaders ready to work to reverse reductions

Columbus-area arts leaders are lamenting the proposed elimination of federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts but emain cautiously optimistic that the cuts won’t come to pass.

Last week, President Donald Trump submitted a proposed budget that would eliminate NEA funding, which was $147.9 million in fiscal year 2016.

“Certainly, I was disappointed, but I don’t think it’s time to panic,” said Chad Whittington, interim president and CEO of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. “I view this as an opportunity for us in the arts community to go out again and make that case and talk about the great things we do here and why

it’s important.”

Last year, the NEA directed just more than $2 million to Ohio: $983,000 to the Ohio Arts Council, which provides grants to numerous organizations; and the rest in direct grants to groups and individuals.

Nannette Maciejunes, executive director of the Columbus Museum of Art, said the museum has received $120,000 combined in NEA grants in the past five years.

“There’s just right now a

very deep sense of sadness,” Maciejunes said. “I think it signals a lack of belief and commitment that the arts are important. People look to political leadership for signals, and, if they signal the arts aren’t important, people will feel they really don’t matter.”

Maciejunes said the effects of NEA funding xtend beyond the basic grant amounts. Most such grants come with the stipulation that the amount is matched by local funding.

Also, she said, an NEA grant serves as a stamp of approval of sorts, making it easier for museum officials to generate private matching funds for that particular project.

As Whittington said, planning for a post-NEA nation might be premature.

The Associated Press reported last weekend that several key Republican leaders have expressed support for the program. Also, the NEA survived two similar threats to its funding, one each in the 1980s and 1990s.

In a statement on the Ohio Arts Council website last week, Executive Director Donna Collins encouraged arts advocates to get involved in awareness and lobbying efforts as the budget process proceeds.

“Stay calm, remain strong and be confident,” Collins said. “The NEA has weathered these types of debates before, and together, the arts community will persevere.”

Similarly, Maciejunes said that museum directors will work hard to let politicians and the public know how much the arts contribute to their communities.

“If you value something, you have to fight for it.”