Paper Mache
April is Arts, Culture & Creativity Month.
In 2019, Californians for the Arts (CFTA) successfully campaigned for the state to recognize the arts in April with this special designation through a resolution passed in the California Senate.
CFTA directs this annual monthlong spotlight on the arts to raise visibility and awareness about the value of our sector, to empower arts advocates to act, and to spur greater investments in our industry and workforce.
Recently, Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture began working with CFTA to make our state legislators aware of key budget issues that directly affect the creative sector. This week is designated “Advocacy Week” where arts delegates (including YSAC) meet with legislators to press for their support. CFTA has done an excellent job preparing us for this work. We held a successful meeting with staff in Assemblymember (James) Gallagher’s Sacramento office and will soon be meeting with Senator (Jim) Nielsen who has long been a supporter of ours.
One of the 2022-23 legislative budget asks we are hoping will be passed is “$1 for the Arts,” an increase in California Arts Council funding from $.66 per person to $1 per person. This equates to an increase in baseline funding from $26 million to $40 million over three years. Minnesota invests $6 per resident in statewide arts programs and New York and Massachusetts allocate $2 per person. California, as the fifth largest economy in the world, should be able to do a little more. The arts and culture industries in California represent 7.5 percent of our GDP and over 700,000 creative sector jobs.
There are other budget asks that will help the creative sector’s recovery and help invest in its future including funding the CA Creative Workforce Act of 2021 and funding to expand the Cultural Districts program. Some of this funding will ultimately come back to us in Yuba-sutter in the form of increased annual stipends and a wider range of individual grant opportunities for programs and projects.
Look at Californiansforthearts. org for more details or contact yubasutterarts.org. Please contact our state legislators to show your support for these vital arts funding initiatives.