Arts Advocacy - LEGISLATIVE BUDGET REQUEST

On behalf of the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the Arts Council of New Orleans administers the Decentralized Arts Funding Program that provides much needed support for arts organizations in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes. Additionally, as one of nine regional agencies in the state, the Arts Council receives an operating grant of approximately $100,000 each year from the LDOA. The Arts Council is a member of the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts Advocacy. Please consider writing your legislator now in support of the budget request detailed below:

For Culture, Recreation and Tourism:

$125,000 increase in the Decentralized Arts Funding Program which places dollars for arts and cultural activities in EVERY parish in the state. This program is a national model for cultural investment and the return to the state is $14 per every dollar granted. This $125,000 will generate $1,175,000 MINIMUM back to the parishes! That is a significant, guaranteed return on your investment!

$297,284 increase in the statewide arts grants through the Louisiana Division of the Arts which supports the major arts and cultural institutions throughout the state. These organizations are responsible for bringing a variety of cultural resources to every parish in the state. These grants build the capacity of these organizations and stabilize their operations so that they may continue growing the cultural economy of their regions. This is cultural economic development at its best!

$60,835 to restore the cut to the Arts Education funding through the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Support for these projects increases the participation and preparation for arts education programming in EVERY school in Louisiana as mandated by Act 175 passed last year. These programs go into EVERY district of the state and prepare our students and teachers for a new day in raising the bar for education in Louisiana.

$57,350 to restore the proposed new and expanded work in Arts Education, through the Division of the Arts, to support the implementation of Act 175 which, over the next four years, puts a visual arts and performing arts teacher in every school in Louisiana. Similar efforts in Arkansas have moved that state into the very top of educational systems in the country. Students exposed to arts in the classroom, and teachers who use the arts to teach core subjects, are an important part of growing our state's competitiveness in the new "knowledge-based" economy of the 21st century. This is a very small investment for such a significant opportunity!

$250,000 for the development of job training program in the cultural economy through the Office of Cultural Development. The job market in the cultural economy is growing with almost $1 billion generated through the film industry alone. The recording industry is also showing significant growth. We also have a great need in preservation craftsmen and in the culinary field. Governor Jindal has recognized the need for workforce development as a means to continued economic development. The cultural economy in the state is poised to play a significant role in that development provided the state is ready to make the necessary investment. Training Louisiana citizens to work in these cultural industries is a win-win all around!

TOTAL CRT REQUEST--------$790,469

For Department of Education:

$500,000 dedicated for the second year implementation of Act 175 as it affects the role of the Department of Education in placing visual and performing arts teachers in EVERY school in Louisiana. These funds are for teacher training and curriculum development leading to the full implementation.

TOTAL DOE REQUEST--------$500,000


TOTAL THE LPAA IS SEEKING------------$1,290,469

eBay Charity Auction for New Orleans' Arts May 23, 2008

You can purchase original art while helping New Orleans artists and the Arts Council of New Orleans by participating in the eBay charity auction this Friday.

Global research firm Synovate selected 40 artists giving them $1,000 each to create original pieces based on the theme, "My New Orleans." The creations include sculpture, woodwork, glass and mixed media with many of the artists' inspiration being Hurricane Katrina.

All proceeds will go to the artists and the Arts Council to help rebuild the artist community in New Orleans. The auction runs for seven days; you can access it on eBay under the seller ID “synovateforneworleans.”

(Pictured: There's No Place Like Home, by Ariada Capo)

Twenty-one $25,000 Commissions Awarded

The Arts Council of New Orleans and the Joan Mitchell Foundation are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2008 New Orleans Art in Public Places Commissions:

Franco Alessandrini
Barry Bailey
Ryan Ballard
Raine Bedsole
Lou Blackwell
Marcus Brown
Christopher Scott Brumfield
Catherine Burke
“Generic Art Solutions”: Tony Campbell and Matt Vis
Eric Dallimore
Dawn DeDeaux
Paul Deo
Rashida Ferdinand
Mitchell Gaudet and Erika Larken
Shannon Landis Hansen
Sally Heller
Alex Podesta
Christopher Saucedo
Cynthia Scott and Damon Rosenzweig
Jim Sohr
Michel Varisco

In collaboration with the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and an independent jury, the Arts Council selected twenty-one public art projects designed specifically by local artists for the city of New Orleans. Artists will receive $25,000 to create artwork to be placed in the public venue and help with rebuilding their artistic careers.

Artists from Louisiana and Mississippi who were affected by Katrina or Rita were eligible to apply through a Call to Artists advertised by the Arts Council of New Orleans. The Call to Artists was initially for ten commissions, but due to the extraordinary response, the artistic diversity and the high quality of the proposals, twenty-one commissions funded by the Joan Mitchell Foundation were awarded.

The commissions provide the opportunity for local and regional artists to showcase their work parallel to the international exhibits: Prospect One International Biennial and Sculpture for New Orleans. Projects will be installed beginning in October 2008.

About the Joan Mitchell Foundation
The Joan Mitchell Foundation was established in April 1993 as a not-for-profit corporation following the death of Joan Mitchell in October 1992. The Foundation strives to fulfill the ambitions of artist Joan Mitchell to aid and assist the needs of contemporary artists and to demonstrate that painting and sculpture are significant cultural necessities.

About the Arts Council of New Orleans
The Arts Council of New Orleans is a private, non-profit organization designated by the City of New Orleans as its official arts agency. Now in its 33rd year, the Arts Council works in partnership with the City of New Orleans, community groups, local, state, and national governmental agencies, and other nonprofit arts organizations to meet the arts and cultural needs of the New Orleans community through a diversity of initiatives and services.

The Arts Council serves as one of nine regional distributing agencies for Louisiana Division of the Arts funds, and administers the Community Arts Grants and the Percent For Art program for the City of New Orleans.

For more information, contact:

Morgana King
Public Art Manager
Arts Council of New Orleans
818 Howard Ave., Suite 300
New Orleans, LA 70113
(504) 595-8450
(504) 529-2430 fax
mking@artscouncilofneworleans.org