In case anyone is wondering whether AAM cares about TIIAP -- yes we do!
You haven't heard from us because we've had staff turnover.  The new
person handling the issue for us is Barry Szczesny (pronounced Says
Knee).  His e-mail address is [log in to unmask]; he'll probably be
subscribing to museum-l in the near future.

Besides the other reasons museums should care about TIIAP, it is a new
source of funding in a time of retrenchment.  Also, TIIAP is not funding
"art for art's sake" which, when all is said and done, is usually the
rationale behind other government funding.  (Before anyone screams, I know
that NEA, NEH and IMS have other and better rationales, but I'm not sure
that either Congress or the general public really understand them.)  TIIAP,
to the contrary, is easily understood; and what's more, it funds
infrastructure -- sort of the equivalent of bricks and mortar money, which
practically speaking is almost nonexistent at the federal level.

Andy Finch
AAM Government Affairs
[log in to unmask]

Usual Disclaimers apply