[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> Keep in mind that the NEA has helped support many of those small, local
> arts agencies staffed by volunteers and showing local artists. I grew up in
> a mid-sized town in the Midwest, and the local museums, symphonies and
> theater groups were an essential part of my childhood - and federal
> support, direct or indirect, helped keep those organizations going.

Absolutely true.  When talking to people with a more "conservative"
viewpoint about the NEA there are some other points I like to make.  I'm
located in Baltimore, Maryland, and I have seen the tremendous
difference a little bit of NEA money has made to small arts
organizations and alternative spaces here.  Since NEA grants always
required matching funds of at least 2:1, they have helped those
organizations leverage more private donations as well.  The fact is,
it's human nature to sit up and take more notice of the quality of
programs and the quality of artists in your own backyard when they
receive national recognition from an entity like the NEA.  And I think
it is also gets people in small organizations to think more broadly and
more creatively about their programs when they know they are competing
on a national level.

When writing to our representatives we should also remind them that a
significant proportion of the state arts council funds come from the NEA
and that a strong cultural environment is an amenity that businesses
look for when they are considering relocating.  Maryland has been very
supportive of funding for the arts beginning with Governor Schaefer in
the 1980s.  Was he a great aesthete?  No--but he saw the value of the
arts to the economic development of Baltimore and the state.

--Helen Glazer, Exhibitions Director
Goucher College, Baltimore, MD USA
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