CAA News Today

The Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA) Executive Director Henry Moran has accepted an appointment by President George W. Bush to serve as executive director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. At MAAA, a nonprofit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Mo., Moran has worked in partnership with state arts agencies, with the National Endowment for the Arts, and with foundations and corporations on regional, multiregional, national, and international arts and humanities programs.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities was created by Presidential Executive Order in 1982 to encourage private-sector support of the arts and to increase public appreciation of the value of the arts and the humanities through projects, publications, and meetings.

Partisan bickering is likely to be replaced with a concerted effort to quickly complete work on the appropriations bills in light of the recent terrorist attacks. Many of the controversial appropriations issues are likely to take a back seat, and spending bills could be consolidated under one large piece of legislation to expedite the process.

In other news, three senators who vehemently opposed national funding of artists and the arts-Jesse Helms (R-NC), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), and Phil Gramm (R-TX)-have announced their intention to retire from the U.S. Senate.

-Marta Teegen, CAA manager of governance, advocacy, and special projects

In a brief announcement on July 23, 2001, the White House formally nominated Bruce Cole, distinguished professor of fine arts and professor of comparative literature at the Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University in Bloomington, to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Arrangements for the transition from the chairmanship of William Ferris to Cole are under development, which means Cole will continue to teach during the fall semester at Indiana University. Ferris, whose four-year term expires in November, will continue as Chair until Cole takes over some time in December.

Michael Hammond, currently dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, was selected by President George W. Bush in mid-September 2001 to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Bill Ivey, current chair of the NEA, is due to leave at the end of September.

On July 12, 2001, the Senate confirmed Robert Martin to serve as director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Martin, who holds a PhD in philosophy and library science from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, comes to the IMLS from Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution recently approved Secretary Lawrence M. Small’s proposals for budget cuts in the coming fiscal year that include the closing of the Center for Materials Research and Education. The appropriations committees of Congress will determine this summer whether to approve Small’s budget proposal. If approved, the Center for Materials Research and Education will close December 31, 2001.

As a result of House rules prohibiting chairpersons from serving more than three terms, there is a new chairperson for the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Representative Joe Skeen (R-NM), and a new chair for the Senate Subcommittee of the Interior, Senator Conrad Burn (R-MT). Both committees fund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). While Congressman Skeen has consistently voted no on budget increases for the federal cultural agencies, Senator Burns has opposed Republican-sponsored bills to eliminate the NEA.

With a new administration and Congress, arts and humanities advocates must come together in full force to demonstrate a visible presence on Capitol Hill.

On March 19-20, 2001, Americans for the Arts will host the Arts Advocacy Day conference in Washington, D.C., which will bring together a broad cross-section of the United States’ national cultural organizations and grassroots arts leaders to underscore the importance of developing strong cultural public policies and appropriating long-term public funding for the arts, humanities, and arts education. On Monday, March 19, there will be advocacy training sessions in the afternoon, followed by the fourteenth Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy with the New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich at the Kennedy Center. On Tuesday, March 20, participants will make Congressional lobbying visits.

On March 27, 2001, the National Humanities Alliance will host Jefferson Day, a humanities advocacy event coinciding with the NEH’s annual Jefferson Lecture in Washington, D.C. This year’s speaker is noted playwright Arthur Miller. Jefferson Day will include a briefing session and Congressional lobbying visits.

As a cosponsor for both of these events, CAA will be in a position to help craft the advocacy message for the planned Congressional visits, as well as send a staff representative to meet with elected officials and other arts and humanities advocates. For more information on Arts Advocacy Day, please visit Americans for the Arts’ website at www.artsusa.org. For information on Jefferson Day, see the National Humanities Alliance’s website at www.nhalliance.org.

CAA cosponsored Arts Advocacy Day (March 19�20), hosted by Americans for the Arts, and Jefferson Day (March 26�27), hosted by the National Humanities Alliance, in Washington, D.C. Both events brought together a broad cross-section of national cultural organizations, academics, and grassroots arts leaders to promote the arts, arts education, and humanities to Congress through increased support for the federal cultural agencies.

In addition to increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), advocates at Arts Advocacy Day focused on two key policy issues championed by President George W. Bush�s administration–taxes and education. Advocates urged elected officials and their staffs to support tax legislation that will encourage private contributions to all nonprofit organizations by expanding the charitable gift deduction to those who do not itemize on their tax returns. Other proposals include the retention of some charitable giving incentives in the estate tax, and permission to direct IRA gift rollovers and withdrawals to charities without penalty. Another tax change could allow artists to deduct contributions of their artworks at full market value. For the first time, Republican legislators and staffers said that they definitely can agree with the arts community on this and were excited to hear about this issue. It is important to note that should Congress enact any charitable tax legislation, the resulting financial benefits to the nonprofit community�and specifically the cultural and education communities�could easily surpass any federal funds currently available through the NEA, NEH, or IMLS. Indeed, some estimates put the amount at $14 to 16 billion.

Advocates also urged members of Congress to support legislation that ensures a place for arts education in all public elementary and secondary education programs, including professional-development opportunities for arts teachers, funding for afterschool arts learning, and support for arts-education partnerships between schools and community cultural organizations. The message was reinforced at the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy. Frank Rich, an op-ed columnist and theater critic for the New York Times, spoke about the need to develop audiences for the arts through education and improved access to cultural events.

CAA representatives Marta Teegen and Paul Skiff visited the offices of Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Thad Cochran (R-MS) on Arts Advocacy Day. CAA learned that the general tone regarding an increased level of government funding has stabilized�and overall pessimism has softened�as a result of the benefits museum and visual-arts organizations have emphasized during the past several years on education programs, and because of tangible financial impact on communities served by cultural organizations. To representatives from both parties and legislative branches, however, individual-artist grants continue to be neglected by key arts lobbyists and members of Congress. This year, they were at least willing to discuss reinstating these grants, but, as the office of Senator Cochran acknowledged, these grants have become a political liability for the NEA rather than a substantive flaw in the endowment’s mission. Senate staffers found it easy to consider arts advocacy issues relating to tax questions, but it seems that a more ideological initiative, such as grants for individual artists, is still not something our elected officials have the outspokenness to treat.

One person who was outspoken�though on a different issue�was Arthur Miller, the thirtieth annual Jefferson Lecturer. He targeted the role of “acting” by politicians, and gave a scathing analysis of the recent presidential election. Not only did Miller find fault with President Bush and the Supreme Court, but he also expressed disappointment with Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Attended by more than one thousand people, Miller�s lecture drew loud cheers and applause from many in the audience who shared his opinions.

On Jefferson Day, a humanities advocacy day scheduled in conjunction with the Jefferson Lecture, CAA representatives Marta Teegen, Rachel Ford, and Deirdre Barrett visited the offices of the following senators: Conrad Burns (R-MT), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), all of whom sit on the Senate Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies�the group that deals directly with funding for federal cultural agencies. After explaining that NEA and NEH Challenge Grants have allowed CAA to offer Professional Development Fellowships to individuals from traditionally underrepresented populations at the professional level in museums and universities, CAA was encouraged to hear that, at the very least, Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee members currently have no plans to make further cuts to federal cultural agency budgets in the coming year. Similarly, President Bush presented his first budget request to Congress in mid-April that included level funding for all federal cultural agencies, with an additional request for cost-of-living salary increases for 2002. Neither the Senate nor the president, however, has committed to a specific timetable for budget increases to the NEA, NEH, and IMLS.

�Marta Teegan, CAA manager of governance, advocacy & special projects, and Paul Skiff, assistant director for Annual Conference

The election in the U.S. Senate was a plus for the federal cultural agencies, as three vocal opponents were defeated. They include Spencer Abraham (R-MI) who was defeated by Debbie Stabenow; John Ashcroft (R-MO), who was defeated by Jean Carnahan; and Rod Grams (R-MN), who was defeated by Mark Dayton. Other new senators likely to be favorable to the arts and humanities include: Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).

The Center for Arts and Culture in Washington, D.C., is near completion of a cultural policy document to present to the incoming administration. The document entitled, “Creative Transition,” will focus on the following policy areas: creativity and the law; globalization; access & equity, preservation; community life; federal funding; education; and support for creative workers. Recommendations for the new administration include establishing a cultural advisor to the president; establishing a joint Congressional Committee on Culture; and appointing an undersecretary of culture to the State Department.

This initial nonpartisan document will be followed by a series of more in-depth issue briefs that explore the effect individual national policies have on creativity in the U.S. “Creative Transition” and all subsequent issue briefs will be available to the public at www.culturalpolicy.org.