Nevada Arts Council Board Platform

NEVADA ARTS COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS – ADVOCACY PLATFORM, March, 2009

CULTURAL POLICY: ESSENTIAL FOR NEVADA

It’s clear the arts work for Nevada, and the NAC accomplishes its goals and mission to serve the state with a proven record of efficiency and accountability.

The Board of the Nevada Arts Council (NAC) is grateful to you, our policymakers, for continued support of the NAC and its dedicated staff. We are especially thankful for your additional funding for NAC activities during the previous legislative session. Government demonstrates its values and priorities through its public policies and program - an ideal as valid during times of economic duress as in times of economic prosperity.
 

OUR REQUEST TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE

We respectfully call upon you, our lawmakers, to restore full funding to the Nevada Arts Council to the original levels of approximately $1.8 million for each year of the 2010-11 biennium. We believe this very reasonable investment is right for Nevada's cultural, educational and economic future. The NAC Board recognizes that legislators must consider all paradigms as you work to craft the future of our state. We ask that you examine the value of your state arts agency, specifically, and the role of Nevada’s arts and culture (creative) industry in general, as a substantive catalyst for change. The arts are an industry—one that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism. New economic research shatters the myth that support for the arts comes at the expense of economic development. The Governor’s proposed budget allocates just over $700,000 to the NAC - a figure so small it amounts to less than 1/7 of 1 percent of the state budget. In FY08, with a base budget of $1.8 million (plus a one-shot appropriation of $212,500) the NAC made a modest investment of $1.4 million when awarding 380 grants in support of arts and cultural activities in 35 cities and towns in 16 counties. This in turn, leveraged additional contributions by local governments and the private sector and enabled NAC grantees to deliver $36.4 million of cultural activity, engaging nearly 2.9 million students, residents and visitors. Communities with a strong arts infrastructure are afforded yet another benefit: millions of dollars in spending related to arts events. Using the Cultural Index designed for Americans for the Arts, the 2.9 million attendees to arts events supported by NAC grants spent as much as $80.6 million in 2008 on transportation, meals, retail and other costs associated with event they are attending. And, this excludes the cost of admission. 

THE ARTS: A FOUNDATION FOR THE CREATIVE ECONOMY

The arts foster inventiveness and encourage new ways of thinking. They are at the heart of countless U.S. industries that rely on talents fueled by design and creative content. Arts-centric jobs are core to building a new kind of workforce to compete in the 21st century global economy. And the arts have economic impact beyond employment and job readiness. They also enhance community development, spur urban renewal, and provide the key to quality education. 

NAC: THINK SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

NAC provides entrepreneurial training for new and expanding businesses, with workshops, conferences and technical assistance. NAC grants equate to shovel-ready stimulus packages for the cultural nonprofit sector, providing seed money to leverage with private funds, thus encouraging innovative public/private partnerships. Nevada needs a competitive edge at this critical time. The nonprofit arts sector fosters creativity that feeds business and technology. This translates to new business, economic diversity and increased rural and urban tourism, at this critical time when Nevada needs a competitive edge.

ARTS EDUCATION IS CORE TO NEVADA’S FUTURE SUCCESS

To prepare the creative thinkers of tomorrow, Nevada’s education leaders need access to arts education program and strategies today. Students with an education rich in the arts have better grade point averages, score better on standardized tests, and have lower dropout rates—findings that cut across all socioeconomic categories. (Source: Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, Arts Education Partnership, 2002.) Through strong fine arts core curricula and a broad commitment to arts and culture, our educational systems develop well-educated citizens equipped with the critical thinking skills and creative talents necessary to compete on global economic and multi-cultural levels. The tools of arts education encourage creativity and innovation for every child in Nevada, while insuring that lifelong learning opportunities are available to all Nevadans.

THE ARTS SUSTAIN NEVADA COMMUNITIES

Today’s economic development is about competing for talent, which is based on the livability of communities. Vibrant communities offering aesthetic and cultural choices attract skilled workers, jobs and companies. For competitive positioning, Nevada must offer more than a business-friendly tax structure. We must promote creative communities to attract young workers with intellectual capital, material assets and current or future families. The arts must not be taken for granted. They are not only integral to Nevada’s economy, but to our lives. Countless citizens in our state appreciate the arts for their intrinsic values—their beauty, vision, and inspiration; their ability to open new horizons and sharpen and challenge our thinking. Ongoing support of quality arts and cultural activities and facilities provides substantial benefits for Nevada communities.

Board of Directors, Nevada Arts Council

Tim Jones, Chair, Reno; Julia Arger, Reno; Stacy Endres, Reno; Firouzeh Forouzmand, Las Vegas; Carol Johnson, Reno; Joan Lolmaugh, Henderson; Marcia Robinson, North Las Vegas, Bill Sims, Winnemucca; Harold Weller, Las Vegas