Sick, slick, stick

Sick. I'm sitting here with "a little pneumonia" in my right lung, feeling guilty for not going to work today, even though I spent most of the day working from home and got more done here than I probably would have at the office. I had pneumonia once when I was in college. It was severe. In fact, the doctor called my parents and told them to come get me and bring me home where I could recover. 

I had no idea my current condition was so serious -- I just had a minor cough and fits of wheezing that made it difficult to get a good night's sleep, which was annoying more than anything. A low blood oxygen reading and two chest x-rays later, I'm popping antibiotics and steroids like candy. Not to mention the puffs of albuterol.

But, I will definitely be going to work tomorrow.

Slick. Meanwhile, last week and over the weekend I spent some time updating (or as BC corrected, "overhauling") my website. I switched over to a flash site that I think is pretty darn slick. The other site was ok and served its purpose, but I can't deny that I am overjoyed with the new one. Take a look, www.emilyjcole.com.

Stick.  Updating the website gave me pause. I couldn't help but think of all the other artists and arts employees in Virginia whose livelihoods are in the hands of the General Assembly. The budget for the next biennium is scheduled to come out of conference committee this week. On the chopping block is the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which helps fund hundreds of arts organizations -- large and small -- which employ over 20,000 workers.

Arts advocates across the Commonwealth have been pulling out all the stops, calling, writing and visiting with legislators, using logic and sound economic arguments to pursuade lawmakers that eliminating the VCA is a lose-lose situation for everyone. All in all, I think advocates have demonstrated that artists are not just a bunch of communist pot smoking attic-living bums. We have clearly articulated our cause in a reasonable and diplomatic way...walking softly. But don't forget about that big stick we're carrying.

If the VCA is eliminated, that stick is going to strike a heavy blow on the Virginia economy in ways that will make lawmakers' heads spin and number crunchers' calculators spontaneously combust. I hope with all my heart that our elected officials will receive an epiphany in the next couple days, helping them to recognize the integral role the arts play in our state's economy and leading them to make a rational decision regarding funding the arts.

Otherwise.... we'll all be up [another s-word] creek.

Russians love their culture...

...and apparently their really cheesy lounge singers. (Since I minored in Russian, I feel relatively safe saying this! haha)
 
This is just too hilarious not to post. Our Artistic Director, Bruce Miller, had this on his Facebook page this morning, with the caption: "Perhaps this is what all those delegates who voted to eliminate the Virginia Commission for the Arts yesterday think about when they contemplate who we are and what we do."

The Russian title in the clip translates to, "I am very glad, that at long last, I am coming back home. Vocalize." 

An inspiring day. Brahms would be proud.

 

arts peeps in the gallery of the House chamber

Quick update.

The House passed their budget, as expected. Now the bills go to conference committee where Senators and Delegates will hash out their differences and try to reach some sort of compromise.

The turnout today at the capitol was inspiring. Around 200 arts advocates lined the stairwell and lobby spaces leading to the gallery of the House chamber and dozens of us early birds were able to meet with Senators and Delegates (or their aides) in the morning. Del. Manoli Loupassi's aide told us that his office had received more phone calls from arts advocates in the last few days than from any other advocacy group so far the entire session.

We need to keep up the momentum until March 5th when the gavel drops on the final budget. In the meantime, a little levity. :)

Darkest before the Dawn?

It's been a rough day.

Demoralized. Discouraged. Disgruntled. And other "d" adjectives.

In case you haven't been following my rants on Facebook and Twitter, Virginia's arts agency, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, is slated for a 50% cut in 2011 and total elimination in 2012. The General Assembly votes tomorrow. We'd be the first state in the union to eliminate its arts agency. This is an instance when being a pioneer is not a good thing.

I am tired. Being an advocate for the arts is not easy. I've been trying my best to write rational, compelling arguments in an attempt to persuade some fence-riders to hop over to the side of the arts. Rather than feeling energized, however, I feel like I've been banging my head against a wall.

This whole situation reminds me of my stint as a community organizer about ten years ago, trying to effect affordable housing legislation for immigrants in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Even in that relatively liberal climate, we came up against obstacle after obstacle. We met with lawmakers. We rallied at the capitol. We were defeated. We started over.

It was -- and is -- exhausting.

But, even so, I feel that I can't drop this torch, because it affects me personally, both as an artist and as an employee of two amazing arts organizations. So, I will press on.

*cracks knuckles*

*inhales deeply*

"The arts" (artists, art teachers, arts organizations, etc.) are used to being the first to go when times get tough. As I read from one arts opponent, "Food, or a play? I choose food." Ok. Food. What about food for the soul? What about all the studies that show the positive impact of the arts in employee productivity, student learning rates, helping children with mental and physical disabilities, improving the quality of life of the aged, etc. etc. etc.  Do die-hard opponents of the arts really not believe the results of these studies? How can people be so rigid?

I keep hearing people say things like,

"No one is immune. We all have to make sacrifices."
"Everyone wants to keep their dollar and take it away from someone else."
"We have to prioritize. Jobs are more important than arts."
"Let the private sector support the arts. I don't want my tax dollars going for arts. I pay for my entertainment. Why should arts groups get special treatment?"

To the first and second comments, I say this: Arts advocates are aware that sacrifices need to be made. But consider that the budget of the Virginia Commission for the Arts in its heyday was $6 million. In its heyday. Over the last two years VCA's budget has been decreased to around $4 million. That's a 30% cut to an already relatively small agency (with 5 employees). Yet arts organizations continue to make it work, pumping $7 into the economy for every $1 invested by the Commission. So no, the arts are not immune, and the arts have made sacrifices. Other agencies could take a lesson from how well an arts organization can stretch a dollar and still yield a 700% return on investment.

To the third comment regarding jobs, I say this: The arts employ about 20,000 people in Virginia. Those employees pay taxes, purchase goods and services and organize 1.4 million hours of volunteer time, improving the quality of life for all Virginians. I am one of those 20,000. Without VCA funding, many arts organizations will have to downsize their staffs or close their doors altogether. Where will those former employees go? Straight to the line at the unemployment office to collect a government check. Eliminating VCA eliminates jobs and places a greater strain on the economy.

To the fourth comment regarding the private sector, I say this: Arts organizations receive funding from the state because they are non-profit companies. In order to be a non-profit, an organization can't just put a show on a stage and call it a day. They have to offer additional programs and services that meet a need (or needs) in the community, otherwise they would be a for-profit company, like many of the Broadway venues in New York and various touring companies (the one that is touring Wicked to Richmond, for example). By having non-profit status and receiving funding from the state, arts organizations are able to price their productions and programs at an affordable rate in order to make culture accessible, not an exclusive activity reserved for the upper echelon of society. Some Virginians say they don't want their tax dollars to go toward funding the arts. But I think those people would be shocked to know that a measly $0.51 of their taxes goes toward VCA a year. No, that is not a typo... $0.51, which is shameful, as the national standard is $1.00 per capita. The toll on the Richmond Downtown Expressway now costs $0.70. I think $0.51 A YEAR is more than fair to support the arts, regardless if one takes advantage of it.

A coworker pointed out that the arts touch every part of our lives, whether we realize it or not -- whether we like it or not. The cars we drive, the keyboard we type on, the jeans we wear, the house we live in, the songs we hum along to, the must-see-TV we watch, the movies we enjoy..... an artist is behind every single one.

I don't know how tomorrow's vote will pan out. I'll be at the capitol in the morning with some colleagues to show support for VCA and to pray that legislators will see the light.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow, I can indeed say that today was "darkest before the dawn," and that VCA -- and the hundreds of arts organizations and thousands of employees -- will be safe... at least for awhile.