National Governors Association Best Practice = "Support the arts"

Strengthening Rural Economies through the Arts

http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0901ARTSANDECONOMY.PDF

In seeking a competitive edge, several states are incorporating arts and cultural exchanges in their economic development approaches. The arts are a potent force in the economic life of cities and rural areas nationwide. Many states have invested in the arts as a strategy to attract the "creative class" and reverse brain drain.

Throughout states, artists and arts organizations are motivated by a commitment to artistry, tradition, and cultural heritage. Markets for traditional arts and cultural uniqueness have grown over the last several decades. Traditional arts are an opportunity for areas that have lagged behind to foster economic growth, while preserving the cultural vitality essential to community quality of life.

The arts provide learning opportunities to students, improving academic performance, attendance, and skill-building. Further, arts-based educational programs have had striking success among disadvantaged populations, especially at-risk and incarcerated youth. Arts programs have been high-impact components of economic development programs by:

• Leveraging human capital and cultural resources through tourism, crafts, and cultural attractions;
• Serving as a centerpiece for downtown redevelopment and cultural renewal;
• Creating vibrant public spaces, enhancing urban quality of life, expanding the tax base, and improving regional and community image; and
• Contributing to a region's "innovation habitat" by making communities more attractive to highly desirable, knowledge-based employees.

Governors can position their states to use the arts effectively by promoting new partnerships among state agencies, communities, and the business sector and by harnessing the power of the arts and culture as tools that unite communities, create economic opportunity, and improve the quality of life.

SOUTH DAKOTA ARTS COUNCIL’S PERIL RAISES ALARMS STATEWIDE

Public reaction to the proposed zero budget for the South Dakota Arts Council in 2010 is pouring in to state legislators and the Governor’s office in overwhelming support for the state’s arts agency.

If passed as written, this budget will eliminate our state arts agency and the programs and services it provides. It will not allow South Dakota to receive its annual appropriation from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Arts programs that would cease as of July 1, 2009 include Artists in Schools and Communities, Solo Artists in Communities, Touring Arts, Traditional Arts, Importation of Musicians and Statewide Services. These programs serve people of all ages in schools and communities all across South Dakota. Grants to organizations and artists would also be eliminated under this budget plan.

The budget now goes to the Joint Appropriations Committee, then to the full Legislature.

LET THEM HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN!

South Dakotans for the Arts needs your voice to build and sustain the most important advocacy campaign for the arts in the history of our state.

! TODAY’S ACTION:

Contact the Legislators from your district: http://legis.state.sd.us/who/index.aspx

Today’s message: Make it personal. What would the loss of South Dakota Arts Council funding mean to you, your organization, community or school?

! MORE TO COME: Our advocacy campaign must move quickly and effectively. Working together, we can speak with one voice to ensure adequate public funding of the arts in South Dakota. Expect success. The arts are hard work, and this will be a long run but we can do it!

*You will be receiving continuing information, updates and advocacy tools from South Dakotans for the Arts and Americans for the Arts. If you do not wish to receive this information, please reply to this email.

For more information contact: South Dakotans for the Arts www.sdarts.org

Email: soda@rushmore.com Phone: (605) 722-1467

Support the Arts in South Dakota

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48142942257

Contact Your Legislators!

Governor Rounds Email Form:
http://www.state.sd.us/governor/

For SD Newspapers: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/dbq/media/?command=state_search&state=sd

For SD Legislators: http://legis.state.sd.us/who/index.aspx

Elimination of arts council funding would affect every community, lose state millions

Governor Mike Rounds' revised budget plan calls for the elimination of state funding for the South Dakota Arts Council, effectively closing the state's office of arts established by the Legislature in 1966, and making South Dakota the only state in the nation without a State Arts Council or Arts Program.
Last fiscal year, the state of South Dakota's investment in the arts was
86 cents for each state resident. The return on that investment included
$48 million in economic impact from programs by arts organizations across the state. In addition, that 86 cents for each citizen sent 26 artists to 162 schools for 231 weeks, bringing arts opportunities to 35,000 South Dakota young people. And that same 86 cents per person investment made $1.1 million available on a matching basis to 530 local arts organizations and other non-profit arts programs, schools, artists and units of government in every county of South Dakota.
"The elimination of funding for the South Dakota Arts Council not only reduces the quality of education that our children receive, it takes income away from businesses, communities and families," said Pat Boyd, executive director of South Dakotans for the Arts, the state's arts advocacy group. "For less than a dollar for each South Dakotan, the state reaps millions of dollars of economic impact for every corner of the state."
The state's 23 largest arts organizations use $300,000 in state/federal funds from the SD Arts Council to create budgets totaling $11 million. Those arts groups attract an audience of 1.6 million people, a number that indicates that South Dakotans often attend several events. Americans for the Arts estimates the local economic impact from those audiences to be $48 million-and arts and cultural organizations including arts festivals, Native American events, national monuments and memorials attract more than 3 million visitors per year to the state, leaving behind millions of dollars more in visitor spending.
"There are those who see the arts in South Dakota as a needless luxury in times of fiscal crisis," Boyd said. "But this elimination of funding will immediately impact 18,000 artists and thousands of other South Dakotans whose livelihood is based in part on cultural tourism, visitor spending and community performances. Our modest state investment in the arts is leveraged into a vital element of our state's economic success. We must restore funding to this critical state program."