We learned today that the Trump administration's proposed FY2018 budget eliminates the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), 21st Century Learning Centers, and many other vital federal programs and agencies. While it's important to recognize that this is just the beginning of a long budget negotiation, the National Guild stands together with our members, the arts community, and our cross-sector partners in calling on Congress to maintain funding for arts and culture.
Looking at the NEA, there are innumerable stories of how the agency has both transformed individual lives while creating economic opportunity for all Americans. Through its long-standing support for Guild members—which has far exceeded 1.5 million dollars since May 2016—the NEA has made possible programs that deliver free dance training in the Ferguson School District, trauma therapy to hospital patients, and, ultimately, life-altering creative experiences to hundreds of thousands of Americans. From an economic perspective, the NEA generates more than $600 million annually in additional matching funds and helps to shape a $730 billion arts and culture industry that represents 4.2% of the nation's GDP and supports 4.8 million jobs.
What Can be Done?
Below are just some of the ways that you can take action to defend our country's commitment to arts and culture: As artists and arts administrators, now is the time to stand together in support of our students, our communities, and our field. We at the National Guild will be standing with you.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Herman | Executive Director
National Guild for Community Arts Education | |
