03 Mar 2010

Happy Arts Advocacy Day!

You may not get the day off work or be able to find a card on someecards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate Arts Advocacy Day.  Each year, DC Advocates for the Arts participates in a national initiative to get the word out about the importance of the arts in our community. Today, advocates are asking our elected officials, including Councilman Wells, for action on three priorities:  dedicated funding for the arts (administered locally by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities), support for the arts in education by funding programming in DC schools and facilitating partnerships between schools and outside arts organizations, and protecting the work of artists through new laws that govern works of art consigned to galleries.

“Supporting the arts” is generally an idea people can get behind as a philanthropic pursuit, but arts organizations play an important role in our economy, too.  According to DC Advocates for the Arts, “In 2005 Arts and Culture organizations in the District paid more than $335 million in wages to residents, and $62 million in taxes, supporting more than 11,000 full time jobs. Jobs in the arts and culture sector leverage additional spending: non-local arts and culture attendees spend – on average – forty additional dollars per event attended.”

Yes, I love having great organizations like H Street Playhouse and the Lesbian and Gay Chorus and special events like Artomatic and INTERSECTIONS in the neighborhood (plus the other 13 arts organizations in the greater Capitol Hill area on DCAA’s map).  But I love even more when these venues and special events draw visitors from other parts of the region. Those people spend more in our neighborhood, which means more money going back into our community.

Jill Strachan, Executive Director of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, sees the practical aspects of arts funding: “According to DC Advocates for the Arts, dedicated arts support in the District suffered a substantial loss from FY09 to FY10 through budget cuts.  At the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW), we know that the arts stimulate economic development and support community jobs.  We also experience first-hand the impact of the arts on children. Through arts education, children learn essential skills such as problem-solving and negotiating, which become integral to their success as adults.  Not every child becomes an artist, but every child nurtured by the arts expands his/her potential to become a good public citizen and to build community through the arts.”

If you are so inclined, today is a great day to decide how you want to support the arts on Capitol Hill.  You can send an email to your favorite Councilmember, but there are plenty of other options too.  Sign up to volunteer for Artomatic, check out the last weekend of INTERSECTIONS, take a class at CHAW or The Fridge, pick up some tickets to at show at one of the local theaters or buy from an artist at Eastern Market.  You’ll be glad you did!

Sharee Lawler serves on the board of directors of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.

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