Arts day petitions for funding

In hopes of receiving additional funding from the Indiana Arts Commission’s budget, members of the Indiana Coalition for the Arts and other supporters gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Monday to remind state representatives why the arts are
important.

“I am asking you to support a $5 million appropriation for the IAC in FY14,” advocates wrote in letters to representatives. “As you consider this funding, please remember that cultural funding supports the jobs and tourism necessary to assign in
rebuilding our state economy.”

Currently, more than 11,000 arts-related businesses are in Indiana. State funding supports more than 47,000 nonprofit positions associated with those businesses, as well as 19,000 residents who are considered full-time artists, said INCA vice president Jeff Kuehl.

In previous years, the event consisted of exhibit tables set up on the main floor to show representatives what the IAC budget and grants produced.

This year, INCA took a different approach. In addition to exhibits and flyers, advocates “stormed the floor” to directly express their support of public funding for the arts by finding senators, representatives and staff and engaging them in conversation.

Indianapolis resident and dancer Mariah Neal attended the event for the first time.

“I don’t receive state funding for my art currently, but I know how important it may be for my future and I’m thinking about applying for a grant in the next few years,” Neal said. “It was nice to have a conversation with a senator to show him that performance is important to maintaining culture.”

To prepare the advocates for discussion with state representatives, Joe Loftus and Emily Heimann, attorneys with Barnes & Thornburg, offered a free training session to advocates before they entered the Statehouse to learn how to efficiently talk to legislators.

“Arts Day in Indiana serves many purposes,” INCA President Tetia Lee said. “It’s a time when arts organizations receiving funding through the Indiana Arts Commission grant program can convene, a time for artists and art leaders to connect with the General Assembly and a time to celebrate the value of public supported arts in communities across Indiana.”