The Letter:
We request your reconsideration of funding for the arts and cultural grants program. The Board of the Boulder County Arts Alliance (BCAA) thanks the City for the past funding of the Art and Cultural Grants Program that is part of Boulder’s Office of Arts and Culture. This past support has been critical in building a stronger arts and culture program in our city. BCAA enjoys a collaborative and cooperative relationship with Boulder’s Office of Arts and Culture. As the County’s arts service agency, we see first hand how crucial the City’s grant making is to the cultural landscape. Even with the marked increase in arts funding over the past several years, we know that it’s still not enough given competition for resources within the cultural sector coupled with the high cost of living and doing business in Boulder. We understand how devastating the pandemic has been to the city’s budget and to the lives of so many people within Boulder and beyond our boundaries. It is certainly difficult for all, but especially for the artists and non-profit cultural establishments in our city. Before the pandemic, artists in Boulder were finding it difficult to live and work in the city due to the cost of housing, studio and performance space. Now, life is considerably harder. Most opportunities to earn revenue through performances, exhibitions and connecting with audiences have been eliminated, yet Boulder artists still have all their bills to pay and institutions must still pay rent, utilities and staff. Our arts and cultural communities are incredibly innovative but the obstacles they currently face are exceptionally daunting. Suffering from the cancellation of live arts experiences is not limited to artists and arts organizations. Audiences that rely on the arts for entertainment, inspiration and wellbeing also feel an acute loss. Possibly even more so during this particularly tumultuous time in history. There could hardly be a worse time to so drastically cut the arts and cultural grant program. Now, more than ever, the community needs and surely deserves the funds. Cutting the arts and cultural grant program by 17% is absolutely devastating and unfair when most of the other city programs/departments are being reduced by about 6%. Please reconsider this section of the budget and minimize the reduction so our artists and cultural institutions can rebound and continue to be a positive force in our community. The arts and culture in Boulder deliver so much to our economy and the quality of life in our community. According to studies by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study: Boulder has the third-highest concentration of professional artists in the United States behind Santa Fe and Los Angeles (NEA) Boulder’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $70 million in annual economic activity
1,832 jobs are supported by non-profits and audience spending in Boulder
$4.6 million in local and state government revenues
Even before the pandemic, affordable housing and studio/rehearsal space were primary concerns for artists. We ask that you support the wonderful mission of Boulder’s Office of Arts and Culture and help to sustain our economy and the creativity in our community with a more equitable budget for the Arts and Cultural Grants program for 2021. Thank you for considering our request. We strive to partner with the City in support of the arts/cultural community of Boulder. We appreciate your time and consideration of our request. Signed: BCAA Board of Directors Cindy Sepucha - President |
