June 15, 2007

1. Be a Part of a Glorious Arts Future.

2. You Are Invited to a Reception to Welcome Tom Proehl

3. What is the Economic Impact of Your Arts Organization?

4. New Economic Impact Studies Released of St. Croix Valley and Fargo-Moorhead

5. Other bills of Interest from this Legislative Session

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1. Be a Part of a Glorious Arts Future

In my last alert I listed all of the “wins” for the arts community at the legislature this year as a result of your activism. But did you realize that without MCA organizing all of the advocacy, none of these important things would have happened? MCA is a small but mighty organization with only two full fime employees and a hard working board of 36 members of the arts community. Our work on your behalf would not be possible without the membership support of the great arts advocates like you. We need your help! Our fiscal year is about to end and we haven’t reached our membership goal. Please join MCA by June 31…a household membership is just $40.

Help us forge ahead into a glorious future for the arts.

Join now on our website at www.mtn.org/mca.

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2. You Are Invited to a Reception to Welcome Tom Proehl

On June 22 at 3:30 p.m., Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the Textile Center will co-host a reception to welcome new Minnesota State Arts Board Director Executive Director Thomas Proehl. Attendees at the reception will get to preview the “Nothing New: Fiber Art From Recyled Materials” show which opens that evening at 6:00 pm.

Tom was elevated from Interim Director to the permanent position at the MSAB in March. He previously served as managing director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, overseeing the construction of the new $125 million Guthrie Theater complex on the Missisippi river. During the 1990s, Proehl lived and worked in New York and was a founding member and managing director of the Signature Theatre Company. Prior to that, he was general manager of the Dramatists Guild. He is a native of Moorhead, MN.

Please RSVP for the reception to MCA at 651-251-0868 or mca@mtn.org. The Textile Center is located at 3000 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, just west of the intersection of University Avenue and Hwy 280.

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3. What is the Economic Impact of Your Arts Organization?

Last week Americans for the Arts (AFTA) released yet another of a series of economic impact studies of the non-profit arts and their audiences in America. The new study shows that, nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture generate $166.2 billion in economic impact every year — $63.1 billion in spending by organizations and $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences. This activity supports 5.7 million American jobs and generates $29.6 billion in government revenue.

Compared to a similar study conducted by AFTA in 2000, the nonprofit arts and culture grew 24 percent, and event-related spending by audiences grew 28 percent in the past five years. The results were based on participation of 156 communities and regions from all 50 states, and incorporate the previous studies conducted in Minnesota by MCA and various partners, including the Regional Arts Councils, that covered the state, eleven regional arts council regions, and the cities of MInneapolis, St. Paul and St. Cloud in 2006.

From major metropolitan areas to small rural towns, this research shows that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economically sound investment. It attracts audiences, spurs business development, supports jobs, and generates government revenue. Locally, as well as nationally, the arts mean business.

For more information on the national study, go to http://www.artsusa.org/information_resources/research_information/services/economic_impact/default.asp

AFTA has created, on their website, the Arts & Economic Prosperity III Calculator, a free and simple tool that makes it possible for you to estimate the economic impact of your nonprofit arts and culture organization—or even your entire nonprofit arts community—on your local economy. You can access it here: http://www.artsusa.org/information_resources/research_information/services/economic_impact/005.asp#calculator

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4. New Economic Impact Studies Released of St. Croix Valley and Fargo-Moorhead

As part of the release of the national data from Americans for the Arts, two regional studies were presented that are each partially in Minnesota:

St. Croix Valley Region

The St. Croix Valley Region covers Washington and Chisago counties in Minnesota and Pierce, Polk and St. Croix counties in Wisconsin. The arts are a $16.45 million industry in this region, supporting 384 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $1.58 million in local and state goverment revenue. The study also found that 24% of the area’s arts attendees are non-local. 84 of 143 eligible arts organizations in the area participated.

Many legislators and local mayors attended the data release event on June 11, 2007 at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI, including Sen. Saltzman and Reps. Kalin and Dean. (Rep. Kalin is a potter). The event and study were sponsored by the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation with many other partners. They used data from our study, The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy for their report, in addition to new data collection on the Wisconsin side.

The keynote speaker was Rep. Julie Bunn of Lake Elmo in MN, who said, “States, regions and cities have come to realize that their economic fortunes are tied to attracting knowledge workers who form the backbone of the knowledge economy. These workers value quality of place. And the factors behind quality of place — lifestyle, environmental quality, a vibrant music and arts scene, and natural and outdoor amenities — are clearly reasons residents have been attracted to living in the St. Croix Valley.”

Fargo-Moorhead Region

The Fargo-Moorhead Region covers Cass County in North Dakota and Clay County in Minnesota. The arts are a $41.3 million industry in this region, supporting 1386 full-time equivalent jobs and generating nearly $5 million in local and state goverment revenue. Per person attendee spending, not including the cost of the ticket, is $27.26. The Lake Agassiz Arts Council was the main sponsor of the study in this area, and data was collected from 50 of 114 eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the area. Data was also collected from 804 event attendees during 2006. The total audience attending events in the region annually is 879,263.

Congratulations to everyone for this important research. You will be able to download copies of these reports from our website in the next week or so at www.mtn.org/mca.

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5. Other bills of Interest to nonprofit arts organizations from this Legislative Session

Grants Management Reform
Following release of the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s report on “State Grants to Nonprofits” in January, 2007, several legislative proposals emerged that in various ways sought to standardize practices across state agencies regarding the management of grants to nonprofit organizations. Included in the final State Government Omnibus bill was first-year funding to create an Office of Grants Management in the Department of Administration. We followed this bill carefully because of its potential impact on grantees of the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils.

Nonprofit Risk Retention Groups
Included in the Insurance Omnibus bill is a provision to allow a nonprofit risk retention group to deliver auto, directors and officers, social service provider and other liability coverage to 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations. The Alliance on Nonprofit Insurance Risk Retention Group, which currently operates in 18 states and the District of Columbia, will be delivering services to nonprofits in Minnesota before the end of the year. We will inform you with detailed information when these products are available.

State Purchase Plan
SF 1755, effective August 1, 2007, allows for certain combined charitable organizations, and their affiliated agencies, to enter into cooperative purchasing agreements with the state for the purchase of goods, services, and utilities.

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Visit MCA’s new online store: www.cafepress.com/mnforthearts.
This spring, let everyone know that you love the arts. Designer Barbara Keith has created some cool new designs to help you show your arts support. Treat yourself to a great shirt or create the perfect gift for an artsy friend’s home or office. Every purchase will support MCA. It’s easy, personalized and affordable. In a matter of moments you can create and order something unique that says: “support the arts” “start seeing art” “got art?” “Arts Advocate” or “Support the Arts: Take Action Now.”

Check out MCA’s website: www.mtn.org/mca.
Your frequently updated, one-stop site for: information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and how you can get involved, an Action Center called the Desktop Lobbyist where you can write a letter to your legislator, or even find out who your legislators are, facts about the arts in Minnesota, the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues and more!

Join MCA’s MySpace Page: www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts.

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family:
MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

Things You Need To Know:
MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone. MCA is a nonpartisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org. State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm.

06/01/07

Congratulations!

Session Ends With Many Arts Wins:

1. Arts Appropriation Gets Significant Increase

2. Constitutional Amendment Not Finished, But Will Pass Next Year

3. A Poet Laureate For Minnesota and Percent for Arts Program Restored

4. Statewide Smoking Ban Exempts Theater Performances

5. Nonprofits Can Sell Wine at Silent Auctions

6. $750,000 For State Sesquicentennial Means Grant Funds Available

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1. Arts Appropriation Gets Significant Increase…

Last night at midnight the legislative session finally ended. Although Gov. Pawlenty may veto some bills there is a general sense today that he will not call them back into special session, although that could change by the end of the week. The bill that included arts funding, HF122, passed both houses easily and is not controversial so is expected to be signed. Arts funding, formerly at $8.593 million per year, will be increased by $1.743 million to $10.336 million per year. As I’ve said before, this bill was MCA’s #1 priority and we are very pleased so far at the outcome. If the bill passes as it now stands, it means that starting with the state’s next fiscal year, more grant funds will be available from the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) and Regional Arts Councils in every Minnesota county. …Congratulations for all of your calls and letters helping to make this a reality!

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2. Constitutional Amendment Not Finished, But Will Pass Next Year

The conference committee on the Arts and Outdoors sales tax dedication met, efficiently came to agreement and sent the bill to the floors in plenty of time to be passed before session would end at midnight. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed by the House due to some last minute wrangling over the gas tax that would have funded transportation. Some legislators disagreed with an attempted veto override and filibustered, filling up the remaining floor time and shutting out time needed to pass this bill.

But all is not lost! The bill is still alive and a motion can be made in the first week of the next legislative session (probably in Feb., 2008), to rename conferees and pass it again. When the House and Senate conferees agreed to a compromise bill, there was cheering in the room, and afterwards out in the hallway all of the bill’s participants came together, congratulated each other and pledged to work together to pass in on the ballot in November, 2008.

You may recall that the bill would ask voters in 2008 to raise the state’s sales tax and dedicate the new money for fish and wildlife habitat, water preservation and the arts. It would add 3/8ths of one percent of the sales tax and generate about $291 million a year for 25 years. It says that “19.75 percent shall be deposited in the arts and cultural heritage fund and may be spent only for arts, arts education, and arts access and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.” With this language it would dedicate $58 million dollars annually to these items.

If passed by the voters, this will be a historic and nationally significant change in how Minnesota supports the arts and culture. Here’s the language that will appear on the ballot:

“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to dedicate funding to protect our drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore our wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve our arts and cultural heritage; to support our parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore our lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eighths of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034? Yes ……. No …….”

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3. A Poet Laureate For Minnesota…Percent for Arts Program Restored..

Thank you to Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D- Mpls.), who is responsible for the passage of these two important bills:

Minnesota has a Poet Laureate! The question is, will the Governor appoint one? He vetoed it the last time it was passed. Here’s the language from the bill:

“POET LAUREATE. (a) The position of poet laureate of the state of Minnesota is established. The Minnesota Humanities Commission must solicit nominations for the poet laureate appointment and must make recommendations to the governor. After receiving recommendations from the Minnesota Humanities Commission, the governor shall appoint a state poet laureate and conduct appropriate ceremonies to honor the person appointed. The person appointed as poet laureate continues to serve in this position until the governor appoints another person. (b) State agencies and officers are encouraged to use the services of the poet laureate for appropriate ceremonies and celebrations.”

The Restoration of the Percent for Art program also passed. The bill removed the $100,000 limit on arts projects funded through the program. The limit had been put on the program several years ago by an earlier legislature. The Percent for Art program acquires works of art to be exhibited in and around state buildings in areas regularly accessible to the general public. The program is administered by the Minnesota State Arts Board in cooperation with the Department of Administration. Percent for Art secures artwork in two ways: by purchasing existing work, or by commissioning artists to create new work especially for the state building or site.

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4. Statewide Smoking Ban Exempts Theater Performances

The Statewide Smoking Ban, signed by the Governor and now law, includes a provision that exempts smoking on stage as a part of a theatrical performance as long as notice is given to the audience beforehand. Here’s an interesting perspective on this provision from MCA Board Member Ann Spencer:

” An example of MCA’s effectiveness vis-a-vis other places: Just got back from visiting my daughter in Chicago this weekend. That city has enacted a smoking ban that, by its terms, also bans smoking in theatrical productions. The arts community did not see it coming and therefore did not argue against it. Therefore, the arts community was reduced to asking the City Council to write in an exemption after the ban had been passed. The City Council said “no dice.” There is no umbrella group keeping an eye on these things and advocating for the interests of the arts as MCA does here. So, no smoking in Chicago plays for the foreseeable future!”

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5. Nonprofits Can Sell Wine at Silent Auctions…

A provision to allow nonprofits to sell donated liquor at silent auctions passed as part of the Omnibus Liquor Bill and awaits the Governor’s signature. (Apparently, nonprofits that have been selling donated bottles of wine at silent auctions should have gotten a liquor permit. This will remove the need for a permit).

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6. $750,000 For State Sesquicentennial Means Grant Funds Available

The Sesquicentennial received $750,000 in one-time funding to celebrate our state’s 150th birthday. Arts and community organizations may be able to access that funding for performances and activities related to the state’s Sesquicentennial. Here’s the scoop:

“Minnesota Sesquicentennial planning underway; website is www.mn150years.org

“Minnesota will celebrate its Statehood Sesquicentennial (May 11, 2008) with events, programs and a grant initiative throughout 2008. The Sesquicentennial is a unique opportunity to connect all Minnesotans in commemorating our past and can be a catalyst to help build a thriving, innovative future. Planning has been underway since last year led by a cross section of government, nonprofit and private sector organizations. To learn more, go to www.mn150years.org. At the website, you can register your interest in the grant program, download the official logo,and register your community, organizational or business events and programs to help commemorate Minnesota’s 150th anniversary as a state. The website will also be a place to keep up-to-date on the progress towards the statewide events, such as Statehood Day, May 11, 2008 and a planned Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial Exposition later in May. There will be events and activities throughout the 2008 year, from January to December.”

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Visit MCA’s new online store: www.cafepress.com/mnforthearts.
This spring, let everyone know that you love the arts. Designer Barbara Keith has created some cool new designs to help you show your arts support. Treat yourself to a great shirt or create the perfect gift for an artsy friend’s home or office. Every purchase will support MCA. It’s easy, personalized and affordable. In a matter of moments you can create and order something unique that says: “support the arts” “start seeing art” “got art?” “Arts Advocate” or “Support the Arts: Take Action Now.”

Check out MCA’s website: www.mtn.org/mca.
Your frequently updated, one-stop site for: information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and how you can get involved, an Action Center called the Desktop Lobbyist where you can write a letter to your legislator, or even find out who your legislators are, facts about the arts in Minnesota, the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues and more!

Join MCA’s MySpace Page: www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts.

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family:
MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

Things You Need To Know:
MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone. MCA is a nonpartisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org. State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm.

05/22/07

1. Another Arts Victory!…and a Veto

2. Lots of Other Arts Legislation Moving

3. New Grant Funds Potentially Available with State’s Sesquicentennial

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1. Another Arts Victory!…And a Veto

As the legislature comes into the home stretch (session is supposed to end in just over a week) the action is thick and heavy and many arts votes have been taken since my last report.

Another Arts Victory!

Today SF6, the Sales Tax Dedication Bill, passed the Senate with a large margin of victory! The vote was 52 to 14, showing wide support for the final bill. The only Senators to vote against it were Senators Bakk, Dille, Gerlach, Hann, Johnson, Langseth, Limmer, Marty, Murphy, Neuville, Ortman, Rest, Skoe and Vandeveer.

Many Senators spoke both for and against the arts in the bill, with Sen. Frederickson making a most eloquent speech about the importance of the arts to Minnesota, in which he quoted the results of the economic impact study, The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy. Other senators making speeches in support of the arts included Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, (the bill’s author), Sen. Ellen Anderson, and Sen. Chaudhary who said, “none of this dedicated funding discussion got anywhere until we broadened the tent” to include the arts. Senators speaking against the arts included Senators Wergin, Robling, Neuville, Ortman, most of whom asserted that the arts weren’t as important as other things and shouldn’t be included.

We had previously reported that the bill was stuck in the Senate Tax Committee. It was pried out of committee several days ago when an amendment changed the funding source of the bill. That amendment was reversed in a later hearing, so the bill has gone back to its earlier form. It would ask voters in 2008 to raise the state’s sales tax and dedicate the new money for fish and wildlife habitat, water preservation and the arts. It would add 3/8ths of one percent of the sales tax and generate about $291 million a year for 25 years. It has the potential to at least triple the funding available for the arts.
The House File, 2285, was passed by four House committees since my last report and has three more committees to get through before it gets to the House floor, hopefully early next week so that a conference committee can get down to work on a compromise between the two bills. In each committee, hostile amendments to the arts have been offered and voted down by a wide margin. Why are we winning all of these votes??? Because you are calling and emailing your legislators asking for their support. Way to go, team!

…And The Veto

Unfortunately, Gov. Pawlenty (GOP) vetoed the bill that included arts funding (and many other things) SF2089, in a dispute with the legislature over how much money is available to spend. The DFL House and Senate have advanced proposals to increase some taxes to pay for various investments in health care and education. The Governor wants to get out of session without increasing any taxes. Remember, Senate File 2089, the bill that funds regular appropriations to the arts, includes a significant increase in arts funding. Formerly at $8.593 million per year, funding for the arts will be increased by $1.743 million to $10.336 million per year. This bill was MCA’s #1 priority and we are very pleased so far at the outcome. This means that starting with the state’s next fiscal year, more grant funds will be available from the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) and Regional Arts Councils in every Minnesota county. We are working to make sure that no matter what changes are made to make the bill more attractive to the Governor that the arts funds are protected.

Use MCA’s easy Desktop Lobbyist to make your voice heard.

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2. Lots of Other Arts Legislation Moving

Many other arts bills are on the move:
• The Statewide Smoking Ban, passed by the Senate today, includes a provision that exempts smoking on stage as a part of a theatrical performance as long as notice is given to the audience beforehand.
• The Poet Laureate and Restoring the Percent for Art program were part of another vetoed bill (SF1997) but will hopefully ride out the process.
• The language to make schools accountable to the arts standards is under discussion in the Education conference committee.
• A provision to allow nonprofits to sell donated liquor at silent auctions is part of the Omnibus Liquor Bill, although it has not yet passed. (Apparently, nonprofits that have been selling donated bottles of wine at silent auctions should have gotten a liquor permit. This will remove the need for a permit).

So far, they are all still alive. We will report shortly on the outcomes of the conference committees considering these other bills.

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3. New Grant Funds Potentially Available with State’s Sesquicentennial

A legislative committee has decided to promote the state’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2008 with $1.3 million in one-time funding. Arts and community organizations may be able to access that funding for performances and activities related to the state’s Sesquicentennial. (These funds may also be a part of the bills vetoed by the Governor and reworked later this session, stay tuned on whether the money is approved). Here’s the scoop:

“Minnesota Sesquicentennial planning underway; website is www.mn150years.org

“Minnesota will celebrate its Statehood Sesquicentennial (May 11, 2008) with events, programs and a grant initiative throughout 2008. The Sesquicentennial is a unique opportunity to connect all Minnesotans in commemorating our past and can be a catalyst to help build a thriving, innovative future. Planning has been underway since last year led by a cross section of government, nonprofit and private sector organizations. To learn more, go to www.mn150years.org. At the website, you can register your interest in the grant program, download the official logo,and register your community, organizational or business events and programs to help commemorate Minnesota’s 150th anniversary as a state. The website will also be a place to keep up-to-date on the progress towards the statewide events, such as Statehood Day, May 11, 2008 and a planned Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial Exposition later in May. There will be events and activities throughout the 2008 year, from January to December.”

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Visit MCA’s new online store: www.cafepress.com/mnforthearts.
This spring, let everyone know that you love the arts. Designer Barbara Keith has created some cool new designs to help you show your arts support. Treat yourself to a great shirt or create the perfect gift for an artsy friend’s home or office. Every purchase will support MCA. It’s easy, personalized and affordable. In a matter of moments you can create and order something unique that says: “support the arts” “start seeing art” “got art?” “Arts Advocate” or “Support the Arts: Take Action Now.”

Check out MCA’s website: www.mtn.org/mca.
Your frequently updated, one-stop site for: information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and how you can get involved, an Action Center called the Desktop Lobbyist where you can write a letter to your legislator, or even find out who your legislators are, facts about the arts in Minnesota, the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues and more!

Join MCA’s MySpace Page: www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts.

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family:
MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

Things You Need To Know:
MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone. MCA is a nonpartisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org. State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm.

4/24/07

Urgent! Arts Under Attack at Legislature
Virtual Arts Advocacy Day is this Thursday, April 26, 2007

Important action on the Arts and Outdoors Heritage bill took place
in both the House and Senate today, and the arts are under attack.
Please take action now at MCA’s Desktop Lobbyist

1. Senate File 6 Stalls in Senate

2. House Committee Debates Arts and Outdoors Bill

3 . Take Action Today or Tomorrow For Virtual Arts Advocacy Day Thursday, April 26.

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1. Arts Bill Stalls in Senate:

Bill’s author, Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL, Mpls.) Vows to Go On

The Arts and Outdoors Heritage bill, Senate File 6, was heard in a long Senate Tax Committee hearing today which included lengthy discussion and consideration of several amendments. Both Sen. Mee Moua (DFL, St. Paul) and Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL, Mpls.) made eloqent speeches in support of the arts. They deserve our thanks! Unfortunately, at one point of the discussion, Sen. Warren Limmer (R, Maple Grove) said that unlike hunting and fishing, the arts “weren’t a high enough priority to enshrine it in the constitution.” A motion to pass the bill failed on a voice vote of 5 to 7.

Sen. Pogemiller has said the fight is not over and that he still intends to pass the bill this year. In order to get this bill moving again, MCA needs you to contact your legislator today or tomorrow as part of Virtual Arts Advocacy Day and ask them to “Support the arts and PASS Senate File 6!” Use MCA’s easy Desktop Lobbyist to make your voice heard.

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2. House Committee Debates Arts and Outdoors Bill:

A hearing was also held today in a special joint committee on the House version of the bill, House File 2285, and will continue into tomorrow. Chairman David Dill (DFL, Crane Lake) and Rep. Bev Scalze (DFL, Little Canada) both spoke in favor of the arts and Rep. Dennis Ozment (R, Rosemount) said that the arts “deserve constitutional support.” They deserve our thanks! Unfortunately, there was also constant discussion of wether or not the arts should be included.

This was the first hearing in the House and there will be 8-9 more committee hearings in the next several weeks. This means that eventually nearly every House member will be voting on the bill soon, so your legislator is important. Please help the arts by asking them to “Support the arts and PASS House File 2285!” Use MCA’s easy and quick Desktop Lobbyist to make your voice heard.

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3 . Now is the Time For Virtual Arts Advocacy Day! Act By Thursday, April 26.

Virtual Arts Advocacy Day is your chance to make a difference for the arts without ever leaving your desk. The legislative action is heating up, and your voice needs to be heard today.

What’s a Virtual Arts Advocacy Day?
On April 26, you can be a part of a rally for the arts, all on-line! No fuss, no muss! You don’t have to go to the Capitol, take time off work, get dressed up, or spend all day.

All you have to do is go to our Desktop Lobbyist on or before April 26, 2007 to send letters to your legislators asking them to support the arts.

What’s Our Goal?
Our goal is to generate at least 1000 emails to legislators by the end of the day, highlighting the importance of the arts to Minnesota. Legislators will have to sit up and take notice.

What’s Our Message?
Our message is that the arts are important to Minnesota, and we want legislators to “Restore arts funding!” and to “Support the arts and pass Senate File 6/House File 2285.” Hearings on both of these issues will be going on in April - we have just about a month to make our message heard. Passage of these initiatives could double or triple resources for the arts in Minnesota and increase access to the arts for all Minnesotans!

Who Should Participate?
Anyone who cares about the future of the arts in Minnesota.

How Do I Do It?
Go on-line anytime between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm on April 26 (or before!) and use our Desktop Lobbyist to send your message. Then, forward this alert to your friends and encourage them to join in. If we all take just five minutes on April 26, we can make a difference for the arts.

How Else Can I Help?
Starting today, forward this alert to as many friends, organizations and artists as you can, and encourage them to be a part of the Virtual Rally for the Arts. For this Virtual Rally to succeed, we’ll need the help and participation of friends of the arts from all over the state. Thank you for your help!

Every arts advocate who uses the Desktop Lobbyist between April 1, 2007and Virtual Arts Advocacy Day on April 26 will be eligible for a random drawing for one of five free MCA “Arts Advocate” T-shirt. Be one of the lucky winners and send letters to your legislators today! Only two days to go. Winners will be notified by MCA on April 27, 2007.

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4. Cool New Stuff to Support the Arts

This spring, let everyone know that you love the arts. Designer Barbara Keith has created some cool new designs to help you show your arts support. Treat yourself to a great shirt or create the perfect gift for an artsy friend’s home or office. Every purchase will support MCA. It’s easy, personalized and affordable. In a matter of moments you can create and order something unique that says:

“support the arts”
“start seeing art”
“got art?”
“Arts Advocate”
or
“Support the Arts: Take Action Now”

Visit MCA’s new online store at Cafe Press at www.cafepress.com/mnforthearts to see these great new designs.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

4/6/07

1. Virtual Arts Advocacy Day Will be April 26

2. State Arts Board Hires New Executive Director

3. Cool New Arts Stuff to Support MCA!

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1. Virtual Arts Advocacy Day Will be April 26

What’s a Virtual Arts Advocacy Day?
On April 26, you can be a part of a rally for the arts, all on-line! No fuss, no muss! You don’t have to go to the Capitol, take time off work, get dressed up, or spend all day. All you have to do is go to our Desktop Lobbyist on or before April 26, 2007 to send letters to your legislators asking them to support the arts.

What’s Our Goal?
Our goal is to generate at least 1000 emails to legislators by the end of the day, highlighting the importance of the arts to Minnesota. Legislators will have to sit up and take notice.

What’s Our Message?
Our message is that the arts are important to Minnesota, and we want legislators to “Restore arts funding!” and to “Include the arts in the sales tax dedication bill.” Hearings on both of these issues will be going on in April - we have just about a month to make our message heard. Passage of these initiatives could double or triple resources for the arts in Minnesota and increase access to the arts for all Minnesotans!

Who Should Participate?
Anyone who cares about the future of the arts in Minnesota.

How Do I Do It?
Go on-line anytime between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm on April 26 (or before!) and use our Desktop Lobbyist to send your message. Then, forward this alert to your friends and encourage them to join in. If we all take just five minutes on April 26, we can make a difference for the arts.

How Else Can I Help?
Starting today, forward this alert to as many friends, organizations and artists as you can, and encourage them to be a part of the Virtual Rally for the Arts. For this Virtual Rally to succeed, we’ll need the help and participation of friends of the arts from all over the state. Thank you for your help!

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2. State Arts Board Hires New Executive Director

The Minnesota Sate Arts Board has chosen Thomas C. Proehl to be the agency’s executive director. Proehl has been serving as interim executive director since December.

“I am so pleased to announce that the board unanimously elected to appoint Tom Proehl as the permanent executive director of the Minnesota State Arts Board,” said Pam Perri Weaver, chair of the board (and former Executive Director of MCA). “The state of Minnesota is fortunate to have someone of his expertise and caliber to retool and revitalize this state agency.”

“I’m delighted to serve the Minnesota State Arts Board and most notably the artists and communities that have defined our state as a great national arts leader,” said Proehl. “I come to the Arts Board with a great deference for the exceptional artists, arts organizations, and arts programming that already takes place throughout Minnesota. That respect has grown tremendously in the past months with the opportunity to work directly with these artists and communities. My goal, as executive director of the Arts Board, is to focus our energies and resources to make sure that every Minnesotan has the ongoing prospect to experience and be enriched by the arts.”

Before joining the Arts Board, Proehl served as general manager (1999-2002) and then managing director (2002-2006) of The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. His most visible accomplishment in the latter position was overseeing the construction of the new $125 million Guthrie Theater complex on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. He also led the strategic planning processes related to the new Guthrie. During the 1990s, Proehl lived and worked in New York. He was a founding member and the managing director of the Signature Theatre Company, an off-Broadway theater company that specializes in season-long explorations of a single, living, American playwright’s body of work. Prior to that, he was general manager of The Dramatists Guild, a national association representing playwrights, composers, and lyricists. Proehl is a native of Moorhead, Minnesota. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and a master of fine arts degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He is an adjunct lecturer in the Guthrie Theater/University of Minnesota bachelor of fine arts program and the Performing Arts Management Program at Brooklyn College. He has served on National Endowment for the Arts review panels, as an executive committee member of the League of Resident Theatres, and as a consultant or board member for numerous arts organizations. Proehl’s appointment is effective immediately.

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3. Cool New Arts Stuff to Support MCA!

This spring, let everyone know that you love the arts! Designer Barbara Keith has created some cool new designs to show your support for the arts.

Treat yourself to a great shirt or create the perfect gift for an artsy friend’s home or office. Every purchase will support MCA. It’s easy, personalized and affordable. In a matter of moments you can create and order something unique that says:

“support the arts”
“start seeing art”
“got art?”
“Arts Advocate”
or
“Support the Arts: Take Action Now”

Visit MCA’s new online store at Cafe Press at www.cafepress.com/mnforthearts to see these great new designs!

——————————————————-

http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

3/20/07

1. Senate Committee Proposes $4M Arts Increase. Take Action Now

2. Arts Advocacy Day Brings 500+ to St. Paul

3. Artists Count Study Released: Available Now on Web

4. National Arts Advocacy Day: Increase in NEA funding possible

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1. Senate Committee Proposes $4M Arts Increase. Take Action Now

The pace is picking up as legislative deadlines are nearing. We have good news from the Senate, where yesterday Sen. Tomassoni’s (D-Chisholm) Economic Development Budget Division passed a budget bill that recommends increasing arts funding by $4 million! The Governor had recommended an increase of only $1 million. Sen. Scott Dibble (D-Mpls.) wisely added the Poet Laureate to the bill. The legislation now goes to the full Finance Committee and then onto the Senate floor. We have not yet heard from the Minnesota Heritage Finance Division in the House, chaired by Rep. Mike Jaros (D-Duluth), about what they will be recommending for the arts.

There are many more steps to go, and if you haven’t yet contacted your legislators about the arts on our Desktop Lobbyist, now is the time! More hearings will be happening soon, and your legislators need to hear from you.

The constitutional amendment that would dedicate sales tax revenue to the arts hasn’t moved for a week or so and there still is no House companion bill. We may see hearings on this bill scheduled soon.

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2. Arts Advocacy Day Brings 500+ to St. Paul

THANK YOU to the 500+ arts advocates who joined us at the State Capitol on March 8th. The day had a huge impact! We asked legislators to restore arts funding to at least $14 million per year, and that the arts be included in the constitutional amendment which will dedicate sales tax revenue to outdoors and the arts. From the reports that came back from legislative meetings, most legislators said they would support restoration of arts funding if the money can be found, and that, if the constitutional amendment is approved, it will definately include the arts. The question was whether or not there would be enough money to restore the arts, as we are competing against many other issues and interests. This makes it all the more important that legislators heard from advocates on Arts Advocacy Day and that they continue to hear from you via our Desktop Lobbyist.

The day started with a big rally at the MN History Center, led by all of the majority leadership in the House and Senate. Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (D-Mpls), House Majority Leader Tony Sertich (D-Chisholm), Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (D-Mpls), and Senate Finance Committee Chair Dick Cohen (D-St. Paul) all revved up the crowd and talked about their support for restoration of arts funding and for including the arts in the constitutional amendment.

A special award was given to MCA lobbyist Larry Redmond who has served the arts community for over thirty years. The new award will be called the “Larry Award” and will now be given by MCA annually to a non-elected official who goes above and beyond the call of duty to advocate for the arts in Minnesota. Watch this newsletter for more information on this award shortly.

Thank you to all who came and made a difference, and thank you also to everyone who has been urging legislators to support the arts on the Desktop Lobbyist. You make a difference!

We want your feedback, so please take a moment to complete our quick and easy online survey at www.mtn.org/mca. Share your experience with us and to let us know what you thought about Arts Advocacy Day.

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3. Artists Count Study Released: Available Now on Web

Also on March 8th, Artists Count: An Economic Impact Study of Minnesota Artists was released and copies delivered to all legislators. Copies are now available on our website: www.mtn.org/mca, which unfortunately has been down for most of the last week. It’s been fixed, so try again! Press reports on the study results have appeared in newspapers statewide and nationally on the web.

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4. National Arts Advocacy Day: Increase in NEA funding possible

One of the largest groups of Minnesotans ever attended National Arts Advocacy in DC last week to lobby our members of Congress to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, support arts education programming, and pass the Artists Deduction Bill. (Issue briefs are available on Americans for the Arts website at http://www.artsusa.org/get_involved/advocacy/aad/handbook/2007.asp). Because of the change in party control at the federal level, and the defeat of many arts opponents, it does appear that funding for the arts at the federal level will be increased. The question is by how much.

A highlight of the day for we Minnesotans was that, at the Congressional Arts Breakfast, Americans for the Arts and the U.S. Conference of Mayors jointly presented the 2007 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership to U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN).

Representative McCollum was selected for the Congressional Arts Leadership Award for her strong commitment to the arts. In both the 108th and 109th Congresses, she took action in support for the arts at the Congressional level including: voting to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), co-sponsoring legislation allowing artists to claim a fair-market value tax deduction when donating their work to charity, supporting the reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and asking for more funding for arts education. She is also one of three House members appointed to serve on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the NEA Chairman.

“Betty McCollum exemplifies true leadership in the arts,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “We are very pleased to honor and recognize her extraordinary dedication to advancing the arts for all Americans.”

The National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership is part of a series of Public Leadership in the Arts Awards given annually by Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors since 1997.

“Access to the arts adds to our quality of life; and Rep. McCollum has enhanced our lives through her support of the arts. Her contributions to our nation’s communities are immeasurable and we honor her for her vision,” said United States Conference of Mayors President and Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer.

To send Betty a note of congratulations, you can send her an email here: www.mccollum.house.gov/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={AC61FD79-AD5F-440D-A7F0-555B12349E5B}

The Minnesota Team in DC this year included: Sheila Smith, ED of MCA and Minnesota Team Captain, MCA Board members Craig Dunn, VSA ED, Kathleen Hansen, Theatre Mu and U of M, John Neuchterline, ED of Am. Composers Forum, Leslie Schumacher, Chair Regional Arts Council Forum, and George Sutton, Arts Consultant, MCA staff Mark Albers and Katie Sabaka, Jeff Prauer, Executive Director of COMPAS, Jim Sitter, arts advocate, Tom Proehl, MSAB Executive Director, Sue Gens, MSAB Communications Director, Ed Oliver, MSAB Board, and his wife Charty Oliver, and Miss Minnesota Nicole Swanson. Thank you to everyone who went to DC, most at their own expense, to advocate on behalf of Minnesota’s arts community.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

3/2/07

“Artists Count” Finds Minnesota’s Artists Have
$205 Million in Annual Economic Impact

Study also finds that artists are twice as likely
as other Minnesotans to go without health insurance.

A new study released by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts today as part of Arts Advocacy Day at the Minnesota State Capitol reveals artists in Minnesota have a $205.2 million dollar annual impact on Minnesota’s economy, supporting nearly 6,000 full-time jobs and delivering $24 million in state and local government revenue. However, the study also found that artists are twice as likely as other Minnesotans to go without health insurance.

The health insurance figures were part of the “Artist Quality of Life” section of Artists Count, which also looked at the percentage of artists covered by retirement plans and frequency of volunteerism and voting.

“Artist Count: The Economic Impact of Minnesota’s Individual Artists” identified nearly 20,000 artists living in every corner of Minnesota, including full-time, part-time, and retired/hobbyist artists,” said Sheila Smith, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. “We believe this is a conservative estimate of the number of artists in our state. Artists are a contributing factor to the economies and communities of every region of Minnesota, but we were dismayed by the high rate of the uninsured.”

The study, primarily funded by The McKnight Foundation, was conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota Craft Council in 2006. Fifty Minnesota arts organizations partnered in the data collection, which asked artists to report their spending, income and other data from 2005.

“As a professional modern dancer without insurance, I injured my ankle and had to go to an emergency room for treatment. Without insurance, I was forced to pay more,” said Sandra Augustin, who is also Executive Director of the National Association of Artists’ Organizations. “Having an affordable, individual healthcare plan is essential for low-income individuals, many of whom are artists.”

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) is producing a number of studies on the arts in Minnesota. Last year MCA and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils produced The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy (found at www.mtn.org/mca about the economic impact of arts and culture organizations and their audiences. This new report focuses specifically on individual artists, who were excluded from the previous studies. Added together, the economic impact of artists, organizations and their audiences in Minnesota is over $1 billion per year.

“This important report clearly demonstrates that Minnesota’s artists are major contributors to our state’s economy, our quality of life and an energy that attracts investment. This should make policy makers and citizens realize that a healthy environment for artists and arts organizations only benefits our communities and keeps Minnesota a vibrant and exciting place to live,” said Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-4th District).

FINDINGS: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ARTISTS

Altogether, in 2005, Minnesota’s individual artists made artistic expenditures of $250.1 million. Eighty two percent of those expenditures were made to local merchants and businesses with an in-state impact of $205.2 million. This spending supported 5,937 jobs and $171.8 million in resident household income. Expenditures of individual artists generated $5.2 million in local government revenue and $18.8 million in state government revenue.

“As an artist and an educator, I have an acute awareness of how individual artists enrich our lives here in Minnesota,” said artist T. Mychael Rambo. “They allow our young people, our communities and our state to reap the benefit, both economically and creatively, of the glorious and infinite ideas of the mind and gestures of the heart. Although many recognize the intrinsic value of the arts, this study illustrates the value of our creative culture in a more tangible way.”

HEALTH INSURANCE

While the focus of this study is the economic impact of individual artists, artists’ quality of life was also investigated. The study found a major concern in terms of health insurance. Fourteen percent of Minnesota artists are not covered by insurance, compared to 7 percent of the general population of Minnesotans who are uninsured. Another 23 percent of artists rely on a spouse, partner or family member for coverage, while 28 percent of artists are paying for individual plans.

“We believe a great majority of those individual plans are high deductible or catastrophic-only coverage, which doesn’t help artists with daily or preventative health care,” said Laura Zabel, Executive Director of Springboard for the Arts. “It is alarming that such high percentages of artists are unable to provide themselves with proper insurance coverage. More research needs to be done as to why artists are so much less likely than the general public to be insured. Partly, this reflects the problems America is having in providing health care to all its citizens. When policy makers are looking at ways to make sure that all Americans have access to health care and to a secure retirement, attention should be directed at why artists are so much less likely to be insured.”

The study also found that artists in Central Minnesota are most likely to be covered by health insurance (only 6 percent uninsured), while Southwest Minnesota’s artists are least likely to have health insurance (17 percent uninsured).

ARTIST INCOME AND EXPENSES

Only 24 percent of the artist population reports that they are working full-time on their art. Sixty percent report they are working part-time in the arts and the remaining 16 percent are artists who do not receive payment for their work, including retired and hobbyist artists.

For the artist population as a whole, 71 percent of their income was not from artistic work, with only 29 percent of their income coming from their art. Full-time artists, of course, rely more on their artistic income for their living, reporting an average income from their art of $34,342. Average artistic expenditures for full-time artists was $26,177.

COMMUNITY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

In addition to their economic contributions to Minnesota’s economy, Minnesota artists are active and engaged in their communities, volunteering and voting at higher levels than the general public both in Minnesota and nationwide. Eighty one percent of Minnesota artists reported that they volunteer in their community at least once each month compared to relatively high 67 percent of the general Minnesota public and only 27 percent of all Americans. The volunteer time contributed by Minnesota’s individual artists represents a donation of time with a conservatively estimated value of $2.1 million annually.

“The artists in my community represent possibly every art form…designers, film makers, sculptors, dancers, jewelry artists, photographers…all of whom volunteer, work, create, and inspire the communities they interact with. I can’t name one thing in my neighborhood an artist has not contributed to in some way,” said artist Ta-coumba Aiken.

In terms of civic participation, 82 percent of artists report they “always” vote, 16 percent “sometimes” vote, and only 2 percent “never” vote. When compared to the very high voting rates of the general Minnesota public at 77 percent and all Americans at 58 percent, artists’ civic participation is exceptionally high.

Artists are very engaged with their communities, volunteering and voting to a higher degree than the rest of the population. Our communities would be diminished without the many and varied contributions of our artists. Just as we look for ways to ensure that our communities are “hospitable” places for businesses to locate and thrive, we must make certain that our artistic resources are nurtured as well.

REGIONAL FINDINGS

The report also included six regional studies. Every region in Minnesota is home to working artists and every region sees economic benefits from those artists’ work. Sixty two percent of Minnesota artists live in the seven county Metro Area. Artists are a slightly larger percentage of the population in the Arrowhead than in the rest of greater Minnesota. Unsurprisingly, the seven county Metro Area benefits most from the economic impact of the state’s artists because that area holds the state’s largest concentration of artists. However, there are interesting regional differences and there are benefits from artist economic activity throughout Minnesota.

Southeast and Central Minnesota artists volunteer the most hours in their communities and have the highest voting participation rates. Unfortunately, nearly 40 percent of Central Minnesota’s artists are without a retirement plan, the highest in the state.

Surprisingly, artists in the Arrowhead make more money on a per capita basis both from their art and from other activity than do Metro artists, and the Arrowhead has the highest percentage of artists reporting that they work full-time in the arts (30 percent).

“The stark and sometimes bleak climate of northern Minnesota turns out to be lushly peopled with art makers and art lovers, and has made it possible for me to work as an artist living in rural northern Minnesota,” said Betsy Bowen, Arrowhead artist.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The cultural contributions of Minnesota artists are self-evident. Every time we participate in an art crawl or music festival, see an August Wilson play in our home town, use a ceramic bowl made by Warren Mackenzie, see a Judy Onofrio sculpture, or enjoy a performance by Low or the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra we are reminded of Minnesota’s contributions to America’s cultural energy. Young people seeing that Minnesota artists have “made it” are provided role models to help them decide they can follow their individual dreams and live a full and creative life here and in the world. An environment that supports artists is an environment that encourages bright, creative people to make a living and a life here in Minnesota.

How can we, as individuals, help artists thrive in Minnesota? Here are some things that we suggest:
• Support increased funding at the local, state and national level for individual artists and the organizations that employ and assist them.
• Insist that public art be a part of new building projects in your neighborhood, county and state.
• Ask Congress to pass the Artists’ Deduction bill, which would allow artists to deduct the full market value of a work of art donated to a charity.
• Attend local dance and theatre productions, buy local art and see local bands.
• Commission a piece of art or a song to commemorate events in your life.
• Enroll your child in art classes, music lessons, or an after school theatre program.
• Serve on a board of directors or volunteer for an organization that works with artists.
• Take a class or attend a workshop to create your own art and explore your own creative passions.

Artists Count: The Economic Impact of Minnesota’s Individual Artists demonstrates that investment in the health and vitality of individual artists and their artwork yields significant economic benefits in every region of our state. Data from this study will be used to advocate for the arts and artists at all levels because this report shows conclusively that individual artists count as a significant contributor to Minnesota’s economy and to our quality of life.

BACKGROUND ON STUDY PARTNERS:

Artists Count: The Economic Impact of Minnesota’s Individual Artists (2007) is a statewide study conducted by lead organizations Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC), and was primarily funded byThe McKnight Foundation. Many additional partners assisted in the data collection and are listed in the complete report. The lead organizations contracted with Americans for the Arts to create the economic models for the statewide and six regional area studies, and to also provide secure web-based surveying tools.

LEAD ORGANIZATIONS

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
2233 University Ave. W. #355,
St. Paul, MN 55114 651-251-0868 staff@mncitizensforthearts.org
www.mncitizensforthearts.org
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts is a statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts and conducts original research. MCA works with over 42,000 arts advocates in Minnesota. For more information on MCA, this project or statistics about the arts in Minnesota, please contact MCA Executive Director Sheila Smith at the above number or view MCA’s website.

Springboard for the Arts
308 Prince Street, Suite 270,
St. Paul, MN 55101 651-292-4381 info@springboardforthearts.org
www.springboardforthearts.org
Springboard for the Arts’ mission is to cultivate a vibrant arts community by connecting artists with the skills, contacts, information and services they need to make a living and a life. For over 20 years, Springboard has served individual artists and their organizations with one-on-one consulting, on-line resource guide and job listings in the arts, workshops, the Artist Loan Fund, Emergency Relief Fund, Artist Access to Health Care (AAH) and other resources. Springboard for the Arts is based in Saint Paul, MN and serves the 5-state upper Midwest.

Minnesota Craft Council
The Minnesota Crafts Council, an artist member organization for over 30 years, has been responsible for the Minnesota Crafts Festival and the MCC Fall Show, two premier juried venues exhibiting the work of over 100 fine craft artists at these annual events. MCC published the Craft Connection, a quarterly magazine featuring fine craft artists, and produced professional and aesthetic development workshops. MCC’s signature work was programimg for artists by artists. The Council’s participation in this study was its last activity, as it closed its doors in February of 2007.

The McKnight Foundation
710 South Second Street, Suite 400,
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-333-4220
www.mcknight.org
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based private philanthropic organization, seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations. Through grant making, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform, we use our resources to attend, unite, and empower those we serve.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

American Composers Forum
American Association of Woodturners
Americans for the Arts
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council
Art Educators of Minnesota
Bryant Lake Bowl
Center for Hmong Arts & Talent
Central Minnesota Arts Board
COMPAS
Cornucopia Art Center
East Central Arts Council
Five Wings Art Council
Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota
Illusion Theater
Intermedia Arts
Lake Elmo Regional Arts Center
Lake Region Arts Council
The Loft Lyric Center for the Arts
MacPhail Center for Music
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Minnesota Fringe Festival
Minnesota State Arts Board
Minnetonka Center for the Arts
MMEA (Minnesota Music Educators Association)
mnartists.org, a program of the Walker Art Center
National Association of Artist Organizations
National Writer’s Union-Twin Cities Chapter
Northern Clay Center
Northwest Regional Arts Council
Perpich Center for Arts Education
Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council
Region 2 Arts Council
The Southern Theater
Southeast Minnesota Arts Council Inc.
Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council
St. Paul Art Collective (St. Paul Art Crawl)
SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development
Textile Center
Theatre in the Round Players
Thirst Theater
Twin Cities Theater and Film
Uptown Association/Uptown Art Fair
VSA Arts of Minnesota
Young Audiences of Minnesota

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

2/21/07

1. Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day!

2. Arts Increase Possible - We Need Your Help NOW

3. Volunteers Needed for Arts Advocacy Day

4. Congresswoman Betty McCollum to Receive Congressional Arts Award

5. Join us in Washington D.C. for National Arts Advocacy Day

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1. Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day!

The registration deadline for Arts Advocacy Day is rapidly approaching. If you are coming, please register ASAP! We need to know how many people are coming so we have enough materials on hand and can schedule your meetings for you. Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team!

Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca. Advocacy Day is March 8th. People who come to Advocacy Day will receive their own copy of the new Artists Count economic impact study of Minnesota’s artists (see below).

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

Be the first to hear the results of Artists Count a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota. The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will also have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

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2. Arts Increase Possible - We Need Your Help NOW

There are several bills that could increase arts funding in Minnesota. We need your help to make it happen! Please go to MCA’s website and use the Desktop Lobbyist to send a note to your legislators asking them to support arts funding. Below is a brief update on the legislation that could increase funding for the arts:

ARTS APPROPRIATION:
Another hearing was held last week in the Senate Finance - Economic Development Budget Division. Testifiers on behalf of the arts included Tom Proehl, Interim Director of the Minnesota State Arts Board, Pam Weaver, Chair of the Minnesota State Arts Board (and MCA Executive Director in the early 1990s), Carolyn Bye, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and Steve Anderson from the Paramount Theater in Austin. It went extremely well. There is a House hearing scheduled for next week. Legislators need to hear from you that they should increase support for the arts!

BACKGROUND:
Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.

OTHER LEGISLATION:
MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage. This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board.

There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

Choosing among many versions of the bill with many different authors, the Senate Environment Committee this week passed Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller’s (DFL, Mpls.) Senate File #6, the constitutional amendment bill that we preferred because it appropriates the most money to the arts. The next step for the Senate bill is a visit to Sen. Ann Rest’s State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. After that, it will go to Sen. Cohen’s Finance Committee where the real work on the bill will begin. A great first step! Many versions of this bill have introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill is a very important statement.

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3. Volunteers Needed for Arts Advocacy Day

Sign up to help make the day a success! Below are a list of volunteer opportunities associated with Arts Advocacy Day. Can you help? To sign up, please contact Katie Sabaka at mca@mtn.org or call 651-251-0868. Please indicate what times you will be available:

RSVP Packet Mailing
O Thursday, March 1, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Friday, March 2, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.

In-Office Preparation
O Saturday, March 3, 2007, anytime from 12: 00- 7:00 pm.
O Monday, March 5, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Tuesday, March 6, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Wednesday, March 7, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Advocacy Day - Thursday, March 8, 2007
(Please note: if you are a Team Leader, some of these opportunities will be unavailable to you).
O Help Arts Advocates sign-in at the Registration Table. (a.m.)
O Sell t-shirts and memberships at the History Center. (a.m.)
O Act as an usher at the History Center. (a.m.)
O Take photos throughout the day for MCA use. (a.m. and p.m.)

If there are other ways you’d like to help or if you have suggestions for additional volunteer positions please contact Katie at the number above. THANK YOU!

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4. Congresswoman Betty McCollum to Receive Congressional Arts Award

Americans for the Arts is presenting Rep. Betty McCollum (St. Paul) with the 2007 National Award for Congressional Leadership!

Each year, Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, recognizes elected officials and legendary artists who have exhibited outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the national, state, and local levels. The recipient of the 2007 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership is Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN).

Congresswoman McCollum has demonstrated a strong commitment to the arts throughout her congressional career. In both the 108th and 109th Congresses, Congresswoman McCollum took every action tracked by Americans for the Arts in support for the arts, including voting to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), co-sponsoring legislation allowing artists to claim a fair-market value tax deduction when donating their work to charity, supporting the reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and asking for more funding for arts education. She is also one of three House members appointed to serve on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the chairman of the NEA. The award will be presented to Congresswoman McCollum during the National Arts Advocacy Day Congressional Arts Breakfast on March 13. For more information, please contact Director of Local Arts Policy Lina Garcia at lgarcia@artsusa.org.

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5. Join us in Washington D.C. for National Arts Advocacy Day

Entering its 20th consecutive year, National Arts Advocacy Day, organized by Americans for the Arts, is the only national event designed to bring together a broad cross section of America’s national cultural and civic organizations. These groups will join hundreds of grassroots advocates from across the country to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts. This year Arts Advocacy Day kicks off on Monday, March 12, with a day of legislative training sessions and guest speakers. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about the current arts issues circulating on Capitol Hill and how to lobby Congress for increased public funding for the arts. Throughout the day you’ll have the chance to meet with other attendees from your state in order to make the most of your Congressional visits. (The Americans for the Arts State Arts Advocacy Captain from Minnesota is Sheila Smith, and she will be setting up meetings with Members of Congress prior to your visits on March 13).

For more information and to sign up go to: http://www.artsusa.org/events/2007/aad/default.asp

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

2/9/07

1. Minnesota Artists are Twice as Likely To…

2. Favorable Version of Heritage Bill Passes First Committee

3. Arts Appropriation Hearings Ongoing

4. More on the State Poet Laureate Bill

5. Join MCA in MySpace

6. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

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1. Minnesota Artists are Twice as Likely To…

Wouldn’t you like to know how this sentence ends? You can find out, with the rest of the world, on March 8th, at Arts Advocacy Day, when we release the results of the Artists Count economic impact study of artists.

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota. The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will also have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

——————————————————-

2. Favorable Version of Heritage Bill Passes First Committee

MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage* This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board.

Choosing among many versions of the bill with many different authors, the Senate Environment Committee this week passed out, on a voice vote, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller’s (DFL, Mpls.) Senate File #6, the constitutional amendment bill that we preferred because it appropriates the most money to the arts. The next step for the Senate bill is a visit to Sen. Ann Rest’s State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. After that, it will go to Sen. Cohen’s Finance Committee where the real work on the bill will begin. A great first step! Many versions of this bill have introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill is a very important statement.

*There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

——————————————————-

3. Arts Appropriation Hearings Ongoing

There will be many hearings on the arts appropriation over the next several months. The next one is next week in the Senate Finance - Economic Development Budget Division. Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.

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4. More on the State Poet Laureate Bill

The political pundits participating in MPR’s “Fantasy Legislature” have designated Rep. Phyllis Kahn’s bill to establish a Poet Laureate for Minnesota as a winner. They think it’s one of the bills most likely to pass both houses, to be vetoed by the Governor, and then to have the veto overridden by both the House and Senate. Let’s hope they are right. Co-authors in the House are Representatives Urdahl, Hilty, Jaros and Hausman.

Politics in Minnesota, The Newsletter, did some research into State Poet Laureates. Their article is reprinted here with their permission. Thanks to Sarah Janecek and Blois Olson at www.politicsinminnesota.com

Once Again For Phyllis Kahn
The Quest For Poet Laureate Is On

Two years ago, Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed legislation overwhelmingly passed in both chambers that would have created a state poet laureate. In the veto message at the time, Pawlenty wrote, “I also have some concern this will lead to calls for other similar positions. We could see requests for a state mime, interpretive dancer or potter.” Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis), who coauthored the legislation carried by former GOP Rep. Barb Sykora before, has introduced the bill again. However, the sometimes unappreciated but very smart and nonpartisan staff in the House Research Department decided to have fun with it, and the bill is written as a poem:

The poet will be free to write rhyming lines,
With removal only for cause,
But we trust that the bard will promptly resign,
If the verse reads as badly as laws.

Perhaps the Governor doth protest over poets too much. Forty states plus the District of Columbia have state poets. Duluth and St. Paul have city poets (Mayor Chris Coleman named local writer Caroll Connellly to serve as the first poet) and Winona is thinking about it. Then there’s the obvious: If a state can have a state muffin, shouldn’t it have a state poet laureate? Maybe the state poet could write the first poem about the muffin, something like, “Minnesota winters dark and dreary, make citizens crave their muffins blueberry.”

Turns out that Minnesota may have already had two state poets. Some group called the Poet Laureate League awarded the title to Margaret Ball Dickson from Staples in 1934. Then-Gov. Floyd B. Olson sent her a letter of congratulations, albeit without designating the post as an official appointment. Forty years later, then-Minneapolis Star columnist Abe Altrowitz, who wrote a column called “The View from Lake Calhoun,” proclaimed himself to be “Minnesota Commissioner of Poetry.” Through his column, he held a statewide election where, for a one dollar donation to the American Cancer Society, readers could vote for a poet. The winner was Laurene Tibbbetts from St. Paul, a woman who, Altrowitz wrote, refused to reveal her age because she doesn’t believe in women revealing their ages and she preferred Miss to Ms.

Now during the course of this whole affair, there was some question about whether Altrowitz could be the Minnesota Commissioner of Poetry. An opinion was sought from then-DFL Attorney General Warren Spannaus. Then-DFL Governor Wendy Anderson issued a formal declaration and wrote:

So we should honor you in kind
The job is yours to keep

As governor I’m please to find
A man who works so cheap.

Ah me, ah me–that word, cheap.

…And for state poet laureate supporters, “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

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5. Join MCA in MySpace

MCA is redesigning our website and hope to launch the new one soon. In the meantime, we’ve joined the community of MySpace to give our Campus Arts Advocates a quick place to pick up information about Advocacy Day and other activities. We’ve got some fun pictures and even a video about MCA that is living on this page and in You Tube. Thanks to MCA Field Worker Mark Albers, who is many years younger than me, for making these innovations possible. Check out the page at: http://www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts

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6. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

Tom Proehl is doing a wonderful job as Interim Executive Director at the Minnesota State Arts Board. However, he has only committed to the job on an interim basis. Tom will continue in that capacity for an indefinite period or until a new Executive Director has been appointed. Therefore, the Minnesota State Arts Board continues its search for a permanent Executive Director. The position description and application procedures are posted here: www.arts.state.mn.us/about/employment.htm. DEADLINE IS FEB. 28.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

2/2/07

1. Arts Funding Increase Possible this Year

2. Help Make it Happen: Take the High Five Pledge

3. Join Us: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

4. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

5. Arts and Minnesota’s Heritage Bill

6. Nominate a Business for “Best Company Supporting the Arts in America”

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1. Arts Funding Increase Possible this Year

Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.We expect hearings on the appropriation in the Senate to begin some time next week and continue for the next month or so. The House is moving much slower.

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2. Help Make it Happen: Take the High Five Pledge

When you receive an email from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts asking you to respond to an Arts Advocacy Alert, would you forward it on to 5 of your friends? Would you ask them to join you in telling your legislators: “Please restore arts funding to at least the 2003 level of at least $13 million per year”? Getting the legislators to listen to us is a numbers game. The more people they hear from, the more they pay attention. So please take the “High 5 Pledge” now. It is so very easy! All you have to do is:
• Email 5 of your friends right now and ask them to be part of your High 5 group.
• Let them know that they will be getting Arts Advocacy Alerts from you during the legislative session this spring.
• Tell them that their responses could mean significantly more money available to all of Minnesota from the Regional Arts Councils and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Thank you in advance for taking the “High 5 Pledge”. We firmly believe that with your help, every legislator from throughout Minnesota will be contacted by their constituents this session. Your voices will be heard loud and clear, “Please restore arts funding to the 2003 level of $13 million per year.”

Sincerely, Maxine Adams, Chair, MCA Greater Minnesota Communications Project Members: Michael Robins, Minneapolis, Illusion Theater Daniel Zielske, Mankato, member at large Leslie Schumacher, Foley, Central MN Arts Board Steve Downing, Grand Rapids, member at large David Marty, Grand Rapids, The Reif Center Carolyn Bye, St. Paul, MRAC Amy Hunter, Staples, Freshwater Education District Schools Amy Stearns, Historic Holmes Theatre, Detroit Lakes

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3. Join Us: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca
Arts Advocacy Day Schedule
March 8th, 2007

7:30 Park and meet at: THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER in St. Paul
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Class for New Attendees
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Lobby Registration & Coffee (if not attending the class)
8:30 SHARP to 9:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Seminar. Presentation on Artists Count! And Join Your Team (We strongly urge you to attend this seminar for an up-to-the-minute view of the 2007 legislative session. You need to attend this session in order to join your team.)
9:30 to 10:00 am Walk/Ride to the State Capitol
9:30 to 1:00 pm Legislator Appointments, and Home Base at the State Capitol
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4. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

Tom Proehl is doing a wonderful job as Interim Executive Director at the Minnesota State Arts Board. However, he has only committed to the job on an interim basis. Tom will continue in that capacity for an indefinite period or until a new Executive Director has been appointed. Therefore, the Minnesota State Arts Board continues its search for a permanent Executive Director. The position description and application procedures are posted here: www.arts.state.mn.us/about/employment.htm.

——————————————————-

5. Arts and Minnesota’s Heritage Bill

MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage* This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board. There are now ten versions of this bill introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. The most important version, which includes the arts, is Senate File 6, authored by Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. Hearings in the Senate Environment Committee have been taking more time than expected and are now going to go into next week. If you live in the district of one of the Senators on this committee, you will have received a separate email from us asking you to contact them to urge them to include the arts. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill will make an important statement.

*There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

——————————————————-

6. Nominate a Business for “Best Company Supporting the Arts in America”

If you know a company, large or small, that has made exceptional investments in the arts, nominate it for THE BCA TEN: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America at www.bcainc.org/thebcaten.html. Anyone can submit a nomination - an individual, an arts organization, or company employee. Sponsored by the Business Committee for the Arts. DEADLINE: March 30, 2007.

——————————————————-

http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm