Dobbins, Iona B.

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University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URIRhode Island State Council on the Arts(1979-1992)Education: National Endowment for the Arts andHumanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)1992Rhode Island State Council on the Arts(1979-1992): Correspondence 02Iona B. DobbinsFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_81This Correspondence is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I(1973-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992) by an authorizedadministrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationDobbins, Iona B., "Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992): Correspondence 02" (1992). Rhode Island State Council onthe Arts (1979-1992). Paper 58.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_81/58sTAT~ OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCJ;: Pl.ANTATJONS ~STATE COUNCIL. ON THE ARTS 95 Ced~ Street, Suite 103 Providence, R.I. 02903-1034 (401) 277-3880 TDD/VOIC~ March 16, 1992 The Honorable Claiborne deB. Pell 3j~ itussei1 senate o:f t~c:e ~q:l.lciing washington .. , PC 2os10 Dear senator Pell: 02· , •• .. . }/" ') ' ~• 1 I .9 :-·,, . r;l/:/IJ It was @. pleasure meeting with YQl1 and Sandy last wee:K. Karen and I. want you to know how .much we appreciate the time and concern you have demonstrated in suppQrt. of-the National Endowment f9:r tb~·Arts. I am ~tire :i.Jl the months ahead the NEA w~ll p~ under continuous attack. :Plea~e know, however, that tbe Rbog~ Island state Co\l.ncil on the Arts is ready to C}ssist you in whatever way we can. I have enclosed inform~t:J.Qn that we mentioned at oy.~ ntE!eting last week. ::t thought you m:f.ght like to have it op file. The first is ~ copy of the results Qf a survey which the ~t$ c;o~_l}c~l compiled ,!fi develQping its long range plan. I have also incl,qded a copy ·Of an aJ:"ticle that I teceiltl,,.y Wi-ote for a new and qpgoming quarte:rlY ~;rts magazine, .Qu.ix. rt l_lliqht be of help tn providing @, c::ontext on the isE}ue Qf pul:)lir= funding of the arts within a historical perspective. Again, I can.~t tell you how grateful we ~~e for your d5htirtUed support and m~ny, many thanks. -sincere:l.y, -.Jet~ Iona B. Dobbins Executive Director :nm: 1<w · Encl,OSUFes ~· ,, / INTRODUCTION In January, 1990; the Polley ,.nd Plennlng Committee of the Rhode Island Sate Councn on the Arts began to. review the agency's progress on ltS prev.tous plan, and to gather Information that would form the basis of a plan for the coming ttm~@ Y@llrs, It was agreed that significant community Input was needed early In thQ process In order to ldentlfY trends that will influence the ~~ Q'Qmmunlty of the state C>Ver time. In order t~ raise thlS Information, a survey of RISCA's ~Q~IJuency was undertaken. The survey was malled to a random sample of four hundred loolvlduals on RISCA's ~Hing llst l_n all, 54 surveys were returned, for a return rate of 13.5%. · The pUr'pQse of the survey was to test the lev~ Qf ~reness of SJJ$ciflc RISCA Initiatives and the ~rcelvlJ(I level of effectiveness of these Initiatives, ~.s wan as to r;jet,rrolne constituent perceptions Of envlrc>n1T1e~ tl1reats and opportunities that might lnfluen.c:e th@ ~rt~ In the ~Qml.ng y~rs. A small number of.descriptors Qf ~~po~ants was also gathered. Resp¢ndent$ were asked to Indicate with which c9nstit1Jent grQ~ps the.y Identified themselves. Twenty 1'$Spondents Indicated more than one category. It Is Interesting to note that ta raspOndentS Indi-cated that th$Yare both an artist and an educator. In QU, by combining the two staff categories, arts organlzatk>n •rt repr8$ent 21.5% Of the respondents, sl.nca some respondents Indicated that they are employec:t l>Y both a RISCA funded organization and an o~n~tJon not funded by RISCA. Respondents were asked to lndJcaJe both the level of their awareness of a range of RISCA activi-ties as well as whether the effc:>rts are effective In bringing additional resources to supporting Rhode Island's arts commynlty. Fc:>r each Item llsted, the awareness and ~ffect.IVeness W@S crc:>llS-tabu.la_ted. A consistent J>§ttern emerged In these results: respondents were far more likely to Indicate that they are &Y4Je Qf so lnltlatJve than to express $n f\'lllyaJ!ve Qplnlon. Overall, respondents expressed llttle dissatis-faction with any ofthe Initiatives 11$1~.. · · Relative to trends, respondents were asked to respond to a series of statements ~md to judge whether the tl'9~ "'~re3e.nJed a c.ritlcal Impact, a significant Impact, or mlnlmal lmP@ct In the next five years In Rhode lsl§nd. The following Table shows the number of responc;tents, the mean of their re-spon~s. @~ thftatandard deviation for each trend statement Sin~ @ •; • represented critical Impact and "3a represented mlnlmal Impact, the mean icores closest to 1 represent the respoiidems perception of the most crttlcal trends. The trends Judged to have the most c:rltk;al Impact ware: (1 )the economy; (2)the loss of clifflcu-lum related to the arts In publ1c education; (3) changl)s In corporate philanthropy. The 1least significant 1rends were (1 )Competition for leisure time; (2)the aging of the American population; and (3) emerging new art forms. · TAeLE: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR TREND $TATEMENTS # mean atcl The eeonomlO Outlook for the private and publl~. seote>r 49 1.18 .441 i " ... ·:•' TABLE CONT'D.: DESCRiPT~ STATISTICS FOR TREND STATl;M~S -----------~ .. # mean std the avallabUlty Of dlapoaa~l41 lricOme for the American CC!ri~rner 47 1.87 .71Q The changing nature of o0~ phllatlthfOpy 47 1.57 .683 Th_e Changing ptOflle of the ~lvlcS~ donOr 48 1;73 .712 The reduction of~~~ ~rrfculum In public education 50 1.34 .Sf[il Th• i,icreaalng number of arts org~lzatlona 49 1.91 .606 ~Ulng ethnlo dlveralty of the Ari'lilrlCin publlo 49 1.85 .735 The cjibite aver cenaorahlp arid Pl.!t!llC: fl.lndln(I of the arts 52 1.84 .718 47 2.46 .717 The aging of~ Afilerlcan population .47 2.38 .767 The lnereulng lmteraoy of the Amer~ publlo 48 1.$5 .798 The "latl0n8hlp Of arts organlzatlona ~d lndMdual artlats 46 1.93 .711 The il'nergence of new art forms 48 2.29 ,74~ ---------- -ADDITIONAL THREAT$ ANO OPPORTUNITIES Tttlrty five respondent$ u.t· the space provided to Identify addltlonal threa_t_s and opportunities or to elaborate further on their responses to the trend statements. 'fhe mast Qften mentioned lssLJe was concern about public ~Ycatlon and tlie detertora_tlon of the arts In c1irrlculum. The second most often mentionec:t cQOc~rn was the seeming ~enct111g collapse of gavemrT1ent support fer the arts - the state and natio~ level. · In addition, Ute Polley ancl ~annJng Committee C6ndycted three public forums during February, March arid .April In Qfder to allow the g~neral public as wail El!I c;o_n~ltuents to present Views tc:> ihe Council concerning issues or trends. Coocem aboUtlhe falllng Rhode l~and economy and Its effect on fyndl_ng of arts orgarirzatlon$ 1)$ wen as the critical link between the a~ l_n public education arid ~yQl~nce develop-ment were confirmed as critical ~$ues. Additional 1erl9us concerns emergecl from these session~. These were: tile lack of a cQheslve •rts community capable Qf acting in conc;@ri e>n l_ssues of mutual CQnQem linked with the lack of consumer 11dvocacy for the ~rt~; audience development as a separate and larg~r Issue than tile fink to p~bf~ @duca-tlon; self-supPQrt for arts organizations-- the need to enhance .the a_bl11ty of arts organlZatlons tg generate ;1 'ji:I , " their own operating fUfldfi. At. a subsequent "189tlng of the Polley ahdl P~nnlng Cornmlttee In May, It ~s r;c>nflrmed that the most crltlcal trends that would lrifluence the 8i11J community In the next three years, and therefOre should form the bails foi' the next long. Range Plan, are the following: 1. The economy, $~1y, the ways In which ~rln_klng resources sho4'd efftlct the aetlons of the RI St@te Councl on the Arts. -2. Publlc Educ:atlon and the lack of lnt@gratlon of arts programming. 3. Auc;tl~ development 4. The lack of a eoheslv1t 1rts community. ~ the lack.of consumer @dvpcacy for the arts. &. The need for'~ organizations to ~nerate operating Income thn;~ugh their own efforts. At a Ce>uncll/staff retreat h91d In early June._ It was ~ad that thes@ l~ues are the most crftf-cal to acjdrass~ Oiherlssu,s were discussed but It w._s recognized that fa~ed with reduced operating flclncls. with little lfkellhOQd of recovery In the near Mure, RISCA ne~s tQ fQcus Its actlVltles upon thQ~ Issues that are likely to have the largest lmpa~, At this same retreat, Council member and staff teams discussed each issue and beg@n to deter-mine strateglf' that might succesStully address the nee~s Identified. It was also agrefiJd that, to the degree po$Sfble, these lriltlatlv$$ should not have a fl111J11clal Impact on the prog~mmatlc priorities of the previous plan: S8MC8' l!nd access to gr@_m QP-s>Qrtunltles for lncfivldyal art!~; the strengthening of the technical assistance eflorts of RISCA (thQt.Jgh the priorities within this function may shift), and the c:Qntln~ ued pursuit 6f P11rtn~rshlps on behalf of t_he arts (again, with some $hlft In emphasis). five major Initiative$ Wlll be supported by thQ RI State Council on th(t Arts duririg the next thret) 'YEIWS· by means of the core functions ot RiSCA. These five Initiatives an~: 1. The design and lmplement@tlon a marketing plan for the arts In the state; . . a. Increased emp~t;ls on, and education abc>~. advocacy for the ii~; Including suppcrt tor a Cltlzttns for the Arts organ~tlon; 3. Focusing of efforts on changing E1ttltudes and actions of 1>1.1bllc offlclals concerning the deterio-ration of the mta In pybllc education: -4. Empowerment and S{!lf-support as the priorities for training and edt.JC3JJon efforts, as well es encouragement of self-support through g"nt r~ulrements and Incentives: !;>. An effort to mave • greater number of activities to the grass-root~ find/or communltY-based lavel In order to enhance t_h~ vlslbntty of the arts and to lnvOIVe the broafJest pQSSible constituency for th@ artJ. It was also E1greed tliat th11t new plan will be organl.zed around the core functions of RISCA as defined In the last long Range Pl;111: (1 )Grantmaklng, (2)Facmtatlon and lnform1;1tlo11 Services, and (3) Partnerships. For each core fyncJlon, progress on th' prior plan Is reviewed, <;e>.ntlnulng Initiatives are l(lentlfled and new Initiatives are listed. -3 .. . -:. ,. ' t:>;f ""'t•C! ·_ ·_ Dnl".l ~ c vundi · · Su · --~- . · f t"h"" 11 tt -.. +J...il,~-"'"'""""'~l.u..n.g ..... t .• ~.. .J..~---··--·ng_..,.~.P..2r..k,...Q. .. _ _=.. ... ~.---···s. Welcome ~l:>9ard. .Q.ti.iX, and congratulat:i,.QI}~ tt.i> the ce) ... fOU-nders of this ~~w q\l_~l".'teFly arts magazine, :PeiU1i,:i Martesian and Ken carpepte:r. Tb.e~:r; vision to broaden awareness of Rhode Island art:i,$t$ and the arts that surrounc;l us through a qµCl:r:t::e:rly i3,rts magazine wl.il prov~ge ~n :i,!llpo~tant service to the Clrts community and citizens a1:!)te. When Paula invit~4 ine to write a column for this first issue of .QJJ..ll, l'. a$X.ed her if there wa$ a particular topic she woulq l:t:Ke me to agc;l~ess. She said "wt":t te a.nything you feel passionate aJ;)9y,t. '' There is, indeeq, a c:t!i tic al issue fac:l,ng O\lJ: c;:o1mtry at this time, ang ~bout which I :feel ve:r:y passionate. It is publtc tunding support of the arts. As director of iln alf)'ency that delivers " serv1_ce~ and funding in sqpport of artists; arts org~n;!..zations and arts in educat:1,oJJ, it is becoming :Lncrea.~:Lngly appat"efit that the slippage in publ,:1,c $U:p:por-t of the ar,t$ 1$ deepening. on both the fecle~al and stat~ level~. A.cross tile country, state arts councils a1~e being threatenec;l with ei:i,m:ln~tion or else they (lre t-rying to manage. w:ith dt"astically reduced budgets. on tbe national level, funding to the Nat~<;>nal Endowment for tb.e Arts has reroained stagnate for the pa!i3t t~~ years. Municipalitie~ t"aced with buc19et restraints put the !i~cal reins oil school co111mi ttees who in tµ_~n decide that the at-t~ ~an be eliminatecl fl'.'om the schooi=?' curricula. 'the operative worcls in government and business today gre down ~izing and t"etrenchmertt. MC!ny of the measu:r~~ .beinq taken to dowi'l size government~., murticipal:J,tj.es and school~ may a:ppE!a.r to some a --., reasonable col:).rse of a(::t:1on. At issue here, however, is whether the af1;$ have ever reached a level of. ~Upport in this country where they can afford to be down ~±zed. Yet, the whittling and cutting back, 011 public fund~ ~Il ~YJ>Pc:>l"t of t.he arts continues at a dt~t:~~~:Lp,q ~ate. In my opinion, and certainly :l.t .1.$ an opinion shared by many other-s, perhaps we have reached tbe point where we need to co11$1(1.et .. r.1.ght .nz.ifig pl.Jl;>li.c: support of tbe arts. The availal;>le dilta which p:r:ofiles per capita funding of the arts in the industrialized CQl!_nt:r:ies puts the united state~ at the bottom of the group. (Currently, the State Arts council's ilPprop:riation represents six hunc:lte~;t;l)~ Q~ one percent of a 1. 4 l::lillion dollar st_ate budget.) The federal and state gove;z;-nm~ntf? together spend about $2 per cap~tC! on the arts ifi t:be united states. The swe41$b ~ove:r:n_roent spends an e~timated · $35 per capit~; C@.11adia_n spending is $32, Dutch $27, ~Del West German $27, according to estt111~tes by arts writer Joseph ~c;:J!,ellan in the .w,a.~h.ifi.g.t.g.n .P..t1..s..t. Another seurce, the .E.~.Qb.O.iil.i§.t, f3ays the British per capita ~,igure is about $9; the F:re11cb, fil:>ot.J,t $30. So why does .the sti:-lJ911le f9r arts support in the Ufii tec1 States seem to :be so on•go:i;ng? Why is it that Cl,ecision makers do not petceive the arts as an important cornerstOtie ;i,n Qt1r society, something wo:rthy of support? Perh~P$ a historical perspective will help us tindersta_ng the context in wb~ch the arts have been placed since the pegi_nning Of this, ~tU.l, very young country. Qf c;:ourse, I have g;t.eaneci only slight insight :i;IJ.t;Q tbese questions t}lat plague so many of ti$. First, the framers of our 9onstitution recognizec1 the arts only once in that g;re~t filocument. ,, A_:rti~le 1, se0.tion 8 states: cong:rEJ!~~ shall have the power to "promote tbe proqress .of sc~ence and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors anQ. :ti:i.vemto~!J the exclusive Fight to their respective writing 1:1._1!4 Q.iscover,1es. '1 Hi$tory records tha:t little wci.~ qone in government st1pport of the arts until the great Depression with the establishment of the WQ;r}c..$ Progress Admifiistrat:LoJ:l (WPA). Between 1859 and 1965 there wei;e several attempts for government support- of the arts: 18SO-President :Buchanan atte(llpted to establish t:ll~ Ngt;j,QIJgl ComD1ission of Fine Ports, l:>ut was rebuffed by congress; 1909.,.President Theodore RQO$~Velt pushed for the C9ID_llli_£)$:lon of Fine Arts, which was also ill-fated; l9i0-Pre$1Q:.ent Ta.ft was successftil in crei!t~g.g tb.~ National commission Fine Arts Act,. an organization that funnelled private donations to the government anc:l deter~i::J,ped the appropria1;e location for each donation. tn 1965 the National, Enc3,c;>wmEmt for the Arcts was signed into '.l.~w, c;-eating-,,.for the first t~me :j,~ t:he h1$tQry of this country--'! federal agency devoteQ. to the arts and humanit~e$. The goal of the Nat;Lonal ~ndowment for the Arts was not to provide empl,OYrn~nt for artists pe;r se, but rather to make tlle (l~ts Jllore widely available to Americans. so, today, aft:e:r twenty-seven yeaJ;"s of public support of the a~t$ with the :formi!tion of the NEA in 1965, the Endowment is tifide~ attack. There a,re those who feel t'b~t the NEA should be abo1~£)hed; ther~ az;e those who feel strongly that the ~J;"ts should not be supported with p@l.ie funds at ail; tben there are those wh.o w9uld like to te~t:r::i.~t the kind of @.:rt that is supporteq witb pl,lblic • ~ .• • • • ,, funcl~; (And, once again, tne Ng.a. bas been thrust into the pol:l,1;:1.c::al arena with Buchanan saying, and ::t quote: "the NEA is an upholstsred playpen for the art~ ang c~afts auxiliary of the l:i.l:>e:rg.l East.") Followiqg »~chanan•s remarks on F~J:>:ruary 20, 1992, Frohnmayer, ch_a:f.rman of the NEA; wa$ otJ,_sted by President B\.i$h on February 21, 199~. Then there a1~e those, like myself, who believe very a;tron~ly abot\t public support of the arts;. A y~ar from now, ifi the sp:ring of 1993, the N~A will be up before conqress for reauthorii~tion. Its very ~µ-~·vivr.tl may well be on the line. The qµ.e~tien remains whether we, tl)e bgl;i,~v~rs, can mobilize tl:l~ forces needed to k~ep and maintain a f ec;leJ;a_l p:i:-~sence for the ~rtSi on the nati()fiai level. somehow :i: C!ID convinced that tb~re is a large segment Qf ot.Jr country'~ population out t:tl~l:"E! that share in a v~ltJe ~yst:em not U.nl1Jt.e what many of \1$ stand £or ..•. educ~t1on, the environment, ~nd, of course, the ~!'ts .... for those committed to public ~u:pport of the arts, to ~rts in the scboo1s, and to a comfortable level of ~cceptance of aJ:"'l;S in our society .... there must be. a voj,.c~ for the believers. Drop a line to .Q.uix and let them know how .YQ.Y feel a}Joy.t the p~os and con.s o.f public fl,md;i,.ng support Qf th~ §rts and how, if you are a believe;-, we can deJ,.ivE!i:- the message Qf .. :r. .. tg-.b.t.-.~~i#Jng support of 'the arts. ~Yl>mitted oy :rona B. Dobbini; E~ecutive Director RI State Council oh 1;h~ Arts March ~, 1992 

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992): Correspondence 02

University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URIRhode Island State Council on the Arts(1979-1992)Education: National Endowment for the Arts andHumanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)1992Rhode Island State Council on the Arts(1979-1992): Correspondence 01Iona B. DobbinsFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_81This Correspondence is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I(1973-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992) by an authorizedadministrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationDobbins, Iona B., "Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992): Correspondence 01" (1992). Rhode Island State Council onthe Arts (1979-1992). Paper 59.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_81/59

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992): Correspondence 01

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Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1979-1992): Correspondence 01

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