Ojalá, Selah, Lateda

Art in Georgia

As an artist and resident of Georgia I was dismayed to hear that the House
Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to eliminate the Georgia Council
for the Arts budget for FY 2011 and that GCA will cease to exist.

I know that times are difficult and that many agencies are taking cuts,
but to get rid of the arts agencies all together is a tragedy. Art is
important to our state, our communities and our individual lives. Art is
important to our souls, it separates us from the animals and machines.
If this passes…

1 - Georgia will be the only state and territory that will have no state arts agency.
2 - We will lose the Grassroots Arts Program that ensures there is arts programming in every Georgia County.
3 - Georgia will lose tax money that is reinvested in our state through the National Endowment for the Arts. This money is entirely contingent on the GCA budget being at least $900,000. This money from the NEA funds programs in every Georgia County.
4 - We will lose more jobs in this economic crisis.

Remember that investing in the arts pays off both in tax revenue, jobs, tourism - it’s one industry that is alive and well in spite of the overall economy. Please contact your state legislators TODAY, and let other voters know of the situation before Georgia becomes the only state or territory in the U.S. without a state arts agency.

I just wrote our state legislators and  I hope you’ll take a moment to do the same.

Please Follow This Link to Take Action on Important Arts Issues
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/ga/utr/2/?a=14931951&i=98643886&c=

Thanks,
Jennifer