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Congressional Art Funding Protected, For Now

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A message from our state level arts advocacy partner, Maryland Citizens for the Arts:

Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement on a bill to fund the nation’s federal agencies and programs for the remaining balance of the current FY2017 fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2017.  None of the nation’s arts and cultural agencies nor programs incurred a budget cut. In fact, many of them received funding increases for this year (see chart below here). As you will see from the chart, not only was there no cut to the NEA’s current fiscal year budget, but our champions in Congress actually proposed a $2 million increase!

This great news is just one example of how all of your grassroots arts advocacy efforts of sending thousands of letters, emails, phone calls, personal visits, op-eds, news articles, targeted advertising, and research proved effective. Arts advocates like you sent over 160,000 emails through American’s for the Arts’ (AFTA) Action Center. Thank you for your tireless work!

Next Steps:

  • FY2017:  Both chambers of Congress will next vote on this bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations bill before it proceeds to the President’s desk for him to sign/veto by this Friday, May 5th.  Despite the President recently proposing funding cuts to many of these cultural programs (i.e. $15 million cut to NEA), it appears that he will sign the bill.
  • FY2018:  Please note that the FY2018 appropriations bill for funding the federal government from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018 is still very much in play and going through the legislative process. This is the bill that the President recommended eliminating the NEA, NEH, IMLS, CPB, etc.  We remain focused on getting all of these agencies fully funded as well in the coming months.

AFTA’s #SAVEtheNEA campaign continues to go strong to advance the FY2018 message to Congress and the White House.  Please consider sending a #SAVEtheNEA message to your Congressional delegation as well as supporting our advocacy campaign efforts with a contribution. Click here to craft a message to your Congressional lawmakers and make sure your voice is heard!

#CitizenArtistBmore partner GBCA also shared this statement.

Safe Art Space Task Force Meeting 4/4

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The next meeting of the Mayor’s Safe Art Space Task Force is this Tuesday, April 4, 4pm, at Maryland Institute College of Art – 300 W Mt. Royal Ave, Room M110.

The Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Art Space is working to create a citywide network of safe, cost effective, contemporary, living, live/work, studio, and performance spaces for emerging and established artists. They need your input! The Task Force integrates the perspectives of artistic, design, development, financial, regulatory, and revitalization exports to develop strategies, identity resources, and propose a programmatic framework that will develop and sustain spaces that protect the safety of artists and patrons, while meeting the logistical and technical interests of today’s performers and audiences.

Click here to find out about upcoming task force meetings.

For artists living / working in Baltimore City, click here to take the Safe Arts Space Survey:
http://safeartspace.tumblr.com/Safe Artis Space Survey

 

Safe Art Space Survey

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The Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Art Space is working to create a citywide network of safe, cost effective, contemporary, living, live/work, studio, and performance spaces for emerging and established artists. They need your input! Fill out the Safe Space Survey here.

The Task Force integrates the perspectives of artistic, design, development, financial, regulatory, and revitalization exports to develop strategies, identity resources, and propose a programmatic framework that will develop and sustain spaces that protect the safety of artists and patrons, while meeting the logistical and technical interests of today’s performers and audiences.

Click here to find out about upcoming task force meetings.

 

Safe Art Space Public Forum

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The Mayor’s Safe Art Space Task Force Public Forum is today, Thursday, February 16, 4-7pm, at the War Memorial building, 101 N. Gay Street. Contribute your input to help create a citywide network of safe, cost-effective, contemporary, living, live/work, studio, and performance spaces for established and emerging artists. Click here to learn more and register:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mayors-safe-art-space-task-force-public-forum-tickets-32092245771

Affordable & Safe Housing for All Baltimoreans

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Since the tragic Ghost Ship artist warehouse fire in Oakland on December 2nd, artist live-work spaces have been subject to increased fire safety scrutiny nationwide. Locally, on December 5 the Bell Foundry live and work artist space was inspected and condemned. Residents and cultural workers were evicted without advance warning due to code violations. Today, December 21, Mayor Catherine Pugh announced a Task Force on Safe Art Spaces comprised of artists, city officials, cultural leaders, and developers. Citizen Artist Baltimore will work with the Mayor’s Task Force to contribute to housing solutions benefiting artists, cultural workers, and all Baltimoreans.

Baltimore Taskforce Safe Artist Spaces announcement

Station North Director Elissa Blout Moorehead speaking alongside Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh at the press conference announcing Task Force on Safe Artist Spaces.

Low-income artists seeking affordable live/work spaces routinely take on the financial and bodily risks of converting and occupying former industrial and commercial spaces. These spaces serve not only as places of artistic production and affordable shelter, but also as community spaces for marginalized groups, including those identifying as queer and people of color. The loss of these safe spaces is one piece of a much larger set of housing challenges in our city. Low income families are increasingly unable to find fair and affordable housing throughout Baltimore. More needs to be done to ensure access to safe and affordable housing and workspace for all.

As fire marshals continue to inspect buildings, Baltimore City should commit to supporting the immediate needs of those living with housing insecurity who are seeking to make necessary improvements and to also invest in other long-term solutions. Citizen Artist Baltimore stands in solidarity with long term fair housing advocates represented by the Baltimore Housing Roundtable and Housing For All, and support their efforts to implement the Affordable Housing Trust Fund approved by voters in the general election.

Safe and affordable housing and workspace is a human right. Citizen Artist Baltimore values the rights of artists, and all Baltimore residents, to safe and affordable housing and workspace. We will work with City Hall to make sure artist voices are heard! Sign up for action alerts as the new Mayor and City Council address these issues and to learn about other opportunities to advocate for arts and culture.

Click here to use the form on our frontpage to sign up for action alerts!

Moving Forward

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Citizen Artist Baltimore stands in solidarity with LGBTQI folks, women, people of color, Muslims, Mexicans, and indeed all people threatened by the presidential election results. As we heal from the trauma of the 2016 national presidential election, there are many local decisions that were made from which we can draw hope. Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh is already talking about top priorities affecting artists and cultural workers – jobs, education, and housing. In addition, important ballot questions were approved, including the charter amendment establishing the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Working in community reminds us that supporting arts and culture are both means and ends as we continue to make Baltimore a more inclusive and prosperous place for our neighbors. Strengthening and building bridges among our many communities is where it all starts. Our love through organizing continues.

Citizen Artist Baltimore will be holding community gatherings and cultural organizing trainings in the near future. All will be welcome as we seek to expand our community networks, build leadership, and focus on the best ways to equitably support arts and culture in Baltimore City. Take the Citizen Artist Baltimore pledge to receive updates on participating in future events.

Get Out The Vote!

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With 2016 General Election just over a month away, Citizen Artist Baltimore (CAB) is calling on YOU to register to vote, get educated on the candidates, and get out and vote! Heres how you can help:

  1. Learn about the mayoral candidates positions on arts and cultural priorities so that you can make the best choice.
  2. Find out about all of the candidates running to represent your district and find out more about the important ballot questions by using the League of Women Voters Vote Guide.
  3. Help get out the vote! The No Boundaries Coalition is going to be making phone calls, knocking on doors and giving people rides to the polls on election day. They are asking people to sign up in 2 hour shifts between 10am and 8pm.  Sign up to volunteer on election day using this form.
  4. VOTE ON NOVEMBER 8. Click here to find your Baltimore City polling location.

Sign up for updates on future events and help Citizen Artist Baltimore show the strength of Baltimore’s arts and cultural communities by taking the Citizen Artist Baltimore Pledge.

While you are getting out the vote In Real Life, join the conversation and help Citizen Artist Baltimore spread the word online! Follow us, share, and comment on facebook, twitter, and instagram. Share your citizen artist actions using the hashtag #CitizenArtistBmore.

Leading Mayoral Candidates Respond to Citizen Artist Baltimore Questionnaire

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Citizen Artist Baltimore is excited to announce that all of Baltimore’s leading mayoral candidates have responded to our community-driven arts questionanire! Voters are invited to visit the questionnaire webpage at http://citizenartist.vote/candidates to learn about Baltimore City’s leading mayoral candidates positions on the educational, economic, and social values of local arts and culture.

Candidates who have responded to the questionnaire include Sheila Dixon, Elizabeth Embry, Joshua Harris, Patrick Gutierrez, DeRay McKesson, Nick Mosby, Catherine Pugh, Carl Stokes, Alan Walden, David Warnock, and Calvin Young.

Throughout January 2016 CAB conducted a series of listening sessions with hundreds of voters across Baltimore City. From these sessions, CAB synthesized the top priorities of Baltimore’s creative communities into a questionnaire and statement shared with all mayoral candidates.

On March 7, 2016, CAB held the first ever Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture in which over 500 arts voters listened to eleven mayoral contenders as they spoke about important issues including increasing support for arts education, mandating equity in cultural funding, creating a cabinet level arts position, and developing an inclusive cultural plan for Baltimore City.

Citizen Artist Baltimore is a non-partisan advocacy effort to mobilize thousands of voters within Baltimore City’s creative communities by providing the opportunity for mayoral candidates to outline their positions and goals related to arts, culture and humanities. The effort serves as a call to action for individuals, organizations, and institutions to work together to advance inclusion of these issues in the April 2016 Primary Mayoral Election and beyond. The initiative also encourages voter registration and long-term engagement in the democratic process.

Citizen Artist Baltimore is led by the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA), Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA), and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation in partnership with nine additional arts organizations.

Mayoral Forum Success!

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Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture shows the Power of Citizen Artists

In an unprecedented show of strength by Baltimore’s creative communities, over five hundred citizen artists came together for first ever Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture held by Citizen Artist Baltimore (CAB) on Monday, March 7 at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Participating mayoral candidates included Sheila Dixon, Elizabeth Embry, Joshua Harris, Patrick Gutierrez, DeRay McKesson, Nick Mosby, Catherine Pugh, Cindy Walsh, David Warnock, Wilton Wilson, and Calvin Young. CAB asked questions based on input collected during seven listening sessions held all across Baltimore City. The mayoral contenders spoke about important issues including increasing support for arts education, mandating equity in cultural funding, creating a cabinet level art position, and developing an inclusive cultural plan for Baltimore City.

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