A year ago, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. He ran his campaign on the promise of change, and since then, the slogan has followed many different facets of American popular culture, including the arts realm.
“We have to look back to how Obama addressed the arts in the presidential race,” said PR and Marketing Coordinator for Americans for the Arts Liz Bartolomeo.
Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit arts organization that works to create opportunities across the nation to allow all Americans to view and participate in various art mediums.
She said the president vocalized his support for the arts early in the primary elections. He then expressed his support for ArtsVote initiative by issuing a comprehensive arts policy proposal.
Bartolomeo said Obama incorporated the arts into the very fabric of his campaign and has continued to do so during his presidency.
“He was the first president to have an arts person on his transition team,” she said. “Even within the wings of the White House, there is art recognizing American artists.”
On Thursday, the Interior Appropriations Bill passed in both the House and Senate.
This bill will provide $167.5 million, the highest level of funding in 16 years, in funding for the 2010 fiscal year to both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Smithsonian Institution has been allocated $761.4 million for the coming year to cover basic operational costs, digitalizing the collections and renovating the Arts and Industries Building.
The bill provides $167 million for The National Gallery of Art. The President is expected to sign the bill into law within the week.
“There was a fight for the $50 million for the arts,” Bartolomeo said of the additional funding for the arts that was part of a federal stimulus package in 2009.
She said that Americans for the Arts were very pleased that Congress went
above what even the president had recommended in his projected budget.
“We are very grateful to members of Congress for the 8
percent increase in funding,” said Victoria Hutter, director of communications
at the National Endowment for the Arts.
“We are a grant-making agency, so that’s what the funds will
be used for,” she said.
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency
of the federal government and the largest provider of funds to the arts across
the nation annually.
Advocates for the arts argue that these funds will provide thousands of new jobs for citizens around the country. Many leaders in the arts world have had to make cuts, and some have even had to close down due to the effects of the recession.
“President Obama’s impact on the arts has been a little delayed,” said Monika Herzig, School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor. “We had a lot of venues close due to the economy.”
She said the attitudes of artists seem to be a lot more positive.
“We have a White House open to the arts,” Herzig said. “There is a more inclusive attitude.”
Herzig founded “Jazz from Bloomington” to provide a nonprofit organization that brings world-renowned jazz musicians to Bloomington for the public to see at a low cost.
“We had a concert at the end of September with New Orleans music, and it went really well,” she said. “I feel in terms of audience it is really building up.”
Herzig said the group has also started jam sessions every Wednesday at BuffaLouie’s and that weekly attendance has been steadily rising.
She said she believes that live music is flourishing during this time of recession because people want an escape. Therefore, they turn to music.
Both local and national attention to the arts is increasing, and Bartolomeo attributed this to the current administration.
“The president has really engaged artists by bringing them into the White House, working as advocates for artists and addressing how art professions work,” she said.
