Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority’s Post

If anyone is interested , please sign this petition to urge the Birmingham City Council to reverse the savage cuts to funding to the Arts in Birmingham. Some of Birmingham's best loved arts and cultural attractions face cuts to their grant funding from the city council. There will be a cut to ALL funding for culture projects and local arts development, including the support for 10 local arts forums. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra B'ham REP Theatre B'ham Royal Ballet IKON Gallery B'ham Opera Company FABRIC Sampad Ex Cathedra & Legacy Centre of Excellence B:Music Birmingham International Dance Festival will lose its £350,000 funding Funding to attract tourism will also be cut by £25,000. Many of my peers and friends work for the above list. Utterly devastated 💔 According to Arts Council England, arts and culture contribute more than £10.8 billion a year to the UK economy (source: Arts Council England). In addition, for every £1 invested in arts and culture, an additional £1.06 is generated in the economy (source: Centre for Economics Business Research). This clearly shows that investing in arts organisations is not just about preserving culture; it's also economically beneficial https://lnkd.in/eUcdtAY5

Spotlight on Tomoko Naoe, Director of Policy for Japan at BSA!   Tomoko joined BSA | The Software Alliance after studying English literature and gaining experience in the music industry. Her favorite part about BSA is engaging with various stakeholders, from member company representatives to government officials.   Growing up between Japan and the United States, Tomoko developed a love for contemporary art and enjoys visiting museums and galleries in her spare time.   Read Tomoko’s art-filled Spotlight below: https://lnkd.in/eBZcnFF5

As of July 1, 2024, a new State budget is active which includes a $32 million cut to arts and culture organizations across Florida. That means $0 in funding to support organizations like your Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and $150,000 in grant support we no longer receive. Read more in this The Associated Press article on how this is affecting organizations across the entire State. #orlando #orchestra #supportthearts #budgetcuts

Not only are the cuts savage but they seem to come with no warning. How is an organisation supposed to plan and implement programmes if budgets can be cut overnight? It may be that local and national government funding of arts & culture is widely under threat, and this means arts organisation will need to develop new sources of sustainable finance, but this can’t be done overnight.

This is really about our refusal to create an educated electorate. Chatting with folks in their 20s, some literally do not understand how the system works, they know they don't understand it, they see the fruits of what we've created in this very inequitable system, and they're divested. So who ends up voting? A lot of really scared, self-serving as opposed to community-driven, cynical, anti-forward thinking individuals. Who will be long dead when the country has slipped into its final morass of failed late-stage capitalism. We need to work on getting Americans aware about the voting process. Yes to more voter education -- it's a crisis now.

We are dismayed that Birmingham, the UK’s second city, will lose almost all its council funding for the arts over the next 2 years. Defunding the arts will harm quality of life, exacerbate inequalities & set back economic recovery. It will only make our problems worse. Regularly funded arts organisations in Birmingham face 50% cuts this year and 100% cuts next year. That includes City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham Opera Company, FABRIC dance, Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage, Birmingham, Ex Cathedra, Legacy Centre of Excellence and B:Music. All council funding for culture projects and local arts development is to end. International Dance Festival Birmingham will end. Next year Black History Month and Birmingham Heritage Week face 100% cuts. It's devastating news for a city whose reputation for arts and culture is exceptional. What’s happening in Birmingham is extreme, but far from an isolated phenomenon. Eight English councils have effectively declared bankruptcy since 2018, more than in the 30 years before that. An increasing number are warning that cost & demand pressures are unsustainable. In recent years, the biggest change to English councils’ finances has been reduced grants from central government – between 2009/10 and 2019/20 these were cut by 40% in real terms. Councils can't borrow to fund day-to-day spending, so it has affected their spending power. By 2022/23, councils were spending 35% less per person compared with 2010. But they were spending 48% less per person on culture, heritage and library services. The arts have been disproportionately affected by pressures on local government funding. Almost 1 in 5 councils say it’s likely they will go under before the end of this year because of a lack of funding to keep key services running. Leaders in national and local government urgently need to come together to address this crisis, before any more damage is done. The arts support local communities, the economy and all people to thrive. Local authorities are still the biggest public investors in culture and library services. But without action now to shore up their funding, arts access across the nation is critically at risk.

TL;DR League of American Orchestras is doing important work on many fronts, conference was great and intense, more people do good in this world than the few that behave terribly, I am a lucky duck. League conference was inspiring as always but this one hit differently. It was invigorating to connect with young intelligent feisty hopefuls, and connect/reconnect with those of us who are longer in the tooth and still advocating for meaningful positive change. It marked the official end of the year long Anne Parsons Leadership Program, from which I gained invaluable direct and indirect mentorship wisdom plus a ride or die crew of totally amazing cohort members I’m honored to call friends. This year’s conference also offered an opportunity to continue to shine a bright and unflinching light on the worst of our art form’s antiquated toxic hierarchical operating practices. I was a little terrified to serve as a panelist on Understanding and Addressing Sexual Misconduct in the Orchestral Field. It’s a very serious and very disturbing topic which can cast a pall over a celebratory call to action convening like the League conference but the League and its membership are taking this seriously, so when they came calling I said yes. For obvious reasons of sensitivity to the subject matter the panel session, facilitated by two representatives from RAINN and including the incoming League board chair and AFM head of symphonic services, was not recorded. I gave oxygen to some pretty harsh realities from my broader musician/administrator POV. I won’t be posting that statement anywhere but if anyone is interested in what I had to say I am happy to connect. I’m certain it’s incomplete and this work is just beginning so please school me. Thanks to colleagues near and far for input and raw conversations helping me prepare. HUGE thanks to Team APLP for the unwavering support all week leading up to, and during, that panel. Also huge thanks to everyone at the League for putting together so many wonderful sessions! Themes of inclusivity for lived experiences, divergent thinking, responsible fundraising, community first marketing, bold artistic visioning, and addressing systemic challenges resonated deeply for me. It’s great to be a classical music geek among geeks. Not tagging individuals in this post because it got so personal. Y’all know who y’all are and there’ll be a Tagging Festival in the next one. :)

Here's the link to the latest post in my arts blog...Enjoy!

"Chicago is a hub for creative incubation, and neighborhood-based small arts organizations are the spark for the city's artistic innovation, daring, and breadth of arts.." Interested in learning more about the Artistic Vitality program at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation? Chicago's Artistic Vitality Program Director Ellen Placey Wadey and I recently sat down to discuss the program and why small arts organizations are so important. Check out the article!

So important in any work/job/passion - human expression through all forms provides us with an opportunity to evolve and create.