Arts supporters rally against proposed cuts
By Casey Gillis on Mar. 09, 2010
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Kim Sheppard can’t imagine what her life would be like without dance.
“I started when I was four. It’s like breathing,” said the New York native, who has taught at Dance Theatre of Lynchburg for seven years.
She was one of about 50 people who braved the cold Wednesday during a rally to protest a General Assembly proposal that would cut funding for the Virginia Commission for the Arts in half in 2010-11, and eliminate it altogether in 2011-12.
Sheppard said the possibility of cuts in arts and arts education “saddens me because I know what it’s meant to me.”
Members of the James River Council for the Arts and Humanities organized the rally, modeling it after a similar one held in Richmond last week, said David Neumeyer, council president.
“It just struck us on the arts council that we needed to do something locally,” he said before addressing the crowd.
The rally was in response to the House of Delegates budget for 2010-12 — approved by the House on Wednesday — that would reduce money allocated to the commission by $2.23 million in the first year of the budget, and erase all funding in the second year.
The Senate’s budget would keep $4.46 million in arts funding in each year.
Those gathered on Wednesday at the downtown Community Market showed their support for arts funding in different ways.
Some carried signs — “Virginia Is For The Arts,” “Art Heals” and “Don’t Silence the Music” were among their messages — while others carried the tools of their trade, including paintbrushes, cameras and, in Sheppard’s case, a pair of black tap shoes.
“The arts build communities. The arts build economies,” Neumeyer said. “We have a thriving arts community and a thriving downtown. They’re both growing.
“What pulls us together is the Virginia Commission for the Arts.”
Over the past two years, Lynchburg-area arts programs have received a total of almost $400,000 from the VCA, money that’s vital to most of their day-to-day operations.
Many wondered what the arts scene here and in other Virginia communities would look like without the organization.
“If they get rid of all the funding, and there’s nowhere for arts people to go, everyone is going to leave,” said Christine Gnieski, a Randolph College freshman who plans to major in theater.
“They want to bring people to Virginia, but they’re getting rid of all the things that will do that.
“The arts are good for the soul. They shape the communities, and (the General Assembly) is trying to destroy that.”
The group included leaders of area arts organizations, artists, performers and concerned citizens. Speakers urged them to call local legislators to speak out against the cuts.
“I hope that a lot of people take action,” said Glory Szabo, another organizer. “This is something for the people in charge to take note of.”
Here’s a list of Lynchburg-area arts organizations and how much VCA money they received in the past two years (A chart in Tuesday’s paper reported the amount of grants awarded, but grants later were reduced due to budget cuts):
• Academy of Fine Arts: $141,280
• Amazement Square: $8,500
• Bedford Academy of the Arts, Bedford: $1,275
• Bedford County: $5,000 (matching local government grant)
• Bedford city: $5,500 (matching local government grant)
• Black Theatre Ensemble of Virginia: $2,550
• Dance Theatre of Lynchburg: $33,935
• The Ellington Fellowship Play-house: $11,815
• Jefferson Choral Society: $7,276
• Little Town Players: $2,635
• Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra: $36,396 ($6,000 used to set up local arts council, $5,000 used for arts tourism project)
• Opera on the James: $20,275
• Riverviews Artspace: $12,835
• Virginia Center for the Creative Arts: $110,129
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