Georgia Council for the Arts on the Cutting Room Floor

The outlook is bleak for arts organizations in Georgia.  Today’s victim could well be the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA).

Last night Georgia Boy Choir executive director Adisa Nickerson provided this update:

Today, ArtscriticATL.com (and Decatur Metro) posted this plea from the GCA:

“We have no documentation yet, but were told that the House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to cut our budget for FY 2011 to less than $250,000. Most importantly, these funds are to be transferred to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). We don’t know if this means that Georgia Council for the Arts 1) will no longer exist, 2) we will become part of DCA, or 3) the funds will be used to close out the FY 2010 Final Reports and end GCA. Whichever, Georgia will be the only state and territory in the nation that will have no state arts agency.

It is urgent that GCA hear from you today, no later than 5 PM. There are only six days remaining in this legislative session.
By return email to me, please relate briefly how the loss of GCA grant funding (using this year’s award amount) will impact your Programs, Staff, and Audience? Will one or more of your programs have to be cut? Will staff have to be let go or furloughed? How will your audience (and the Legislator’s constituents) decline? Please give your best guess to answer these questions: numbers and brief explanations will be helpful.

GCA will collate this information tonight. We will send you an email tomorrow (and everyday until this legislative session is closed) asking you, your staff, your board members, and patrons to take a specific action based on the collation of this data and on other information.”

Georgia Council for the Arts and other government-run arts programs, like the Fulton County Arts Council and the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, allow places like the Wren’s Nest to survive.  It’d be pathetic if this were the way Georgia chose to lead by example.