“With a massive boost in state funding for arts and cultural programs, Florida would likely jump to near the top of all states in per-capita spending. The Florida Legislature approved $43.3 million for the 2014-15 budget for all arts and culture, a 384 percent increase from current levels,” writes Jay Handelman in Saturday’s (5/10) Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida). “In fiscal 2014, the state ranked 41st in per-capita spending at 33 cents per person, according to the National Association of State Arts Agencies…. The increased funding levels would put Florida in fifth place with $2.21 per capita…. The NASAA expects funding for arts and culture nationwide to rise in the next budget cycle as states make up for cuts many of them made during the downturn. Jonathan Katz, head of the NASAA, a membership organization that represents state and local arts agencies across the country … said [he] agrees with Sherron Long, president of the Florida Cultural Alliance, that … ‘This is a wonderful opportunity that has been given to this industry and we need to demonstrate that this money is a wise investment, how it leverages other investments publicly and privately.’ The arts, she said, are ‘a true public-private partnership.’ ”
Posted May 13, 2014
