Anxious Sound: Take Action- A Personal Appeal on Arts Funding

Jun 24, 2009 by

If you have a taste for Jazz, experimental music, or sophisticated indie soundscapes you may well know Rob Cambre and Anxious Sound. I’ve known Rob since the early ’90’s when the RC Bridge Lounge was the site of shows like Helios Creed, Nipples of Isis, and others. While he is the one with all the musical talent we have both devoted years of effort to the creative scene  in New Orleans.

It should not surprise us that our very own Alfred E. Newman of government, Bobby Jindal, not only does not like science but he also does not like art.

Well here at HumidCity we LOVE art, and music and the creativity that runs rampant throughout the crescent city and its communities. With that in mind I’d like to turn you over to local jazz producer and performer Rob Cambre. Lets talk about the practical downsides of this latest push to slash art funding in Louisiana

-Loki, HumidCity Founder and Curator

Howdy folks –

Gov.Jindal reportedly intends to veto the reinstatement of the state’s Decentralized Arts Funding.

This is the funding that has made my series at the Big Top – the “Sound Circus” concert series – possible for the past two years.  Concerts by Han Bennink, James Singleton, Konk Pack, Donald Miller, Tetuzi Akiyama, Jozef Van Wissem, Ab Baars Trio + Ken Vandermark, and the 2009 New Orleans installment of the No Idea Festival.  Without this funding, the concert activity would have to be curtailed back considerably because I just don’t have the money to do it myself and to cover all expenses and  fees with audience admissions I’d have to charge y’all around $50 a head instead of $10-12 as is the current pricing.

Not a fun topic to discuss, but those are the cold, hard facts.

So I strongly urge you to read the lower portion of this email and take action ASAP by clicking the link and sending an email to the governor urging him not to veto this funding.  If you can add a bit of a personal note in the pre-composed email about how you’ve personally enjoyed or benefited from the concert series and/or other arts supported by this funding and its positive impact on the community that would be nice too.  But definitely voice your support for the funding so we can keep this happening.
— thank you,
— Rob Cambre

For more information, visit www.artscouncilofneworleans.org

Good Afternoon:

The Arts Council previously sent you a message to contact the state legislature regarding re-instating the funding for the arts in the state’s budget. We sincerely thank all of you who took action last week. Today we encourage you to take the time to write or call direct to Governor Jindal. He has expressed his intent to veto the Legislature’s reinstatement of Decentralized Arts Funds (DAF) and Statewide Art Grants (SAG). Political maneuvering has delayed the review of this portion of the budget until it’s too late for the Legislature to override the veto without calling a special session.

As previously stated, the Governor originally cut 83% from these funds. Supporters across the state wrote to their respective legislators and over 70,000 unique e-mails were sent urging them to support DAF and SAG funding. The Legislature reinstated the funding at 100% due to popular demand. TODAY is the time to contact the Governor and let him know how very important these dollars are to the arts and cultural organizations of your community and our state.

DAF and SAG funds are crucial to our state’s cultural economy. These funds support grants to organizations in every parish. They support nonprofit arts organizations that enhance quality of life, educate children, increase tourism, and provide tax income for communities. The state’s own economic impact studies show that these grants are a worthy investment. In fiscal year 2008, the DAF awarded 424 grants across all parishes. It benefited over 3.3 million citizens and visitors and contributed $6 dollars to state coffers for every $1 invested. Due to the unique nature of this funding mechanism, the concept of its equitable distribution and impact would cease to exist if this cut comes to fruition. In addition to the social impact of the cut, the fiscal impact to the state tax base would total $14.8 million.

Please write or call today! It’s quick and easy. Click here to take action. We can’t express how important this action is for the arts and cultural organizations of our community. Also please forward this message to everyone you know: friends, family, boards, artists, educators. Post to your blogs, Facebook, etc. We need to generate another 40,000 e-mails if we’re going to make an impact on saving this funding.

Thank you,
Mary Len Costa
Interim President and CEO
Arts Council of New Orleans

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