Wisconsin’s Creative Economy Coalition today is officially launching its campaign to secure greater state support for the arts.
The coalition, made up of dozens of member groups, is urging Republican lawmakers to provide $100 million in one-time funding for the Wisconsin Artistic Endowment Foundation in the coming biennial state budget. While the coalition doesn’t specify the source for the proposed funding, its release does mention Wisconsin’s projected $7.1 billion surplus.
According to an email from the coalition, interest earnings from these funds would be used to support the arts in Wisconsin through the foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Create Wisconsin Executive Director Anne Katz notes the state’s creative sector contributes $10.8 billion to Wisconsin’s economy per year and supports 90,000 workers. But she adds Wisconsin ranks last among U.S. states for per-capita funding for culture and the arts, pointing to U.S. Department of Commerce figures.
And Patrick Rath, president of the United Performing Arts Fund in southeastern Wisconsin, says places like Eau Claire, Appleton, Racine, Madison and Milwaukee are being “transformed” at the community level by local cultural organizations.
“The future for these organizations continues to be fragile as private funding alone cannot keep up with rising costs,” Rath said in a statement. “If we want these and all of Wisconsin’s creative hubs to be vibrant and here for future generations, investment needs to be made now before arts sector talent leaves our state.”
Meanwhile, the group is also urging legislators to boost funding for the Wisconsin Arts Board by $552,500 over the biennium to “maximize the drawdown of available federal funds” and continue support for the industry. According to the email, these dollars would help the board meet its required state funding match for its National Endowment for the Arts grant in the coming years without needing to make a request of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.
The coalition argues this change would result in a “much cleaner, smoother and cost-efficient process.”
Plus, the coalition wants the budget to include a Rural Creative Economy Development Grant Program, which would “support Wisconsin’s unique rural cultural and artistic assets, bolster state and local efforts to incubate, attract and retain talent,” among other impacts.
See the full list of members here:
See more on the coalition: https://wisconsincreates.com/
