More on art funding

When we here that the city will cut funding on the arts, the full story is not told.
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“There are few line items in the budget with such a good rate of return,” said Kwok of the International Violin Competition. “And if public safety is truly at the top of the mayor’s agenda, which I know it is, one must consider the long-term impact on today’s youth.” Since he took office, Ballard has noted cultural leaders’ concerns, and pledged to assist them wherever possible, particularly from the bully pulpit.

But many arts leaders have remained skeptical. “Part of the problem is, Mayor Peterson worked so hard from the beginning to establish a profile in the cultural community,” said John Pickett, executive director of the Indianapolis Opera. “When he went in to help major arts organizations, his statements had much more weight than Mayor Ballard’s would.”

Other cities Indianapolis competes against directly—both for businesses and talent—do far more than even Peterson did to support the arts, Pickett pointed out. Denver, for example, has a dedicated sales tax as well as a seat tax at major sporting events, which together generate $13 million for its cultural arts community annually.

It doesn’t work like that here. In addition to the $1.5 million in direct city funding Ballard is considering cutting, Indianapolis provides another $1 million to its arts community through the Capital Improvement Board, which oversees the city’s sports venues.

CIB Chairman Bob Grand said he hasn’t made any plans yet to cut into that $1 million. He’s waiting for Lucas Oil Stadium to open its doors. After that, Grand said, CIB will know what it can afford. But its top priority will be stadium expenses. “It doesn’t make sense to make cuts when, in our case, we don’t have facts on the cost of Lucas Oil’s operation,” Grand said. “I’ve got to get in there. Then we’ll assess it.” •

So now we are up to two million dollars to see the "arts" in the new Budget.