Restore Art Funds

A strong and viable Georgia Council for the Arts is key to the future of the arts in Georgia. During the current economy its budget has been cut by almost 90%, its staff reduced by almost 70%, major programs in arts education, artist residencies and the traditional arts have been eliminated. The GCA has been ranked by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies on per capita legislative support either last or in the bottom tier of all states during recent years.

In addition to the historical funding chart below for Georgia, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) has recently added comprehensive charts related to arts funding that allow you to select any state for an overview of their history, actual funding and comparisons to the other states. https://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Funding/index.php

Below the Georgia chart you will find the other NASAA charts with the information for Georgia. [Source: NASAA 2016]

Restore State Support for the Arts – The Time is Now!

Call for an Increased Investment in State Arts Funding – 2015

ArtsGeorgia, Georgia Alliance for Arts Education, C4 Atlanta, public domain, inc., and the Georgia Association of Museums & Galleries have jointly drafted a declaration in support of increased investment in state arts and arts education funding for FY2017.

Call for an Increased Investment in State Arts Funding – 2014

ArtsGeorgia, C4 Atlanta, the Georgia Alliance for Arts Education, BurnAway, public domain, inc., and the Georgia Association of Museums & Galleries have jointly drafted a declaration in support of increased investment in state arts and arts education funding for FY2016.

Call for an Increase in State Arts Funding – 2013

ArtsGeorgia and the Georgia Arts Network, Georgia’s arts advocacy leaders, have jointly drafted a declaration in support of an increase in state funding for the arts for FY2015.

Restore State Support for the Arts – ArtsGeorgia Budget Proposal

Artists, community arts organizations, arts educators and arts service organizations are invited to support this budget proposal.

Restore State Support for the Arts – Advocacy Action Plan

The Advocacy Action Plan includes date sensitive specific actions. This Advocacy Action Plan supports the Arts Budget Proposal.
Additional actions will be posted on the ArtsGeorgia social media, emailed to the statewide arts listserves and included in the ArtsGeorgia State of the Arts eNewsletter.

Restore State Support for the Arts – Sample Letter to the Governor

Restore State Support for the Arts – Sample Letter to Senators/Representatives

Chart of state arts funding

This chart dramatically depicts the level of state arts funding from 1969 to 2013
with the recent 90% cut returning the level of state arts funding to what it was 35 years
ago. Factor in inflation, deduct an estimate of approximately 50% of the current amount
for salaries, benefits, overhead and operating expenses and you demonstrate that the
Governor and the General Assembly need to restore state arts funding – the time is now.
CLICK for printable PDF.