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DELAWARE ARTS ALLIANCE ADVOCATES FOR ADDITIONAL STATE ARTS FUNDING
Published November 16th, 2023 at 6:24 PM EST |
The Delaware Arts Alliance (DAA) makes a push for more state funding for the arts.
Several First State artists joined Arts Alliance Executive Director Neil Kirschling during preliminary state budget hearings this week, seeking more money for the Delaware Division of the Arts.
DDOA falls under the Department of State – and during its budget session, Kirschling and others advocated for allocating an additional $1 million to help arts organizations fueling the creative economy keep up with rising costs.
“Since 2019 they’ve increased their budgets by 25%, not just because they’re doing more programming, but also because they’re keeping up with salaries, benefits, materials, everything required to put on arts and cultural events in the state.”
Kirschling says the state participated in an Americans for the Arts ‘Arts and Economic Prosperity 6’ report of the national creative economy, and its data supports the economic argument for boosting arts funding.
“The data from that study show that a vibrant arts community actually attracts visitors who spend money and help keep local businesses thriving. They also keep Delaware residents spending their money locally, which is vital income for local merchants, and I would encourage you to talk to DDOA to get that local data and really see the economic impact we’re having.”
The Alliance is in the middle of its own effort to track and build awareness of the arts impact locally. It includes an interactive asset map of the state’s artists, an economic study of Delaware’s Creative Economy, and developing a formal advocacy approach for the arts.
For more information about Delaware’s Creative Economy and Cultural Tourism Recovery and Growth Plan, listen to our feature on the plan’s launch this past summer, Arts Playlist: Delaware Arts Alliance set to launch plan to bolster the First State’s creative economy.
For more information on the Delaware Arts Alliance’s ‘Creative Economy and Cultural Tourism Recovery and Growth Plan’, visit their website. Or listen to the DPM previous article post here.