local government support of arts and culture
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Local Government Support ofArts and CultureRandy CohenPublished online: 31 Mar 2010.
To cite this article: Randy Cohen (2002) Local Government Support of Arts andCulture, The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 32:3, 206-221, DOI:10.1080/10632920209596975
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Local Government Support of Arts and Culture
RANDY COHEN
ocal legislative appropriations and local option taxes directed to arts and L culture are estimated to be approximately $800 million in fiscal 2001'- a figure that has grown annually over the past ten years (see table 1). Although one of the smaller pieces of the overall arts funding pie, local public funding has been the largest and most stable form of government support, compared with state and federal. Local government support of the arts accounted for 3. I percent of all revenues in the national survey of the Profiles Project. This fig- ure does not, however, reveal the entire picture of how local governments invest in the arts.
Previous work by Americans for the Arts and others has documented that non-arts agencies of city and county governments support arts and cultural programming through, for example, youth arts programs funded by police departments, public art and performances in airports, and nonschool arts pro- grams funded by school districts.2 The $800 million estimate of local arts sup- port noted above does not include such activities. In this article, I outline the forms and extent of support of the arts by non-arts local government agencies. I discuss why agencies such as law enforcement, economic development, or social services direct a portion of their budgets to the arts, and assess the chal- lenges in collecting these types of data.
Randy Cohen is vice president for research and information at Americans for the Arts, in Washington, D.C.
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METHODOLOGY
To determine the level of non-arts agency support to the arts, local research teams in ten communities interviewed the local government agencies responsi- ble for providing thirteen key public services to local residents. The research team used a semistructured interview process to interview the agency repre- sentatives. This method features a few guiding questions and prompts the inter- viewee to talk about the topic of interest. Two sets of interview forms were used, one to document the agency’s mission and current and future levels of arts involvement, and a case form to document each instance of arts support. In addition to the information collection effort, researchers reviewed the citylcounty budget and other public records. They selected thirteen government service areas based on the likelihood that they would be found in each of the ten communities and on documented evidence that they have provided some type of support to the arts. The types of agencies selected included administra- tive services; community planning/economic development; convention and vis- itors’ bureaus; departments of education; public fire departments; policelpublic safety; justice departmentkourts; central libraries; parks and recreation; public housing; public works; social services/welfare; and transportation.
Although identifying the appropriate local agency to interview might appear to be a simple task, because there is significant variation in the struc- ture of local governments and how they deliver their services, it actually requires an investigation into each community’s city, county, and regional governments. For example, the City of San Jose, rather than Santa Clara County (in which San Jose is located), provides library services to its resi- dents. Conversely, in Montgomery County, the county generally provides library services. The local government structure in each community must be mapped to determine who provides which services to the public.
The lack of uniformity in agency names from community to community pre- sents a second challenge. For example, Los Angeles County’s Health and Human Services provides services similar to those of Nashville’s Social Services. Thus, local researchers must select and interview agencies based on their purposes and missions, not solely on their names. Once the local research teams identified the proper agencies to be interviewed, they attempted to schedule in-person inter- views with the agency directors. If an individual director was unavailable, researchers contacted other senior staff or the agency budget officer. Although the local project teams made every effort to conduct the interviews in person, it was not always possible, and so they conducted some of the interviews by phone.
DEFINITIONS: DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND IN-KIND ARTS SUPPORT
Arts support from local government takes many forms. It can be found as a line item in the city budget, with funds coming directly from the general
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fund. Similarly, an arts council may receive a specific percentage of the hotel- motel tax or other local option taxes. In other, less-direct instances, the city budget funds the police department, which then uses a portion of those dollars to fund artists and arts organizations. In other cases (brought to light during this study), support comes without cash changing hands, such as when a coun- ty government provides professional services or personnel. (The appendix provides more detailed illustrative examples.)
To distinguish the different types of local government arts support, three categories can be used: (a) direct support, (b ) indirect support, and (c) in-kind support. Some support cases tit very cleanly in one of these three categories; however, not all do. A case can be made for some of the examples to be placed in more than one category. Several factors must be considered when classify- ing cases of support:
First, the source of arts support is important. That is, did the funds come directly from the governing body (e.g., citylcounty council appropriation or local option tax such as percent-for-art) or did they come from an agency of government (an art program supported by the parks and recreation depart- ment, for example)? Funds from the governing body are considered “direct support,” whereas funding that passes from the city council to the parks department and then to an artist are considered “indirect support.”
Second, what is the intent of the arts support? Funds appropriated directly by the governing body can be considered a proxy for public support of the arts (“direct”). On the other hand, parks departments use the arts to deliver pro- gramming and services to the community (“indirect”).
Finally, the type of support must be discerned to properly categorize each case-usually to determine whether the incident of support is “directhndirect” or “in-kind.’’ That is, was the support actually cash that can be found in both the funder’s and recipient’s financial statements (“direct” or “indirect”), or was the support in the form of tangible services, such as public safety at a fes- tival or the city attorney’s office review of contracts on behalf of the arts orga- nization (“in-kind”)? In this latter example, the support may appear as a line item in the police department’s budget but not on the revenue statements of the arts organization.
The research team developed the following “filters” to assist in the catego- rization of local government support for the arts incidents:
Direct support. Direct support is appropriated directly by a citylcounty coun- cil, usually from the general fund. Examples include the following:
funding to a local arts agency (public or private), municipally owned museum, or cultural facility
bonds or other support for capital projects
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local option taxes used to support the arts (e.g., percent for art programs or use of a portion of the hotel-motel tax to support the arts)
funds found in the local government’s published budget
Indirect support. Indirect support is financial support to artists and arts orga- nizations from a non-arts agency of government; for example, when the library uses a portion of its budget to present arts programming. Such revenue will appear on the balance sheet of an arts organization but can be difficult to locate in the city or department’s budget.
In-kind support. In-kind support comes in the following forms:
Nonmonetary support. This type of support can be difficult to find in both the provider’s and recipient’s balance sheets. Examples include visibility in existing city marketing and tourism materials, use of building lobbies for exhi- bition space, or inclusion of arts events as part of an information referral service.
PersonnelAabor. This type of support includes donations such as the police department’s providing public safety at an arts festival. No financial support is provided directly to the arts festival. The public safety costs, how- ever, which can be significant, are borne by the city.
FINDINGS
Arts support by non-arts government agencies was identified in each of the seven communities in which this investigation was ~ndertaken.~ Overall, 88.7 percent of the agencies interviewed identified some form of arts sup- port, and all thirteen types of agencies provided at least one example. Across the communities, at least one incidence of support could be found for each of the thirteen agencies studied (table 2) . Libraries showed the greatest fre- quency, with 36 cases (13.1 percent of the total number of cases), whereas transportation had the lowest frequency, with eight cases (2.9 percent of the total).
Types and Amounts of Support
The researchers asked each agency about the funding mechanisms it used to support arts programs. As shown in figure I , among the 260 cases, grants given directly to artists or arts organizations were used in two-thirds of the incidences of support (66 percent). Line-item allocations in department bud- gets account for slightly less than a fifth (18 percent). Contracts for services (1 1 percent), contributions of personnel or services (4 percent), and in-kind services ( I percent) are the remaining common methods identified.
An examination of support amounts by type of agency reveals that specif- ic non-arts agencies tend to provide a variety of arts supports, although one or
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Local Governmetit Support @$Arts and Culture
TABLE 2. Arts Support from Non-Arts Agencies
Type of agency Number Number of cases of cases
Libraries Parks and recreation Economic development School districts Convention and visitors’ bureau Housing Public works Fire department Policflublic safety Social services/Social welfare Administrative services JusticeKourts Transportation
36 33 29 27 24 20 17 16 15 13 11 11 8
13.8 12.7 11.2 10.4 9.2 7.7 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.0 4.2 4.2 3. I
Note: Data derived from a sample group of 260.
FIGURE 1. Funding Mechanisms Used to Support the Arts
Grants 66%
Line item allocations 18%
Contracted services 11%
Contributions of personnel and ser-
vices 4%
Nore: Data derived from sample group of 260.
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two types of support tend to dominate. As shown in table 3, school districts, housing, and social service agencies disburse the largest blocks of funding through grants, whereas line-item allocations dominate in practically all other types of local government agencies. In our sample, only housing authorities and fire departments used contracts, and public works, fire, and police depart- ments also supported arts activities through personnel. Economic develop- ment agencies tend to provide a significant share of their support in kind, as do fire departments, although at a slightly lesser degree.4
Interviewees were also asked whether they placed restrictions on how the support could be used (i.e., operating support, programmatic support, both, or other). Eighty non-arts agencies provided information on this question. The most common (40 percent) response was that the support could be used for either operations or programming. Support strictly for programs or projects approached the same level at 38.8 percent. The remaining instances of support were primarily for operations (17.5 percent), with a small amount (3.8 per- cent) of “other” kinds of support.
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TABLE 3. Amount of Arts Support from Non-Arts Government Agencies by Funding Mechanism
~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~
Agency Grants (%) Line item (%) Contract (%)
Libraries Parks and
recreation Economic
development School districts Convention and
visitors’ bureau
Housing Public works Fire department PolicePublic
Social services/ safety
Social welfare
Administrative services
Justice/Courts Transportation
$93.000
$3,9 17,000
$52.500 $2,843,552
$749,495 $102,000
$0 $0
$0
$ 1 14,000
$0 $0 $0
4
37
2 59
29 46 0 0
0
67
0 0 0
$2,422,750
$6,106,262
$1,748,500 $1,383,906
$1,457,000 $45,750
$231,500 $108,000
$637,500
$53,000
$329,320 $2,500
$608,000
92 $0
58 $7,500
75 $5,000 29 $50,000
57 $0 21 $64,000 67 $0 56 $30,000
89 $0
31 $2,500
100 $0 16 $0
1 00 $0
(%)
0
0 1
0 29 0
16
0
1
0 0 0
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Each of the thirteen agencies has particular services or programs it is most likely to support. An arts manager can strategically use this information to align organizational support needs with the agency most likely to provide that type of funding (table 4).
For each incident of support, interviewers asked whether the arts organiza- tion made the initial contact or whether the government agency initiated it. In 43 percent of the cases, the arts organization made the initial contact, where- as the government agency made the initial overture 25.1 percent of the time. Interestingly, 26.1 percent of the time, the partnership was initiated jointly, suggesting ongoing program relationships.
Changes in Non-Arts Government Agency Support
More than half of the respondents indicated that the surveyed year’s level of arts support was the same as the previous year’s level of support (56.6 per- cent); the remainder (34.8 percent) indicated that the current year’s level of support is higher than the previous year’s.
Personnel (%) In-kind (%) Other (%) Total
$105,500 4
$26.000 0
$0 0 $9.000 0
$160,350 6 $1,000 0
$71,000 21 $30,000 16
$79,000 11
$0 0
$0 0 $7,130 47
$0 0
$7,000 0
$250,720 2
$520,000 22 $0 0
$10,000 0 $8,500 4
$18,000 5 $20,000 10
$0 0
$0 0
$0 0 $5,600 37
$0 0
$IS,000
$185,000
$0 $500,000
$200,000 $1.000
$25.000 $5.000
$750
$0
$0 $0 $0
1
2
0 10
8 0 7 3
0
0
0 0 0
$2,643,250
$10,492,482
$2,326,000 $4,786,458
$2,576,845 $222,250 $345,500 $193,000
$71 7,250
$169.500
$329,320 $15,230
$608,000
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TABLE 4. Activities Supported by Local Government Agencies
Type of agency
Ad minis trative services Community planning/
Convention and visitors’
School district Youth arts programs Fire department PolicePublic safety J u s tice/Cou rts Libraries
Parks and recreation Housing Community development Public works Social services/Social
Transportation
Most likely to support. . .
Promotional materials and advertising
Percent for art, (re)design of public buildings Economic development
bureau Promotional materials and advertising
Fire safety and education Youth program, both in school and after school Youth program, both in school and after school Provide a venue or performing arts events and
Promotional materials and advertising, arts classes
Percent for art, support for facilities
festivals
welfare Arts classes, youth programs Support for an arts venue
More than half of the agencies responded that they expect their level of arts support to remain the same in the coming year (60 percent), with an addition- al 35 percent indicating an increase. Less than 10 percent expected to decrease their level of support to the arts.
WHY NON-ARTS AGENCIES FUND THE ARTS
When agency representatives were asked about their rationale for arts sup- port, the answer was most typically that the arts program helped the agency achieve its mission. As everything done by a government agency should advance its mission, local interviewers were urged to probe deeper. This revealed a broader set of reasons.
Conirnunity leadership. There has been increased pressure from local elected and appointed officials to use the arts in community development strategies. The national associations of elected and appointed government leaders have made commitments to educate their members about how the arts address social, educational, and economic development issues in their communities. The groups also provide practical strategies for how to harness these positive resources in their communities. As a result, more community leaders are ini- tiating new arts programs or, at the very least, responding positively to them.
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In 2001, for example, U.S. Conference of Mayors president, New Orleans mayor Marc Moral, conducted a national “Competitive Cities” tour, high- lighting “the six keys to keeping cities competitive.” Third on the list is “The arts, as both a cultural/educational and economic force in communities.” The previous two presidents of the National Association of Counties have made the arts a priority during their tenures, instituting an awards program for most innovative arts programs, policy lectures and conference sessions about cul- tural issues, and an evening event at their annual convention to bring greater visibility to the arts. This top-down energy is likely to yield an environment where the arts are considered a viable-perhaps integral-strategy in com- munity development.
Non-arts agency leadership. Non-arts agency directors increasingly hear more about the efficacy of arts programs from their peers through their pro- fessional associations. Organizations such as the National Recreation and Parks Association produce journal articles and conference sessions designed to educate their members about how arts and cultural programming can be used to achieve their organizational missions.
lnteragency partnerships. Government agencies at all levels are being strong- ly encouraged to participate in interagency partnerships-to be less “silo” ori- ented. Research by Americans for the Arts on the local arts agencies in the fifty largest cities has found a near doubling in the number of partnerships between local arts agencies and non-arts agencies during the past 10 years.
“The progranis work.” More often than not, the interviewees stated, “We know it works. We can see it. We know it’s important and it just feels right.” Many of them see their jobs as more than simply building a highway overpass, for example. Beyond being functional, the overpass must enrich the commu- nity and instill community pride. Although difficult to quantify, the belief that “programs work” reveals an intrinsic understanding of the value of the arts.
Cost-effectiveness. A better understanding of the efficacy of these programs complements the empirical observations that “these programs work.” For example, evaluation of Art-at-Work, an arts program for youth at risk in Atlanta, demonstrates that the program is twice as effective as the county’s juvenile boot camp-and at half the cost. Few individuals in leadership posi- tions want to be the first to try something new (such as use the arts to reduce crime), but once they observe success someplace else, leaders show a greater willingness to try.
Local advocacy. Effective advocacy by local arts agency leadership, activists,
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and entrepreneurial arts managers has resulted in new partnerships, a greater understanding of the value of arts programs and how they can be implement- ed, and explicit support from non-arts agencies.
CHALLENGES IN COLLECTING NON-ARTS AGENCY DATA
Consistent with the Profiles Project’s purpose of strengthening local research capacity, this portion of the study yielded important lessons about conducting this type of research efficiently in the future. Collecting data about arts funding from non-arts agencies is a task not without its challenges. All of the communities encountered barriers of varying magnitude. The fol- lowing list of common problems faced by local researchers should be instruc- tive to researchers seeking to undertake this type of data collection effort in the future.
Very few of the incidences of non-arts agency support to the arts can be found in the published budget of a city or county. The arts programs are often incorporated into a broader budget line item. In a parks and recreation depart- ment, for example, artists and art supplies may be incorporated into an after- school youth program, with the expenditure commingled with after-school sports, cooking, and swimming programs. Similarly, an entire multimillion- dollar arts agency budget may occupy only a few budget lines, leaving read- ers of the city’s budget document to contact the arts agency to learn more about its work.
Not all local governments have the same service structure. For example, some communities may have a stand-alone police department. In other cities, however, the police department might be combined with the fire department in a public safety department. Alternatively, functions may be divided up in more complex ways across a variety of agencies. Social services may be rep- resented by a number of different agencies that focus on special populations such as youth, elderly, or disabled persons.
Many local governments formally designate private entities to function as agents of local government, even though the entities are not actually part of local government (e.g., convention and visitors’ bureaus, arts agencies, and certain social service functions). For this study, if the government formally contracts out a function to a nonprofit or a business, if the nonprofit or busi- ness is formally designated to act on behalf of local government, or if local government has a board seat or has control over hiring decisions, then we included it in the study. We excluded those with no formal tie to local gov- ernment.
A division of service often exists between the city and the county govern- ments. For example, law enforcement might be provided by a county and not by the municipalities within that county. Or the city may manage its own park
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and recreation department and not look to the county for that service. Thus, limiting an investigation to only one level of government can result in critical government services’ being overlooked.
When interviewers have no incentives to offer, the request for information is often yet another time-consuming item on an already long “to do” list and thus a low priority for the interview prospect. Although conducting these interviews face to face is ideal, many had to be conducted by telephone, or not at all.
Experience has shown that when one asks an agency representative if their agency provides support for arts and culture, the initial response is usually no. Further probing, however, frequently reveals some type of direct funding, in- kind support, or time allocation. The national-local research team developed a helpful set of prompts for use during the interviews.
Uncertainties in the local political environments occasionally affect local government research. In Providence, for example, the local government data collection efforts coincided with a series of federal indictments of the mayor and a number of high-level city employees. As a result, city workers were guarded about the information that they would share.
The Profiles Project includes the first systematic, multicity examination of non-arts agency government support to the arts. These data suggest that local government support for the sector is significantly underestimated. Policy researchers should continue to investigate non-arts agency arts support on the federal, state, and local levels to ( a ) determine a more accurate measure of public investment in the arts; (6) develop funding models for other communi- ties to emulate, thus increasing arts support; (c) educate different agency lead- ers about the value of the arts; and (6) increase the knowledge base of arts administrators as they seek funding alternatives.
Key words: local arts funding, direct arts support, indirect arts support, in- kind arts support, nun-arts agencies, nonprofit arts organizations
APPENDIX
Examples of Non-Arts Agency Support for Arts and Culture
Administrative Services. A number of Philadelphia’s arts and cultural organizations are housed on city property and are therefore designated as “city-owned.” The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Atwater Kent Museum, and Betsy Ross House are exam- ples. Despite their city-owned status, these organizations operate as private, nonprofit institutions, and some are listed as agencies within the Department of Parks and Recreation. Provision of city services to city-owned institutions has been nominal, with total dollars allocated during the last decade declining from $6 million in fiscal 1991 to $3.2 million in fiscal 1999. The majority of these funds (about 70 percent) were for the art museum.
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Community Planning and Economic Development. The City of Los Angeles’s Community Planning Bureau sets up criteria for the city’s one-percent-for-art and Arts in Public Spaces programs and works with developers to ensure compliance with the program. The $50,000 annual expenditure is a line-item allocation in the department’s budget. The city council requires this expenditure. I t is expected that this amount will remain the same in fiscal 2001 as it was in 2000 and 1999.
The Office of Arts and Culture and the Redevelopment Authority administer per- cent for art funds in Philadelphia. In fiscal 2001, percent for art commissions were expected to total $2.8 million, including new works of art at the Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia International Airport, the zoo’s new Primate Center, the Avenue of the Arts, the Chestnut Street Transitway, Municipal Services Building, One Parkway Building, and the Forensic Science Center. Established in 1959, Philadelphia’s percent for art, one of the first in the nation, requires that up to 1 percent (typically less) of the cost of all construction on city projects be spent on works of art. To date, more than 200 projects have been commissioned through the city’s Office of Arts and Culture, including the establishment of a public art collection at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and a progressive exhibitions program at Philadelphia International Airport. Though percent for art is a public program, private funds support the projects. Additionally, the region’s transit authority allocates significant funds to art projects at its redevelopment sites throughout the city and region. I discuss highlights of these programs, including allocations of time and staff to manage projects and provide main- tenance, in detail below.
Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. The mission of City of San Jose’s Department of Conventions, Arts and Entertainment is to provide exceptional convention and cultur- al services in safe and attractive settings, to enhance the quality of life for the com- munity’s residents and visitors, and add to the economic vitality of the city. To achieve its mission, the agency employs an arts strategy that includes a 2 percent for art pub- lic policy that generates $6.5 million per year. Additionally, because the arts are con- sidered a key reason for the city’s high hotel occupancy rate, the agency provides $13 million to the Office of Cultural Affairs to provide diverse cultural offerings and events and to build the capacity of cultural organizations to produce quality art.
To promote travel to and within Montgomery County, Maryland, the Convention and Visitors Bureau spends $200,000 to promote arts and culture through its publica- tions and Web site.
School Districts. The Amery Public School District, with a mission of providing com- prehensive educational services for district school-aged children, spends $325,000 to provide arts programming as a basic part of the instructional curriculum. This is accounted for as a line-item allocation in the district’s budget.
The Los Angeles Unified School District provides a substantive program of cur- riculum, instruction, and assessment in dance, music, theater, and visual arts in grades K-12. The district is currently implementing a 10-year arts education plan (1999-2009) that is expected to cost $4.7 million. To train school administrators, class- room teachers, arts teachers, and artists to align with the district’s arts standards, cur- ricula, and assessment, all participate in staff development programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Music Center Education Division; Performing Tree; and with the California Consortium for Arts Education. A $35,000 line item in the dis- trict’s budget supports the program. The program emerged from an ongoing dialogue between educators and artistdarts organizations.
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Local Governnient Support of Arts and Culture
Fire Department. Representatives of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services attend the county’s ethnic festivals to show the agency’s diversity and take advantage of the recruitment opportunity.
The City of Los Angeles Fire Department is charged with maintaining public safe- ty by preventing and responding to fires, earthquakes, and disasters. To that end, the department provides tire and safety inspections for cultural facilities at a cost of $35,000 per year. Additionally, at the request of the arts community, the department has provided community education and outreach on fire and earthquake safety at arts and culture festivals. The fire department has a line-item allocation in its budget for $15,000 to support this activity. This public safety agency expects to continue this level of support in the upcoming fiscal year.
PolidPublic Safety. The City of Amery, Wisconsin, values police security for its annual Amery Fall Festival at $320. The police department has a line item in its bud- get for this expense.
As part of the Los Angeles Police Department’s crime prevention efforts, the department seeks to engage youth in positive community activities. As a means of direct program involvement, officers have volunteered in arts and theater classes at city parks and in youth centers. The police department initiated the involvement and has contributed agency personnel amounting to $50,000 annually.
Jusrice DepartmentdCourts. Montgomery County’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation uses the arts as a strategy to achieve its mission of providing offenders the opportunity for self-improvement and the resources necessary to make a successful adjustment within the community. One program brings youthful offenders to cultural events. The department also has brought in artists and arts organizations during certain times of the year (e.g., Black History Month) to make presentations at its facilities.
Central Library System. San Jose’s Public Library supports several arts programs as part of its mission to enrich lives by fostering lifelong learning and ensuring that every member of the community has access to a vast array of ideas and information. “Live at the Library’’ provides author readings and presentations to enhance the public’s experience of literary works, as well as to bring more people into the libraries. A line- item allocation in the budget funds this $24,000 program.
The Amery Public Library supports arts programs such as author’s readings, read- ing discussions, children’s readings, and arts exhibits. The $5,000 used to support the program meets the library’s mission of providing information, material, and pro- grams to meet personal, professional, cultural, and recreation needs.
Parks and Recreation. San Jose’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services agency uses the arts to advance its mission of supporting livability of neighborhoods and improving quality of life. The department has spent $400,000 of its budget on after-school programs for youth. It has spent another $700,000 to provide arts classes, festivals, and special activities at community and senior centers.
Montgomery County’s Department of Recreation granted $3 million in cultural facility improvement grants and provided an additional $900,000 in grants and in-kind support to support community festivals.
Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park Commission provided $21 ,000 in personnel services to support “Art Works for Water Works,” a program that provides greater public aware- ness of waterworks.
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The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society
Public Housing. The Montgomery County Public Housing and Housing Opportunities Commission provides housing and housing-related support services to residents of the county. The commission uses several arts programs to achieve its mission. For exam- ple, “Dance for Kids” has received $ I ,ooO worth of agency personnel and services to provide arts programs for youth. The commission also has provided arts programming and opportunities for its elder groups, $1,500 to transport kids to after-school arts pro- grams, and $7,000 for assistance with public gardens for aesthetic enrichment of their communities.
Public Worh. The mission of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works is to provide well-planned, environmentally sensitive, cost-effective infrastructure and services to promote public health, personal safety, transportation, economic growth, and civic vitality. Consistent with its mission, Public Works supports the city’s percent for art ordinance when it restores public buildings. The department provided $50,000 per year in engineering personnel to support this work.
Social Services/Social Weyare. Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services seeks to assure the provision of integrated, programmatically sound, and fiscally responsible services that address health and human development for the county. The “Heyday Players” program teaches seniors about drug and alcohol abuse. The $lO,OOO program was initiated by the department and is a line-item allocation in its budget. The agency also supports the Executive Ball for the Arts, which provides greater visibility for the arts.
Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services uses the arts as part of its strategy to strengthen and preserve families in the communities in which they live. The Point Breeze Performing Arts Center received a $5,000 grant to support its Community Outreach Program. This program established partnerships between human services, youth service agencies, and community groups to prevent child abuse and juvenile delinquency and to strengthen families. This funding relationship was initiated by the arts agency. The Asian Arts Initiative operates a similar program and has also received $5,000 in project support.
T‘ansporrarion. In Nashville, the airport has hired several arts administrators to pro- vide arts programming in the terminals+specially the new Southwest Airlines hub- with the goals of providing a more pleasant experience for those waiting for airplanes, promoting Nashville as a cultural community, and providing opportunities for region- al artists.
The Philadelphia International Airport developed the “Airport Art Program” to humanize the airport environment, enhance the traveling public’s experience, promote a positive image for the city, and provide a venue for regional artists. Total budget for the permanent collection and exhibitions program amounted to $420,000 in fiscal 2000, including administrative support, supplies, installation of art, and promotion.
NOTES
I . Davidson, Benjamin, and Randy Cohen, United Stures Urhon Arts Federuriun Fiscul Zoo0 Report (Washington, D.C.: Americans for the Arts, 2001 ), 22.
2. Americans for the Ans. Building America’s Conrnrunities II: A Cunrpendiunl qf Arts und Coniniuniry Develupnrent Progrunrs (Washington, D.C.: Americans for the Arts, 1997). Similar reports about state non-arts agency funding can be found on the Web site of the National
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Assembly of State Arts Agencies <www.nasaa-arts.org> and federal non-arts funding agencies on the Web site of the National Endowment for the Arts <http://www.art.gove/federal.html>.
3. Cleveland, New Orleans, and Providence were unable to conduct this portion of the Profiles Project for various reasons.
4. Given the low levels of support from the local courts and justice systems, they are exclud- ed from the discussion.
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