ARTS GRANT IMPASSE ‘SERIOUS BUT NOT FATAL’

For the first time in its nearly 10 years of existence, the California Arts Council has been turned down--temporarily, at least--in its application for its basic federal grant by a panel of the National Endowment for the Arts.

California’s application proposal “lacked vision and a clear sense of direction,” wrote Anthony B. Turney, the NEA’s deputy to the chairman for public partnership and director for state programs, in a Feb. 5 letter to former Assemblywoman Marilyn Ryan, executive director of the California Arts Council. The letter added: “Final action was deferred on the application until the panel’s June meeting in order to give the council the opportunity to address, in a revised application, substantive panel concerns.”

Beyond mentioning language problems the NEA also had specific criticisms of California’s ethnic programming, communication with artists and arts organizations and affiliation with a Western regional arts federation.

To try to resolve the impasse, Turney is going to Sacramento Wednesday to meet with Ryan, and on Friday will see Stephen Goldstine, president of the San Francisco Institute and newly elected chairman of the California Arts Council. A delegation of panel members, including Turney and Mary Hays, director of the New York State Council on the Arts, is seeking to set up further meetings in Sacramento the first week in March.

“It’s serious,” said Paul Minicucci, senior consultant of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Arts, “but not fatal.”

Denial of California’s basic state grant--about $640,000--would have a domino effect. Without approval of the basic grant, other federal monies allocated to the California Council would likely be put on hold. Altogether California received $887,000, including the $640,000 basic state grant from the national endowment for the state’s current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, NEA has never denied any state its basic grant. “We have always worked with the individual states to resolve the problem,” an NEA spokesman said. “Last year we worked with Florida, New Hampshire, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands. Each one had application deferred either for lack of information or planning preparation, and were subsequently funded.”

Although the previous federal amount is just under 10% of the state’s current $10,422,000, and would be a percentage point or so less than what may be allocated by the state for its fiscal year beginning July 1, any money loss in hard-budget times would have considerable impact. As evidence, Goldstine cited the protests being registered by the national arts leadership against President Reagan’s proposed 11.7% NEA budget decrease for fiscal ’86.

Moreover, denial of federal funds would have considerable psychological impact and presumably could impact state budget negotiations. At the same time, the NEA panel’s initial action has served to unite both wings in the state arts community--Democratic legislative and Republican gubernatorial appointees--in expressions of confidence that the problem can be resolved.

“We anticipate full federal funding right on schedule,” said Robert Reid, chief deputy director of the California Arts Council. “We’re treating this business as usual. . . . Our attitude is that we’re going to do everything possible to satisfy the national requirements. We’re positive, cooperative, taking the high road.”

“I’m confident and Sen. Mello is confident,” said Minicucci, referring to state Sen. Henry Mello (D-Monterey), chairman of the joint legislative arts committee, “that the council will be able to respond in an appropriate way. I would be surprised if we were ultimately rejected.”

Along with Marilyn Rayn, he indicated the problem was not in programs but in presentation. “Basically we have very sound programs.” He also cautioned against viewing the deferment as another East Coast/West Coast misunderstanding. “It’s simply a matter of redoing an application,” he said.

“The detail in the application,” Ryan said, “may not be sufficient to describe what is actually going on.”

Even the NEA hinted at eventual acceptance. “This is not a final rejection of money,” said Wayne Lawson, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council and the new chair of the state programs panel. “This is not a final rejection of money, just a peer review.”