Arts Council’s Share of Budget Up $12 Million--to $32 Million

The 2000-01 state budget, signed by Gov. Gray Davis on Friday and totaling almost $100 billion, includes an increase of $12 million for the California Arts Council, the largest annual increase in the agency’s 24-year history.

The additional funds raise the council’s annual budget from $20 million to $32 million and bring California’s state arts spending to 92 cents per capita.

Although California’s rank in arts spending may change as other states announce their 2000-01 budgets, an arts council spokesman said Friday that, as of now, the increase propels California from 42nd place into the top 25 states in the nation.

The increase includes $10 million earmarked for an arts-in-education initiative involving artists, educators, arts organizations and the public school system. The council currently spends $6 million in arts-in-education for grades K through 12.

Steven Fogel, chairman of the arts council, said in a statement Friday that “Gov. Davis and the Legislature have demonstrated their faith in the arts by making an unprecedented 50% increase in the arts council’s budget for arts and education programs. Arts-in-education complements learning in other disciplines, increases a student’s potential and establishes a foundation for success in school and for lifelong learning.”

The budget also includes an additional $2 million for a new multicultural arts development program.

However, the increases fall short of what had been recommended by the California Legislature Budget Conference Committee, which had suggested $7.5 million for the multicultural program and $7.5 million for core program expansion at the arts council.

The governor did approve another $31.2 million for the Cultural Institutions Program--line item funding for particular institutions, usually requested by individual legislators for projects in their home districts. The new budget provides such funds for several Southern California institutions, including $2.5 million for the Los Angeles Children’s Museum; $2 million for the Skirball Museum; $2 million to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; and $1 million for the Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture.

Among the line items vetoed by the governor were $1 million for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, $1 million for the Hollywood Entertainment Museum and $500,000 for the city of Anaheim’s expansion of the Mother Colony House historical site.

Council director Barry Hessenius applauded the increase for the agency’s operating budget--its first in two years--and said in a statement that “creativity is the currency of the new global marketplace. Students who participate in the arts gain more than merely being able to create art. They demonstrate critical thinking, problem solving, risk taking and the ability to work collaboratively as a team.”

Council spokesman Adam Gottlieb said the $10-million augmentation for a brand-new program is “without precedent, truly a visionary step. California is a place where creativity begins; it’s not a coincidence that both Hollywood and the Silicon Valley are here. California is a magic place, and putting the arts back into the schools will go a long way to begin a renaissance. This is a bold step.”