Greene County artists beg to be spared the axe

In the Daily Mail today: Greene County Council on the Arts pleads the state not to decimate its arts budget.

Kay Stamer, executive director of the Greene County Council on the Arts, came before the county Legislature Wednesday with a plea of support.

“Over the weekend (Gov. David Paterson) proposed a 40 percent cut to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA),” Stamer said, “which is the largest cut of any state agency.”

Stamer said that if this cut is approved in the governor’s budget, the arts will have been cut by a total of 68 percent in the past two years. The state cut arts by 11 percent last year, Stamer said.

The article notes that the proposed cuts would bring New York State -- traditionally a fertile ground, it scarcely needs mentioning, for arts and culture -- below the national average for arts funding.

Tags: