Cultural Conversation with Rep. Langevin

By Don Fowler
Posted 3/24/17

By DON FOWLER

The meeting was billed as a “Cultural Conversation with Congressman Jim Langevin,” one of four held by the congressional delegation across Rhode Island to address government arts …

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Cultural Conversation with Rep. Langevin

Posted

By DON FOWLER

The meeting was billed as a “Cultural Conversation with Congressman Jim Langevin,” one of four held by the congressional delegation across Rhode Island to address government arts funding in the national budget.

About 50 people turned out at the Greenwich Odeum last week to discuss the impact that a reduction of funding to the arts and humanities could have on Rhode Island and the nation.

Randy Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island Council For The Arts, chaired the hour-long session, urging advocates for the arts and humanities to lobby for continued funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.

He praised Congressman Langevin for his continued support and urged those present to lobby aggressively for continued funding.

“Everyone benefits from the partnership between the NEA and the states,” Rosenbaum said. “The arts are a positive investment, creating jobs, strengthening education, and returning revenue to the states.”

Congressman Langevin told the audience that the country is facing serious “budgetary challenges”, and while we don’t know the details of the budget, Rhode Islanders have the support of the entire delegation in supporting art funding.

Rosenbaum said that 30 percent of RISCA’s budget comes from federal grants, and any reduction would cause serious hardships and effect programs and staffing, causing a serious economic impact.

Arguments were made that emphasize that support results in 4.7 million wage and salary workers.

“In 2016, the NEA provided $744,500 in Partnership Agreement funds to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts,” Rosenbaum said. “These critical funds are used in conjunction with state legislative dollars to support grants and services across the state.

“This is public money for public good,” he said.

Many attendees, in addition to the educational benefits for Rhode Island school children, mentioned the economic impact to the state in the form of tourism, restaurants, wages and a number of spinoff jobs.

Langevin and Rosenbaum left the attendees with the challenge of reaching out through letters, advertising, phone calls, proclamations in a bi-partisan effort to convince Congress to continue its support.

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