In 2006 a solid majority of Cuyahoga County voters made an historic decision to fund arts & culture with a 1 1/2 cent per cigarette tax. The timing couldn’t have been better. No doubt the subsequent great recession would have decimated a struggling arts & culture sector. Institutions large and small would have been at risk for closing.
Instead, our arts and culture industry is leading economic revival in our finest destinations like PlayhouseSquare and University Circle, as well as in emerging neighborhoods like North Collinwood/Waterloo and Gordon Square, which have become arts districts of their own.
The statistics are staggering. More than 1200 grants have been awarded by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture since the levy was instituted in 2008. The rigorous, highly competitive grants process, which often uses objective judges from outside the region, challenges local groups to achieve the highest artistic quality, measure it and report their results. More than 9000 jobs are supported by levy funds, which extend to over 2500 locations across Cuyahoga County. The $125 million invested since 2008 has generated an astounding $1 billion in economic impact. It’s difficult to imagine another program that’s had such a wide-ranging, positive effect on the region.
To spell out exactly how this precious funding is impacting our community, CoolCleveland is publishing a series: What The Arts & Culture Tax Does. While high profile groups like the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art use levy money to extend their programs to kids and a wider audience, we wanted to show how this critical arts funding finds its way to tiny struggling arts groups like Theatre Ninjas. Their first CAC grant in 2009 allowed them the time to tackle an ambitious project that put them “on the map for a lot of people,” according to director Jeremy Paul. They have since used levy-supported CAC funding to keep ticket prices low and accessible to everyone. “We’re not making theatre for rich people,” Paul asserts. Read more.
This week, our series focuses on the Broadway School of Music and the Arts, a “community arts learning center,” located at Ground Zero for the national foreclosure crisis. Most of the programs for kids in Slavic Village, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights and surrounding areas are free: Suzuki violin programs for kindergartners, a youth drum corps for kids in daycare, plus eurhythmics, visual art, even a West African drum circle and dance classes for women in a re-entry program. That’s 100 women a year feeling empowered by art, music and dance at possibly the lowest point in their lives. Read more.
Cuyahoga County’s world-class arts & culture sector stimulates tourism, enhances education and drives the economic revival of our region’s neighborhoods. Issue 8 is not a tax increase, but a fair and powerful way to prime the economic engine by supporting the best of our county’s individual artists and institutions.
CoolCleveland strongly recommends you VOTE YES on ISSUE 8.
@CultureForward @8forArtsCulture @ClevePlayHouse @PlayhouseSquare @ClevelandArt @Rock_Hall @CleveInstituteArt @GoCMNH @CIM_Edu @CPTCLE @CLScienceCtr @GLTFCleveland @ideastream @MaltzMuseum @MOCACleveland @CleveOrchestra @SPACESgallery @MusicSettlement @BopStopTMS @VerbBallets @GroundWorksDanc @BaldwinWallace @BriteWinter @CWRU @BakerNord @CVSRR @DowntownCLE @JewishCleveland @NotreDameOhio @TremontWest @InTheCircle @UHhospitals
One Response to “ENDORSEMENT: Vote YES on Issue 8 For Arts & Culture @8ForArtsCulture”
Judith Ryder
The Cleveland Arts Education Consortium endorses Cuyahoga County’s Arts & Culture Issue 8! As educators, we see the life-changing impact of arts and culture programs on kids, their teachers, families and neighborhoods every day. The financial support of the Arts & Culture levy between 2006 and today has helped us bring 1.4 million experiences to kids throughout the county. We must keep it going to benefit many more folks – so a “yes’ vote for Issue 8 to renew the tax (not an increase) to support Cuyahoga’s Arts & Culture is a no-brainer. Let us encourage you to vote YES for 8!