It's a little disingenuous to suggest that arts-related jobs are somehow less valuable than, say, a snarky columnists'.

Scott: well played sir! well played indeed.

Totally agreed with the above columnists.

It would be great to see Jay write about his favorite corporations shelling out large sums of money to artistic organizations.

HINT.

We are going to have to cut programs somewhere.

Neil, there is no question that the State needs to trim costs. This is not in dispute.

But there apparently is a need for some perspective ($306,050 vs how many BILLIONS?).

The arts money is just low hanging fruit that can be attacked rather than facing the much more difficult categories of spending that too few politicians seem willing to even mention as alternatives.

As the Director of the Maryland State Arts Council, I would like to provide a fuller context for this discussion. The non-profit arts industry is an important sector of the economy and has been destabilized by declines from all philanthropic sources: corporate, foundation, state, local as well as individual giving. As part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $50m was appropriated to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The funds are to be distributed through state and regional arts organizations, as well as, direct grants to non-profit arts organizations. Each state arts agency, including the Maryland State Arts Council, received a block grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to be used solely for activities and projects that focus on preservation of arts jobs. The grants noted in your blog will utilize funds specifically directed for such purposes by the NEA. As a state that highly values the arts for their contributions to the quality of life, let’s not forget the economic impact of the non-profit arts industry in Maryland which generates over $1billion annually in total economic impact and supports more than 15,000 jobs.

As Vice Chair of the Maryland State Arts Council I value $300,000.00 of Federally earmarked arts dollars to support Maryland jobs.

As a member of the Maryland State Arts Council, I appreciate this funding designed to preserve jobs. These grants will result in MD arts organizations keeping individuals on their payroll.

One would think a columnist would do a better job of reading a press release before posting such a flagrantly erroneous headline.

Clearly this has nothing to do with O'Malley or the State or Maryland taxpayers. These are NEA funds.

Funding the arts in Maryland is vital to economic development in each community. The Arts Employment Stabilization Program is particularly important to ensure that jobs related to the arts are not lost. In St. Mary's County, for example, arts activities stimulate tourism dollars and jobs for local resicents. This is hardly frivolous, but money well spent.

Maryland has always been a leader in the arts (a billion dollar industry). This federal money could only be used for job preservation through the NEA grant. To suggest that jobs in the arts are less vital than others is way off base! Maryland Hall is grateful and delighted for our state's ability to save jobs.

Linnell Bowen

As Executive Director of Young Audiences of Maryland, I would like to provide a different perspective to this discussion. As an arts education service provider to 400 schools throughout the state, this federally mandated stimulus money is vital to maintaining the employees that ensure our programs are artistically excellent, educationally relevant, and affordable for schools. In this challenging economy it is harder than ever for schools to afford cultural enrichment and arts in education programs. YA, and many of the organizations above, exist to ensure youth have these opportunities and go beyond that to ensure educators and artists in our community are equipped with the skills and confidence needed to make learning and teaching in the classroom more engaging. As director of an organization that has a roster of 100 artists, including a puppeteer, I know that puppet theatre and an array of other art forms enrich the life and education of our youth in Baltimore City and beyond. This stimulus money, limited compared to the allocation to other federal departments, will help to sustain our staff and allow us to aid schools and community organizations in shaping a creative, innovative, and driven future for our youth.

First, to echo what has already been stated in other comments, the funds for the Employment Stabilization grants were allocated to Maryland from the NEA on the FEDERAL level for the DIRECT purpose of preserving arts jobs. Second, smaller arts organizations that have delivered valuable programs and services to the public (often for free, like CityLit Project has done for the past five years and Black Cherry Puppet Theater has done since 1980) were ineligible to receive funds directly from the NEA. Third, dire times demand great art to chronicle, interpret, and/or escape current events. Kudos to the state arts council for making just $300,000 go such a long way.

Jay,

Boy, are you confused. This is not state tax money it is federal tax money appropriated by congress and our president. This money cannot be spent for any purpose other than for arts organizations; so, your beef is certainly not with the governor but with congress and the president.

The only power that the governor could theoretically exercise here might perhaps be to turn down the money from the feds altogether. Surely you aren’t suggesting that the Governor O’Malley pull a Sarah Palin? So, enjoy the arts in Maryland, and please join me for a National Philharmonic concert at the Music Center at Strathmore real soon!

Piotr Gajewski
Music Director & Conductor
National Philharmonic
www.nationalphilharmonic.org

I lead a small community arts organization, and we are recipients of $10,000 from this NEA grant designed to save jobs in Maryland. I like to think our organization is typical in that the grant we are receiving goes a long, long way in achieving what the federal government had in mind in creating this grant opportunity.

We are a small staff (2-3 full-time and 2-3 part-time, depending on how and when you're counting), and we deliver a great deal of programming with a low operating overhead -- much of our staff is directly engaged in delivering programs. Our bottom line was significantly hurt by an economically difficult 2008-2009 season, and we found ourselves at a critical tipping point: if we could not find the dollars to retain key staff, we would have had to begin cutting core programs, and those cuts would have set off a downward spiral that we might not have been able to recover from. Grant money directly supporting programs we promised to deliver might have to get returned, which would lead to less cash, which would lead to more inability to deliver programming, which would lead to less revenue, and so on.

In our case, we are a study in how stimulus money is supposed to work: the $10,000 grant we received has allowed us to retain our employees at the level they need to be at to do their jobs effectively, and thus the brakes have been put on our decline. $10,000 is effectively leveraged to preserve not only a staff person's full position, but in doing so it has kept multiple staff from having their livelihoods threatened.

I can't help but think the federal government is being both penny and pound wise in directing money in his fashion: $10,000 up front is a lot less cost than there would be if we had added 3+ people to the list of the unemployed, which could indeed easily have happened without this injection of funding at a critical moment.

And I am absolutely positive Art on Purpose is not alone in having faced this daunting prospect. This is an example of government money being well-spent.

This has nothing at all to do with budget discussions on state spending, as these are not state dollars. But even if they were, I would argue they would still have been well-spent.

The funds in question are federal funds that are part of the Economic Recovery package. Ms. Colvin’s post explains this very clearly. This money is not coming out of MD state source revenues. The Governor, DBED and the Arts Council should be applauded for getting the federal funds and making them available to arts organizations.
It’s also important to recognize that grants for arts organizations provide a direct stimulus to the economy – they’re generally used to fund jobs. A recent research report by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (http://tiny.cc/n4kia) documents the multitude of positive economic benefits stemming from the arts and culture sector.
Douglas Mann
Chair, MD Citizens for the Arts

The job I can now fill will allow someone to remain or get off unemployment, pay their rent/mortgage, pay their car and student loans and spend a little money yes, stimulating the economy at the grocery store and neighborhood shops. And this is a bad thing because our product is art? Shame on you! A newly found job is a newly found job and a plus for the country, wherever it is created.

As the director of an organization receiving stimulus funds, I can say how critical these funds are for preserving our staff and their program delivery. We run a community center by way of the arts - meeting critical community needs where no other agency has sustained programming. The small allocation of funds will be paid to Maryland employees and most of it stay within a local economy - wasn't this the intended use of these funds?

As Secretary/Treasurer of the Maryland State Arts and a resident of western Maryland, I would like to emphasize that the funds allocated to Maryland arts organizations were FEDERAL dollars earmarked by the National Endowment for the Arts to support jobs in the non profit arts sector. Accessing stimulus funds to keep our arts organizations fiscally solvent in these turbulent times keeps staff members on the payroll and off the unemployment lines in Maryland. I applaud MSAC for taking this fiscally-responsible action to stabilize the arts community throughout the state.

I think it's great that the Federal Government is helping hard working people keep their jobs, and as a Maryland resident, I'm thrilled that no money has come out of State funding.

I think it's great that the Federal Government is helping hard working people keep their jobs, and as a Maryland resident, I'm thrilled that no money has come out of State funding.

The important of this federally mandated funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for redistribution by the Maryland State Arts Council simply can't be understated. It's saving jobs, period. As president and fiscal steward of the National Philharmonic in residence at the Music Center at Strathmore, I know first hand the positive financial impact this funding will have on our organization. Mr. Hancock, I hope this entry, and those like it, will change your mind, and you will in turn support the vital jobs that this critical federally mandated funding will preserve. Thank you.

These funds were federally directed for the specific purpose of preserving jobs in the non-profit arts sector. All nonprofits, including those within the arts, have seen the impact of the capital market volatility and economic recession with declines from all sources, both public and private. Regretfully, conditions suggest that this reality is only the beginning of a longer-term struggle. The federal stimulus plan is designed to preserve jobs in our country and the Maryland arts industry supports 15,000 jobs for residents. In short, these grants will result in Maryland arts organizations keeping individuals on their payroll. As said before, the Arts Council should be applauded for getting the federal funds and making them available to a diversity of local arts organizations. Speaking for only one such institution, the state’s oldest continuously operating cultural organization, I welcome the opportunity to put these monies toward their intended use and keep key staff during these difficult times.
Rob Rogers
Director, Maryland Historical Society

As co-director of one of Baltimore's professional dance companies, I know first hand how hard it is to maintain a professional dance company in this city. With the current economic situation, it is unfortanately even harder. The funds that we (The Collective) received, allotted at the federal level, will help our organization to continue to produce work and function. We are thankful and relieved that professional dancers can still work and perform in Baltimore City with the help of NEA federal funds. Just want to give credit where credit is due.
-- Sonia Synkowski
Co-Director, The Collective

The one-time Federal employment stabilization program Mr. Hancock criticizes is one element of a national jobs stimulus package. Here in Maryland, the arts and cultural organizations support one of the state's largest industries and enrich community life--all at terribly low salaries. Preserving the jobs of arts professionals, in a wide range of arts agencies, is often critical, especially in smaller organizations. Buying organizations, as well as individuals time to adjust and to re-purpose is a wise investment, both short-term and long-run.

Avi Decter, Executive Director, Jewish Museum of Maryland

The brazen disconnect between how the financial industry think and actual reality operates is alarming.

High pay in the finance industry didn't attract the smartest minds; it attracted the most shameless hypocrites and self-serving greedmongering liars in human history.

I'd say it's actually much more efficient to give bailout money to arty types than respectable business executives. How many artists do you know who are good at hanging on to money? They will happily fling the stuff all over the local economy, boosting small businesses, eateries, taxis, etc.

Everybody wins! The artists get to spend a day being rich, and everyone else will be a little better off for much longer.

Ad hominem:

Targeting arts programs as 'useless' is an old and easy trick. That article is so cliche it probably wrote itself.

If this is the kind of low-thought content they generate, no wonder newspapers are dying.

"$306,050 to Preserve 40 Jobs in Nonprofit Arts Sector" I wonder how many jobs that would have preserved in the Financial Sector. One job...maybe. The arts seems like the better investment to me.

It may sounds strange to you but puppet theaters, dance troupes, etc., are important amenities. Today, people can work anywhere, invest anywhere, and start businesses anywhere -- and one of the things that influences such decisions is the cultural life of a city. Such institutions are difficult to start and maintain, as other commenters have noted, and their loss would not be something easily fixed when the economy improves.

So in my mind, this sounds like the bare minimum we should be doing to support a vital part of the economy.

Dear Mr. Hancock,

I am a fan and regular reader of your columns. They are insightful, informative and generally well reasoned. So I invite you to please come to a show at our puppet theater. We will have three free ones in October. The exact dates will be announced in late august. I’ll ad you to our press list if you are not already on it.

Bring a kid or two, they’ll be able to make a free puppet to take home. You can even make one yourself, should you feel inspired. We’ll also have a few evening shows for adults if children’s theater doesn’t interest you.

Stop in to one of the fine restaurants near our theater before or after the show and ask the management how much more business they have when there is an event at our theater. The folks patronizing these establishments are generating sales tax for the state.

While you are at the show and workshop count how many artists are working the event. These folks are paying both state and federal taxes. We are also paying employment taxes on these folks.

I also invite you to visit one of the five schools in Baltimore where we are putting STATE grants to work integrating the arts into their curriculum. More than two hundred children will be making puppets, writing scripts, studying folk tales and presenting puppet shows while having fun learning.

These schools could not afford our program without STATE funding.

Maybe you can find the time to visit one of the after school programs we conduct throughout Baltimore thanks to PRIVATE FOUNDATION and more STATE funding. Many of these kids would be out running the streets if they weren’t engaged in an art program like ours.

Please, if you have the time, come to a puppet show at a school, community festival, or library. These shows are usually free, thanks to BALTIMORE CITY, STATE and PRIVATE FUNDING. We perform approximately one hundred shows across the Mid-Atlantic Region for about ten thousand people every year. You might notice that we are exporting a very unique and highly creative form of entertainment from Baltimore to our neighboring communities.

Don’t forget to interview the dedicated artists conducting the programs. Ask them how much they are getting paid. Take a few minutes to ponder why they do what they do for what they get out of it. What I mean is - why they do it for how little they get paid.

I will be very interested to read the conclusion an insightful journalist draws from such research. You may also be surprised by the return for each dollar invested in the arts.

Please then investigate how the FEDERAL STIMULUS grant administered by the Maryland State Arts Council to this puppet theater was used. I hope you find that instead of working for half salary, this puppeteer is getting paid three quarters of his salary during this economic crisis. I think your research will also reveal an increase of tax revenue for our state thanks to the grant.

I look forward to seeing you at the show.

Sincerely,
Michael T. Lamason, Co-Director
Black Cherry Puppet Theater

I think Piotr Gajewski hit the nail on the head:

"This is not state tax money it is federal tax money appropriated by congress and our president. This money cannot be spent for any purpose other than for arts organizations;"

Unlike Piotr, I don't think you are confused at all. I doubt the inaccurate reporting embodied in the headline "Should O'Malley give taxpayer $$$ to puppet theaters?" is really a misunderstanding. Instead, I think you are a trained journalist shilling for a lobbyist or some other interested party. Ironically, the puppet is you.

If that's the case, you are disgrace to your profession. Shame on you Hancock.

-DP

Oh, America, thou art ridiculous.

This is really small money, and spent to a very good effect. Not only is culture the reason/justification for doing business and trudging along as a civilization, in this case, it also creates meaningful (but alas, very badly paid) employment.

Take it from a European: The bad thing here is not that money is spent on arts, but that it is way too little.

As a Californian who has just watched as our local professional theater company that had been around 33 years have to close it's doors I'm heartened by the comments in this column. Thank you commentors you've made my day.

Better $300k for artists then $300B for bankers.

This so-called "column" is a journalistic embarassment. A multi-repeated list from a press release? Is this what we can expect in the new Zell world of Baltimore Sun journalism? Guess we can figure out why you weren't laid off... doesn't take much time or effort to produce this swill. The commenters here have done the journalism and reporting for you. But of course, I'm sure the Sun won't publish this comment.

I think it is fantastic and necessary that some federal tax monies have been appropriated for the arts. And bravo to the state of Maryland and the State Arts Council for making it accessible to so many of us. $306,050 is a tiny amount of money compared to the amount of money spent in the financial sector. And the amount of money spent goes much farther in creating revenue and preserving jobs, which is the purpose for the the stimulus.

As the head of Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Maryland's premier professional ballet company, I appreciate the President's foresight in seeking to help preserve one of our most underestimated treasures, our artists. A dance artist takes a minimum of 10 to 15 years to train. Like other athletes, dancers and other artists must continue to train daily to maintain the high standard of art necessary to educate, inspire, and communicate effectivey with others, so the loss of even one artist's job is irreplaceable. In addition, in the majority of smaller arts organizations, every artist must wear several hats; performing multiple functions. Thus, by losing even one artist, you may lose a teacher, a mentor, a performer and even a set designer all rolled into one. That translates into an even greater loss for our community. My organization alone reaches well over 20,000 people a year. In addition to our regular constituents, we provide educational opportunities, scholarships and enrichment programs to thousands of children; we also provide free community service activities for a broad range of underserved groups like CASA, the Boys and Girls Club and Casey Cares, to name a few. The stimulus money is essential for us to maintain our staff which will buy us the time we need to find alternative revenue sources, since so many of our traditional sources have been lost during these difficult economic times.

Imagine a day with no art at all--no music, no dance, no actors, no television, no movies, no theatre, no visual arts of any kind. Then ask, where else can we produce so much with so little?

I think it is fantastic and necessary that some federal tax monies have been appropriated for the arts. And bravo to the state of Maryland and the State Arts Council for making it accessible to so many of us. $306,050 is a tiny amount of money compared to the amount of money spent in the financial sector. And the amount of money spent goes much farther in creating revenue and preserving jobs, which is the purpose for the the stimulus.

As the head of Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Maryland's premier professional ballet company, I appreciate the President's foresight in seeking to help preserve one of our most underestimated treasures, our artists. A dance artist takes a minimum of 10 to 15 years to train. Like other athletes, dancers and other artists must continue to train daily to maintain the high standard of art necessary to educate, inspire, and communicate effectivey with others, so the loss of even one artist's job is irreplaceable. In addition, in the majority of smaller arts organizations, every artist must wear several hats; performing multiple functions. Thus, by losing even one artist, you may lose a teacher, a mentor, a performer and even a set designer all rolled into one. That translates into an even greater loss for our community. My organization alone reaches well over 20,000 people a year. In addition to our regular constituents, we provide educational opportunities, scholarships and enrichment programs to thousands of children; we also provide free community service activities for a broad range of underserved groups like CASA, the Boys and Girls Club and Casey Cares, to name a few. The stimulus money is essential for us to maintain our staff which will buy us the time we need to find alternative revenue sources, since so many of our traditional sources have been lost during these difficult economic times.

Imagine a day with no art at all--no music, no dance, no actors, no television, no movies, no theatre, no visual arts of any kind. Then ask, where else can we produce so much with so little?

These funds will help suport the work of Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, particulalry the work of our Director of Collaborations and Outreach. This position manages our Artist-in-Residence Programs, that nurture a culturally diverse group of emerging and mid-career artists by affording them uninterrupted time to explore new directions in their art work. Since its inception, more than 100 internationally recognized artists from the US and overseas have created art in residence at Pyramid Atlantic.

The Director is also responsible for our Education Programs which are led by professional artists, and provide hands-on opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to discover and appreciate innovative creative approaches and experiences. This past year Pyramid Atlantic led over 75 Educational Programs in papermaking, printmaking, book arts and digital media that served over 2,000 participants of various ages, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds

Pyramid Atlantic is located in Downtown Silver Spring, an area that in recent years has undergone a renaissance. Demographic changes and economic development have made possible a remarkable transformation, a transformation that, little more than five year’s ago, many thought unlikely. There still exist, however, great disparities between the many groups of people that call Silver Spring home. Pyramid Atlantic exists within this community as a conduit for community development by harnessing the power of the arts and culture and using them as a tool to unite the area’s diverse communities, create economic opportunity, and improve the quality of life for all.

We are proud to be grantee recipients and thank Mr. Hancock for the opportunity to share our great work with the readers of his blog.

Jose Dominguez
Executive Director
Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center

If the provocative headline was meant to stimulate discussion, it has done that. It is interesting to note, though, that it is a very one-sided discussion, with all comments supporting the use of the stimulus money to support arts-related jobs.

I will not repeat what has already been so eloquently expressed by the other commenters. The country is in a severe economic recession and virtually all elements of our economy are hurting. Unfortunately, the arts are usually considered a luxury, rather than a necessity. Even so, the arts provide a livelihood for many people, as well a direct economic benefit to the communities they serve. How many jobs were lost when the Baltimore Opera Company was forced to close its doors? Were those jobs less important than the jobs of the Wall Street vultures who got us into this current recession?

We should applaud our governent for recognizing the importance of the arts to our way of life. Compared to the millions of dollars used to bail out the country's financial institutions, the very ones who caused our current crisis, the amount of money made availble to the arts is a mere pittance. However, arts organizations are used to operating with very limited resources and are very adept at making a little go a long way.

While the headline focuses on the Governor, the real hero in this issue is the Maryland State Arts Council who did the unheralded work of determining, on a COMPETITIVE BASIS, how best to distribute this stimulus money to worthy arts organizations throughout the state. Marylanders should be thankful that our state government recognizes the improtance of the arts and provides the support it does to foster and encourage all of the state's arts organizations.

From the wilds of mountain Maryland, many thanks to the Maryland State Arts Council for its leadership and support of small organizations such as ours trying to keep the arts alive in a rural, underserved area.

Jim O'Connell
Treasurer
Garrett Lakes Arts Festival

You don’t have to work at the National Aquarium to understand that the deeply engaging experiences for individuals, families, visitors, and tourists that the arts, museums, and other cultural groups provide translate into some of the biggest payoffs in public benefits you can get from stimulus dollars. Passed by Congress in February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $787 billion to affect and turn around the recessive trends in our economy. Of this amount, six one-thousandths of one percent, or $50 million, was appropriated to the National Endowment for the Arts "to fund arts projects and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn." Forty percent of these funds, or $20 million, was designated for the state arts agencies, which in turn grant it to arts organizations in their states. This portion of federal dollars can be targeted efficiently by the arts agencies, who are experienced stewards of public funds, to those local places where jobs can be saved and created. The federal stimulus money allocated to the Maryland State Arts Council will be granted to arts organizations in the state to support jobs in the arts, which can reach deeply into local communities and school systems.

Jonathan Katz
CEO
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)

Well, I see we have another case of fear-before-thinking reaction.

When resources SEEM limited, lots of people go into panic, and seek immediate relief, and if it cannot be found, they seek an outlet for their fear/rage, and direct it at a target.

This has never been proper behavior.
Let's decide to be both rational and sensitive.

We live in a world of abundance, despite the claims to otherwise.
There is plenty of money.
Redirecting and reorganizing is necessary. Cut where the spending is excessive and obscene, such as government official's luxury lifestyles and lifelong pensions.

Cutting at the sources of Culture is unwise and dangerous.
Theaters are and shall remain a necessity for the soul.

As an Executive Director of one of the organizations in question, I would first like to point out that these are federal funds, earmarked by the NEA to preserve jobs and in turn, preserve arts programs and events. In our case, these programs are often free and open the public, escalating the quality of life of our county's residents and resulting in a positive overall economic impact. Please consider the benefits of what this relatively small amount of money can and will do.

As the Excutive Direcotr of Contemporary Arts Inc., we applaud the Maryland State Arts Council and the federal government for awarding the stimulus money to arts organizations in the state. These funds assist us in providing employment to local artists and positive summer activities for at-risk youth in our community. It is important to families of local artists as well as families of at-risk children.Prior to this award we were in limbo as to whether we could sustain a high level of service previously provided to the community. We have experienced a decline in contributions from a variety of sources. In times of stress residents in the community increasingly look to the arts as an outlet.