Councilmember Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle & South Park), chair of the Council’s Arts Committee, issued the following statement in response to the President’s announced proposal to eliminate federal support for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB):
“When President Trump chooses massive expansion of the military industrial complex over supporting arts in Seattle Public Schools it reinforces my concern that we elected someone with backwards priorities. Arts and CPB funding accounts for about four one-hundredths of one percent of the United States’ annual federal discretionary spending, yet these programs are on the chopping block, while planning for a ridiculous wall is proposed in its stead.
“Everyone has a different style of approaching the world, and for the government to support only left brain-focused, analytical learning is a recipe for less creativity and less innovation. Arts allow for deeper, meaningful communication. Some people use a tweet to convey their thoughts, yet others engage through drawing, film, dance, music, literature, or theater.
“This April, I’ll be joining with our Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in a forum with Seattle organizations receiving support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2017. These are organizations that Seattle knows and loves and all are deserving of support. I’ll be calling my federal representatives in Congress to tell them what I think about these potential thoughtless cuts to the arts. I hope you do too.”
- 5th Avenue Theatre
- A Contemporary Theatre (aka ACT)
- Anindo Chatterjee Institute of Tabla (aka ACIT Seattle)
- Arts and Visually Impaired Audiences (aka AVIA)
- Center for Religious Humanism (aka Image)
- 4Culture
- Earshot Jazz
- Glass Art Society, Inc. (aka GAS)
- Intiman Theatre
- Northwest Film Forum
- On the Boards
- Pacific Northwest Ballet
- Pacific Northwest Center for Architecture and Design (aka Design in Public)
- Pat Graney Performance
- Pilchuck Glass School (aka Pilchuck)
- Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)
- Seattle Opera
- Seattle Public Schools (The Creative Advantage)
- Seattle Symphony Orchestra
- Seattle Theatre Group
- Shunpike
- Town Hall Seattle
- University of Washington