#OverrideTheVeto

Yesterday when I read that the Baker administration was planning on cutting the MCC budget by 55% through his veto power, I was floored. I wasn’t in the least surprised, however. That is inherently the problem. Artists, the organizations that provide services for them, and the surrounding community that “gets” why the arts are crucial are in a very small camp, both nationwide and on a state level.

Take action to Override the Arts Veto

Call your reps and tell them why you want the override

Call the governor at 888.870.7770 and respectfully tell him how crucial the MCC is to the health and well being of the MA economy and its residents.

When I was asked to be on a Twitter panel about the Boston Foundation’s report on arts funding which compared Boston to cities of similar size and funding capacity, I went through every difficult emotion that exists. Reading that report was phenomenally depressing. Massachusetts prides itself on forward-thinking, progressive ideologies, but when it comes to arts and culture, it’s as if we’re asked to tie our shoelaces to the opposite shoe and then run. In other words, our state makes fools of us for thinking that arts and culture can somehow be an economic driver.

So we get quantitative and present numbers. “For every dollar spent on arts, $7 is made in revenue.”

We get qualitative… “The arts save my life. If I hadn’t seen that play when I was ten, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

We hire smart and savvy consultants to help us re-frame our stories… we learn how maximize Giving Days and know the arts will always come in last compared to other nonprofits… we shift our branding with compelling visuals and beef up our social media presence. Now we’re on track to changing the entire way we talk about arts and culture through a public will campaign and calling it creative expression.

We sign online advocacy campaigns (<<<PLEASE DO THIS!) and maybe call our representatives if we get the chance between our two part times jobs that sandwich studio and rehearsal time, which already stretches our over-scheduled days.

Are all these things worthwhile? Yes, and… it brings up a series of important questions:

How do get the ultimate buy-in from the largest constituency? How do we change the public perception of art’s importance? How do we get the policy wonks to take us seriously? How do not fight with each other for the scraps that are left over?

First off, we have to #overridetheveto. Take action by signing the petition and calling your reps. We have to do this together, because the Massachusetts Cultural Council is an important asset for the entire arts community across all artistic fields and disciplines. We can’t lose one program or one dollar. We cannot let our children get their art education swiped, watch our local cultural councils lose their annual funding entirely, or lessen our ability to be on the front lines of the cultural shifts that the arts play a major role in.

Then we need to have a brutally honest conversation about collectively owning funding mechanisms outside of state and traditional grant resources. Part of this is analyzing movements like the Robin Hood Cooperative which developed a “parasite” to hack the hedge fund system towards the public’s advantage, or equity investment crowdfunding platforms that actually work like localized stock markets in order to make fans and advocates investors.

We can look at small scale micro-funding live events like FEAST and EAT, and alternative currencies to empower ourselves rather than relegate ourselves to red tape and political maneuvering which makes us sweat and lose sleep. We have the most creative minds in the state and we need to utilize that social equity to our advantage.

Coming together as artists, organizers, community advocates, art service organizations and art appreciators is something we thrive on. Let’s take that power back and create ownership systems where we all have an actual stake in funding. We all need and can be a part of this conversation. We can use platforms like Loomio for large-scale group conversations and decision making without losing a voice in the process.

Yes, we should demand state funding and go towards a 1% state tax that is allocated for arts and other societal benefits like Minnesota decided to do, but it should be one aspect of our funding. We are at a point where the political climate is becoming more and more fragmented, and we need to activate the resources we have and be our own force of nature. It’s time for us to have good working relationships with the state, and also create plans for self-sustainment and sustainability that is people-powered, transparent, and on our own terms.