In a move that is political positioning at best, Governor Brownback has proposed dropping the Kansas Arts Commission from the state budget.

Were this decision math-based, our state would likely be expanding the Arts Commission, which offers grants and awards to artists statewide. The KAC sent out nearly 75% of its $2.1 million budget in 2010 in grants to programs in Kansas counties, according to their annual report.

A significant portion (more than half) of the Arts Commission’s funding comes from grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. These are regional and federal dollars coming to Kansas for the sole purpose of arts development, and they are only available if we have a state arts commission.

Even a politically or socially motivated decision is questionable. The Arts Commission, as a state agency, has a rigorous application process. The bulk of its grants go to local Arts Councils and agencies, libraries, and fine arts organizations like theatres, and symphonies, orchestras. In 2010, there were almost 300 grantees in more than 50 Kansas counties.

The Kansas Arts Commission is an economic development agency. Its grants help to employ people, help people purchase goods and services, create educational experiences and enrich rural and urban communities across the state.

Katz is a former executive director of the Kansas Arts Commission, has taught at numerous universities, and has consulted and advised internationally with groups like the U.S. National Commission on UNESCO, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA), as well as the U.S. government. His perspective of the arts in America is influenced by his travels abroad and his values-based approach to discussion.

One of the key elements of Katz’s talk was his explanation of the state of the arts in America. Americans value individual decision-making and freedoms more than we value collective benefits. As opposed to the European model of social support, we prefer to make our own decisions about which social services, charities, and not-for-profit organizations to support – rather than paying taxes and having the government distribute our taxes to those organizations.

In that vein, we must ensure that our arts organizations appeal to individual choice. Our patrons must know exactly what their contributions will do for the organization, and they must be recognized as stakeholders in the future of the organization. Katz gave an example of this: If a donor has contributed to a theatrical production, the organization should ensure the donor will have a chair with his or her name on the back. Additionally, if a donor or sponsor has contributed to an event, it is important to publish their name and to recognize their contribution.

Katz also discussed the history of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, and how this declaration of the congress made art a “public good.” He quoted the first line of the Act: “The arts and the humanities belong to all the people of the United States.” As the lawmakers put it, the arts, like clean air and national defense, benefit everyone. When one person partakes in the arts, whether by attending a concert, watching a film, producing a mural, or creating a sculpture, it benefits us all. Society is better for each individual’s exposure to the arts. Our government must therefore support and protect the arts and make access to arts a priority.

The Act goes on to clarify:

(3) An advanced civilization must not limit its efforts to science and technology alone, but must give full value and support to the other great branches of scholarly and cultural activity in order to achieve a better understanding of the past, a better analysis of the present, and a better view of the future.

Just as we support the pursuit of knowledge in the field of science, we must also support the arts and humanities. And just as science is its own system of education, so too are the arts and humanities:

(4) Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens. It must therefore foster and support a form of education, and access to the arts and the humanities, designed to make people of all backgrounds and wherever located masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants.

It is important when advocating for the arts to appreciate the foundation our leaders laid in 1965 with this act. Its language sets the arts and humanities forward as a pillar of learning and culture essential for our nation. Let’s move forward with the knowledge that art is a public good. That what we do will benefit our neighbors. That the creation of murals and sculpture and public art, and galleries, exhibitions, screenings, and shows all serve to benefit our community, educate and challenge our citizens, and enrich our lives.