----------------------------Original message---------------------------- There's been a thread on the NEA/NEH funding cuts for awhile on the ASTR (American Society for Theatre Research) and Theatre lists. I thought a couple of the more constructive posts should be passed on. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 11:35:26 EST From: Blakeley, Karel I <[log in to unmask]> To: Multiple recipients of list THEATRE <[log in to unmask]> Subject: A constructive way to protest NEA & NEH cuts From: MX%"[log in to unmask]" 13-JAN-1995 09:45:53.9 1 To: MX%"[log in to unmask]" CC: Subj: ATHE NEWS: Fw: Hungry for the Arts Day 1/20/95 Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 18:08:26 -0600 Reply-To: Association for Theater in Higher Education - News <[log in to unmask]> From: James Thomas <[log in to unmask]> ------------------------------ From: [log in to unmask] (Briant Hamor Lee) Thu, 12 Jan 1995 09:31:01 -0600 Subject: Hungry for the Arts Day 1/20/95 11-JAN-1995 To: IN%"[log in to unmask]" Subj: HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS DAY From: Lisa Crawford <[log in to unmask]> Subject: HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS DAY On Sunday (January 8) a small group of local visual and performing arts supporters in the Greater Cleveland area met to discuss the NEA/NEH funding crisis. We realized that although the grass-roots effort currently going on is important and necessary, what is lacking is some kind of newsworthy event which could serve as a platform for media coverage: news articles, broadcasts, etc. Particularly in the case of the NEA, much news coverage has revolved around controversial projects funded by the agency. This needs to be counteracted somehow in the mainstream media by presenting all of the positive things there are to say about these Endowments. After some discussion about what might be "newsworthy" it was decided to designate January 20 a day of voluntary fasting as a public statement in support of the NEA and NEH (HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS DAY). We chose the date because the hearings in Congress to discuss reauthorization of the national endowments may begin as early as January 24. Individual arts organizations in Northeastern Ohio will be encouraging their audiences to register for the fast day, collecting signed cards of those registering, and sending them in large numbers (we hope!) to appropriate members of Congress. Meanwhile the event will be publicized through the media in Cleveland (the Plain Dealer, various radio stations). Although we decided against trying to organize a national event in such a short time, we hope that a ripple effect - or even better, a national groundswell - will take place through these Internet mailing lists. Obviously, the bigger the event, the more newsworthy it becomes, and the faster we all organize it, the better the publicity will be. We hope that you will inform your local arts organizations about it as soon as possible! FYI, the following is a brief information kit about exactly how we are organizing the fast in Northeast Ohio, which you might distribute to people you know who might want to follow suit. In addition, if you are on other mailing lists we would appreciate it if you would forward this message to them as well. JANUARY 20: HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS DAY IN NORTHEAST OHIO We are having cards made up which read: I'm Hungry for the Arts! Register me for the fast on January 20, 1995 in support of continued funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Signature___________________________ Printed Name________________________ Address____________________________ __________________________________ Copies of these cards will be placed in concert/theater/dance programs to be collected and tallied. Sign-up rosters will appear in galleries, common areas of colleges and universities, and other places where the arts happen. At the top of these rosters will be a this statement: I want to show my support for art and culture in this country by participating in HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS day. Register me for the fast on January 20, 1995 in support of continued funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Each organization that participates will tally the signatures and send the signed cards and rosters to legislators from their area and to the committee persons connected with the Budget and Reallocation process in Congress where the fate of the NEA and the NEH will be reviewed in the next 100 days. In Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Cultural Coalition has agreed to do the tallying and forwarding if individual organizations send them the cards and rosters by January 23, 1995. It is crucial to bear in mind that this event has a double purpose. Besides generating the signatures which will be forwarded to the Congress, it will also serve as an attention-getter. Much depends on what we do when we get the attention. It is possible that news reporters will come knocking on your door to ask about HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS day. If they do, we recommend that you have ready a list of the points you would like to see in print about the NEH/NEA, the ones that will make the general public aware of how much they benefit from these organizations. Some examples: - the thousands of children who see the Nutcracker each year - the host of local arts organizations who receive funding from state arts councils whose seed money would disappear along with the NEA - documentation of our own American history and culture - etc., etc. We're sure you can supply many more of your own. Other points to make might be those of relative cost and effective investment. Robert Finn (retired music critic on the Plain Dealer) remembers an occasion when Beverly Sills testified in Congress on behalf of the NEA. He recalls that she said something like "Cut one foot off that three hundred foot submarine you are planning to build and it will support the entire NEA for the next few years!" The other argument is that since NEA funding, in the forms of seed money and challenge grants, has been tremendously effective in attracting big non-government bucks for the arts , it is a proven investment with large returns. We hope this will galvanize you into action - or into further action, if you have already been writing letters and sending telegrams and e-mail. Please forward this message to other mailing lists which you consider appropriate. We are curious to find out how effective the Internet might be in generating this kind of political activity. If you decide to get on the HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS bandwagon, or something similar, please let us know! We would also like to know the results after the event occurs. The use of the Internet for political action may in itself make a newsworthy story for some national publication. Lisa Crawford Richard King Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Briant Hamor Lee, Ph.D., Theatre Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH 43403-0236, 419-372-7177 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return-Path: <@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU:[log in to unmask]> Received: from UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu by maple.lemoyne.edu (MX V4.1 VAX) with SMTP; Fri, 13 Jan 1995 09:45:50 EST Received: from UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU by UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 7827; Fri, 13 Jan 95 09:47:09 EST Received: from UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@UBVM) by UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 8284; Fri, 13 Jan 1995 09:34:19 -0500 Sender: Association for Theater in Higher Education - News <[log in to unmask]> X-To: [log in to unmask] To: Multiple recipients of list ATHENEWS <[log in to unmask]>