Funding For the Arts More Important Than Ever

WDCB’s Gary Zidek catches up with Arts Alliance Illinois executive director Claire Rice to talk about continuing efforts to secure funding for the arts.

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“We want to demonstrate to out valued creatives that the state cares about them, that they don’t have to move to New York, they don’t have to move to Los Angeles, they don’t have to move out of state to make a creative life work. And that the state of Illinois recognizes that and cares about that as well.” - Arts Alliance Illinois executive director Claire Rice talking about concerns of a potential creative talent drain.

A year-and-a-half after COVID-19 changed after every aspect of our lives, organizations are still coping with new realities. The arts and culture sector was hit especially hard as performing arts venues and cultural institutions were among the first to close in March of 2020, and the last to welcome in-person visitors back again earlier this year. Twenty-twenty-one began with a lot of hope as vaccinations efforts were underway, many stakeholders believed this year would bring a return to normalcy. As we sit here in early October, we know that hasn’t exactly been the case. While, things have improvised, most cultural venues have reopened their doors in some capacity, the threat of COVID is still a concern for many people. That’s left some artists and arts presenters in a bit of a limbo phase, as they weigh the need to perform or reopen with safety concerns.

Budgets are a very real concern for arts organizations that have to hit pause on revenue-generating programming for a year and a half. State and federal dollars have helped sustain some entities, but more funding is needed. That’s where an organization like Arts Alliance Illinois comes into play. The advocacy non-profit is urging state lawmakers to allocate federal money to Illinois’ arts sector this year.

Arts Alliance Illinois launched the Illinois Creative Future Fund (ICFF) campaign, in effort to secure $500 million in Federal funding for the state’s creative sector.  The organization is encouraging local artists, organizations and arts advocates to form "Advocacy Teams" to reach out to state lawmakers to urge their support for the arts. You can learn more about the initiative here.