Singing and Dancing are Mandatory for the New Year
Margy Waller, VP Arts & Cultural Partnership, January 5, 2009
Everyone who lives in the Cincinnati area has reason to celebrate in the New Year. We're lucky because this is a region with a heritage of broad support for vibrant cultural offerings that provide value to our entire community.
Cincinnati Enquirer reporters Janelle Gelfand and Jackie Demaline detailed the busy season of live performances –theater, music, and dance – in our future with a
series of articles. (Indeed, we're also exceedingly grateful that our local daily print media still has reporters and critics highlighting and covering these events, along with offerings at museums and galleries and regional arts centers.)
In today's economy, we're extraordinarily fortunate for our local heritage of investment in arts and culture that puts us in good stead as we face an uncertain economic future in the near term.
News reports of budget struggles in organizations that depend on public support filled newspapers across the county this holiday season.
Nonprofits and public agencies that provide critical social and economic benefits are struggling as tax revenues and private asset portfolios of foundations and individuals decline significantly and unexpectedly.
Reporters Gelfand and Demaline also covered the worst of this local situation in a front-page article:
The Show Must Go On.
Sure. We've seen some prudent retrenchment and anticipate that many local leaders will focus on ensuring that our high expectations continue to be met while still living within more limited means.
Yet, we are fortunate that the long-term support and investment (in both dollars and time) from community residents has created a place to live that provides us with so many spaces for sharing and experiencing art, including some that are open to all without charge such as the Cincinnati Art Museum, the
Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend, events at our local universities, and other community-based events all over the region.
As we look forward to the kickoff of our annual Fine Arts Fund campaign, we're grateful that we've built a long record (we're the oldest fund in the country!) of success through broad community participation with more than 44,000 donors.
Our campaign relies on many modest contributions, not one-time big donations. Our community invests in the arts, which has put us in position today to weather this storm.
As we look to the future, we believe that arts and culture events can help everyone manage the stress and uncertainty of these times. And we're striving to ensure that the value of these experiences will move all of us to share, participate, contribute, educate, and raise up our sense of civic commitment to this wonderful community.
Of course, we're all frustrated by the limitations and suffering created by this economic downturn. But it's in these times that sharing experiences - like live theater, music, exhibits about history and culture, dancing and singing - with our friends and neighbors is a critical investment in our health, strength, and happiness. Access and participation in the arts for everyone is a necessity now, not a luxury we can forego until times are better.