Local arts council may see increase in funding

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri will likely see an increase of about $8,000 in grant funding from the Missouri Arts Council in fiscal year 2008 if the recommendations of state council's board of directors are approved.

MAC's board of directors met Thursday in St. Louis, in part to parcel out $3.8 million in annual grants to a host of not-for-profit arts organizations around the state. The money will come from the Missouri Arts Council Trust Fund, which was recommended for $4.5 million in extra funding by Gov. Matt Blunt this year over the $3.3 million funded last year. Of that money $2 million will remain in the trust.

The MAC board's recommendation still must be approved by the trust fund board and the budget with the funding awaits Blunt's signature, said MAC executive director Beverly Strohmeyer.

Under the MAC recommendations, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri would receive $19,885 for fiscal year 2008, up from the $11,716 in fiscal year 2007. Southeast Missouri State University has been recommended for a $10,616 grant to fund dance programming and $2,000 for the Cape Rock literary magazine created by the school's English Department.

Delilah Tayloe, executive director of the local arts council, said the extra $8,000 could be used for a variety of things, from enhancing current programming like the ArtsCape festival, adding new programming or lending support for community events. The local council's board of directors will have the final say on how the money is spent.

This year, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri had "places where we tightened the belt," Tayloe said. "We'll still stay tight, but we'll be looking toward different kinds of programming."

Strohmeyer said MAC will also look to distribute funding more equally throughout the state, attempting to award smaller grants with monthly deadlines to legislative districts that currently receive no funding. Many of those districts are in Southeast Missouri's rural areas where not-for-profit arts organizations aren't established.

"We had about 47 districts no funding was going into, and a lot of those districts are in the Bootheel," Strohmeyer said. MAC will attempt to conduct outreach in the area, possibly by hosting grant-writing workshops, Strohmeyer said.

MAC funding will also be targeted toward DREAM initiative communities, of which Cape Girardeau is one, Strohmeyer said.

msanders@semissourian.com

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