FUNDING OF THE ARTS IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EVERYONE

What has:

- five sticky fingers wrapped around a paint brush

- 200 eyes glued to a pantomime performance

- white hair, nimble fingers, and a big smile

- hundreds of strings (all attached)

- vicious villains and handsome heroes???

If you answered, "The programs of Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts," you are right!

All of these programs and many more are provided for the citizens of the Cape Girardeau area by Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts through contributions from the local community, from state funds through the Missouri Arts Council, and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

SEMO Council on the Arts receives state tax dollars from the Missouri Arts Council for programs such as Monthly Arts Day for children in day care centers and early elementary grades, and for Workshop on Wheels. Programs for senior citizens, such as Ageless Art workshops at the Eldercare Center and Art Workshops for the Elderly in area nursing homes and senior citizen centers are coordinated through the University's Eldercare Center with funding provided by the Missouri Arts Council through SEMO Council on the Arts.

Folk Tales and Family History provides creative writing and storytelling opportunities for area school children. The Children's/Young Adult Literature Festival provides an opportunity for 4th-8th grade students to meet well-known authors of children's books. The Southeast Chamber Players expose area school children to chamber music. Broadway Community Theatre offers opportunities for children and adults to participate in live community theatre.

Monthly exhibits at Gallery 100 provide an opportunity for local and regional artists to exhibit their works. National juried shows allow the community to view works from artists across the country.

Performances by the Imaginary Theatre Company of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis offers live professional theatre for area school children, and Young Audiences of St. Louis provide dramatizations of colorful characters from American history.

Summer Art Classes offer hands-on arts activities for children ages 6-16, and a piano and violist concert provides classical selections for the serious music lover. The Missouri Pops Orchestra offers musical entertainment for all ages!

Many of these arts opportunities would not be possible without public financial support. Several of the local arts council's programs are offered free of charge or at a nominal cost to make them available to all segments of the community. Although the Missouri Arts Council provides only 28 percent ($31,312.FY92) of SEMO Council on the Arts' total budget, many of the touring programs are funded 50 percent or more by the state. Public funding is essential to insure the continuation of many of these programs. Public funding of the arts in Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri is a major investment in improving the quality of life for our citizens!

National Endowment for the Arts Funding

SEMO Council on the Arts has recently been selected to participate in a planning project financially supported by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This project will strengthen SEMO Council on the Arts' ability to plan and operate more effectively. The funding from the NEA will provide a consultant to assist members of our local arts council in the design and implementation of a long-range plan.

Available community resources, interests, needs and existing programs will be evaluated and new programs considered in order to further promote the arts in the Cape Girardeau area. Community input will be solicited to enable the local arts council to better address the community's standards and values. The NEA will provide 80 percent of the cost of this project.

The Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, was established to encourage and stimulate the growth, development and appreciation of the arts in Missouri. This year the Missouri Arts Council will receive nearly $700,000 from the NEA, funding such programs as the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, the Local Arts Agency Development Planning Project, and Arts in Education. The NEA also funds direct grants to Missouri arts organizations such as the St. Louis Symphony and the State Ballet of Missouri.

During the last 25 years the NEA has approved approximately 85,000 grants to arts organizations and to individuals reaching every corner of the United States. Of those, less than 20 have been charged with violating public interest because of frivolity, indecency or ethnic disparagement. In other words, less than 1/4 of 1/10 of one percent of the total number of grants arouse protest. Each taxpayer spends about 64 cents a year on the NEA.

The NEA has introduced over three and one half million children to the arts through the Arts-in-Education program. Art teaches children self-discipline, self-esteem, the ability to make critical choices, and the ability to establish values. All of these are fundamental to an educated, discerning populace in a democracy.

Here are some simple reasons why public funding of the arts is necessary:

- Governmental leadership in supporting the arts stimulates giving from the private sector.

- Federal funding helps set priorities for funding the arts throughout the country.

- The international export of our arts builds pride and a sense of national identity for American throughout the world.

- American culture contributes to a positive balance of trade through demand internationally.

- The arts stimulate economic growth: arts programs spur downtown revitalization.

- A rich cultural climate attracts business and industrial corporate relocation.

- The arts are a powerful attraction in promoting tourism.

- The arts help define a community's identity and develop in our citizens a sense of community.

- The arts contribute to better communication across the mix of cultures in our country.

The mission of Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts is to promote the arts, and to educate and stimulate the community to participate in and enjoy the arts. SEMO Council on the Arts strives to fulfill this mission by providing a variety of arts programming that reaches all segments of the community. The fulfillment of this mission is made possible, in part, by public funding of the arts!

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