It's Deja Vu All Over Again!

We worked hard. We played by the rules. We got burned again.

Three years ago we had everyone from John Amos to leading Assemblymen and Senators standing on the steps of the NJ State House to "Save NJ Arts." We came out of the battle with a dedicated revenue source from a newly legislated hotel/motel occupancy fee. We became the poster child for how to effectively activate a grassroots advocacy campaign. Here we are three years later and the NJ State Council on the Arts budget is cut by $3.568 million and the dedicated revenue source doesn't look so dedicated anymore. Let's not even talk about the NJ Cultural Trust (more on that in another blog).

What happened? There are as many explanations or excuses as one can find or imagine. Some bottom lines have to do with a state in a fiscal crisis that failed to deal with it in a legitimate way three years ago--now having to "pay the piper" while other states are claiming record budget surpluses. The typical case of "smoke and mirrors" catching up to you. How New Jersey??

So we all have to suffer, some more than others--look at Rutgers! Outsiders look at the arts and say, hey you're still better off than you were three years ago, so quityer complainin'! But those on the inside, running the non-profit arts groups know they are just getting by and any major upset to the funding ecology wreaks havoc, particularly from one of the sole sources of operating support in the state.

We'll be at it again next year, starting now, and the rally cry feels like "We're not gonna take it anymore!" At least for now...stay tuned!