Now that the auto industry and the banks have gotten a big old slice of the bailout pie it’s time for starving artists to get a few veggies in their bowls of rice.

That’s right. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced today that nearly $300,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts has been awarded to New Mexico Arts, a division of the state’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

The money has some pretty stringent rules attached to it—so the 58 arts related employees that I can think of who probably need the cash the most, and play probably the most important role in keeping the arts dollars rolling into the state, are ineligible.

The groups that can apply for the money have to be a nonprofit group that has “received a regular arts grant from New Mexico Arts in the last three years…or be a current applicant for FY10 and be in good standing” according to a press release from the governor’s office.

New Mexico Arts has been approved to use $50,000 of the total $297,000 allocation to fill a public art contractor position and for the administrative costs of divvying up the grant applications for the remainder of the allotment.

Major Arts Cut Planned

When legislators peruse budgets looking for fat to trim, there’s one line item that’s always too easy to pass up: the arts.

The Legislative Finance Committee is on the verge of hacking the New Mexico Arts budget to the tune of $400,000. That’s fully half of NMA’s arts services budget, which includes grant funding. While it’s true that times are indeed tough and the burdens of a new era of miserly management must be shared across the board, such a dramatic cut in arts funding indicates that some fat may need to be trimmed from the LFC’s thinking on this matter.

A 2005 study by the Western States Arts Federation indicates that the non-profit arts sector–the primary beneficiaries of NMA–is a $63 million dollar industry in New Mexico. It’s also one that is clean: it’s byproducts are confined to cultural enrichment and education.

In Santa Fe, a study by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research has demonstrated that the city benefits from a nearly 5 to 1 return on investment in the arts.

Both Santa Fe’s and New Mexico’s tourism industry rely heavily on luring people for cultural experiences (remember, we just hosted an international conference on cultural and creative tourism) and our reputation as a center for the arts. The arts have never done anything but add to New Mexico’s value, and, more to the point, its bottom line.

As the federal goverment prepares to embark on a massive New Deal 2.0 infrastructure investment–from which New Mexico is clamoring for crumbs–we should remember our proud legacy of New Deal era art generated throught the Works Progress Administration. How quickly we forget that the history and legacy we take for granted exists because of the way it has been detailed in murals, paintings, photography and literature.

House Appropriation and Finance Committee members will meet on Wednesday, January 28 at 1:30 pm to consider the budget for the Department of Cultural Affairs, which is NMA’s parent agency. Advocates for maintaining NMA’s current budget are urging a simple message to the committee members, as soon as possible and from as many people as possible:

“We are very concerned about the Legislative Finance Committee’s budget cuts to New Mexico Arts.  Please restore funding to New Mexico Arts’ budget.”

The following is a list of HAFC members, by rough area of representation (phone numbers are capitol phones, so 505 is the area code for all numbers):

Albuquerque
Kiki Saavedra (chair) 986-4316
Danice Picraux (vice chair) 986-4438 danice.picraux@nmlegis.gov
Kathy McCoy – Cedar Crest 986-4214 katrina@swcp.com
Richard Berry 986-4452 richard.berry@nmlegis.gov
Larry Larranaga 986-4215 larry@larranaga.com

Middle:
Rhonda King – Moriarty/Santa Fe/Tijeras area

North/Santa Fe:
Brian Egolf – Santa Fe 986-4211 brian@brianegolf.com
Lucky Varela (Deputy Chair) – Santa Fe 986-4318
Jeanette Wallace – Los Alamos 986-4452
Nick Salazar – Espanola/Rio Arriba 986-4433
Don Bratton – Hobbs 986-4227 don.bratton@nmlegis.gov
Richard Vigil – San Miguel county 986-4242 rrrvigil@plateautel.net

South
Antonio Lujan – Las Cruces 986-4436 alujan@q.com
Jonie Gutierrez – Las Cruces 986-4234 jonig@zianet.com
Don Tripp – Socorro 986-4220 trippsdon@netscape.net
John Heaton – Carlsbad 986-4432 jheaton@caverns.com

West:
Ray Begaye – Shiprock  986-4436 ray.begaye@nmlegis.gov
Patricia Lundstrom – Gallup 986-4435 patricia.lundstrom@nmlegis.gov

Anyone having trouble reaching their representative can call the Legislative switchboard: 505-986-4300

The HAFC isn’t the end of the story, however, so those who want to protest the cut can continue to do so after Wednesday.