This past week I attended two emotionally charged events related to the city’s economic crises. On Thursday, the Regional Arts & Culture Council presented its “State of the Arts” report to a packed City Hall, making the case for renewed funding despite the city’s financial planning office recommendation that RACC funding be cut by 10% this year. On Friday, the following day, a rally was held in support of the Oregon Historical Society’s Research Library. OHS laid off 23% of their staff this past week, including all of their library staff, and closed their archives to the general public.
At the RACC presentation, Carol Morris, the board chair, gave an overview of the organization’s programs and how it allocated its budget this past year. This was followed by a series of testimonials from arts leaders, civic leaders and a firefighter, Fred Williams, who concluded, “Art is not fat to be trimmed. Art is muscle. To cut it is to ultimately diminish the quality of life for our community.”
This was followed by several comments from City Council members, including Nick Fish, who stated he has considering resigning due to the Oregon Legislature’s recent breach of faith involving the sale of Oregon Cultural Trust license plates. Adams stated the council will review the budget for this fiscal year sometime in the next 40 days.
The next day, about 60 people gathered in the park blocks opposite the Oregon Historical Society. Mounting a soapbox, speaker after speaker told of the value of OHS’s holdings. Michael Munk, author of The Portland Red Guide, spoke out against City Council, which this past week gave the go ahead on an estimated $35 million renovation to PGE Park to bring Major League Soccer to Portland, despite little evidence that the investment will bring money to the city. Others pointed to decisions made by OHS’ board, which may have favored exhibitions as opposed to research. Rachel Schoeing, Marketing & Events Manager, stated the library will be closed until at least March 31. At that time, OHS is considering reopening to the general public, possibly as little as one day a week.
The past two days has given me a lot to think about. How much money does art deserve, especially in times of economic distress? Can art rejuvenate an economy?
Many are looking back at history, in particular the WPA programs of the New Deal, which provided jobs for artists to teach ordinary people skills while building public art projects. The programs are cited as a major reason for America’s return to economic stability from the Great Depression.
I urge you to contact your elected officials and visit these sites to become more informed and involved:
CAN: Creative Advocacy Network
http://www.theartscan.org/
Northwest History Network
http://blog.northwesthistory.org/
photos courtesy of Sarah Mirk/ Portland Mercury
Michael-
I liked ref to WPA with its wroters, playwrights, photographers, and painters work dur Depression (Diego Rivera among them) and the quote from Fred Williams, especially since that other firefighter Randy Leonard has been pushing for the new soccer facility.
Jay Thiemeyer
Thanks Mark for writing about this issue. The Northwest History Network actually has a new blog address: http://northwesthistorynetwork.blogspot.com/
Reminds me of Pittsbrugh somewhat- it is a crumbling ghetto, they’re cutting the bus lines, putting prisons in residential areas, but putting a ton of money into sports- the Steelers Stadium. They already have a really great 1960s modern stadium. It’s depressing and not a good plan. I don’t understand why everyone thinks letting a city rot around a new stadium is in any way a good idea. Pittsburgh of course, is very historic and unique because of its steel mill heritage.