European government arts funding

I just got forwarded an email about an arts venue in France getting a government funding cut of 20% and asking people to sign a petition to restore it. I work for an arts organization in San Francisco that gets government money ... which the granting agency told all current recipients to expect 20% cuts. No amount of petitions would get an individual organization's funding increased, decreased, what have you. It seems like funding works differently in Europe, and I'm just curious how it works. I'm also wide awake at 2:15 am, but that has nothing to do with funding cuts at my job.

i am not sure exactly how it works in europe, but i know that they are, to begin with, much more generous about funding the arts.

recently, a lot of petitioning/senator urging/celebrity pleading was able to help secure more funding for the arts from the stimulus package, as well as help deter legislation introduced to block stimulus funds from being used for the arts (among other things ranging from environmental preservation to golf course maintenance).

the arts are clearly not a priority, though i am convinced the current administration places them at a much higher level than the previous one (obama's campaign arts platform was amazing, and though i don't expect him to reach all those goals, the state dept has at least begun the process to have more cultural ambassadors to other countries - something the rest of the world has been funding for years but the us never thought was necessary).

most arts orgs are funded through grants distributed by local and state arts councils that receive government funds, and of course, there are nea grants (recently, the nea provided stimulus grants aimed at preserving jobs/programming, but you had to have previously been funded by nea to even apply). i served on some grant panels, and we had about a 25% decrease in funds last year. in my panel, it meant we were able to fund fewer projects. i'm not sure where you work, but there are very few organizations that receive money directly from the federal gov't (which i assume is what is happening in france), but state/local bodies distributing funds to orgs via grants, etc., is quite common. but no, there's nothing you can do, save kicking ass on your grant app and blowing all the other applicants out of the water, that would save you in the next round of apps. if you're part way through a multi-year grant, i don't think there's anything you can do to avoid the cut if that's what they say has to be done.

this probably is nonsensical bc it is 2:30.

insomnia buddies!

btw, from americans for the arts:

the U.S. House of Representatives just approved a $15 million increase for
both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for
the Humanities (NEH) for FY 2010. Currently funded at $155 million, this
increase would bring both agencies' budgets to $170 million.

the last org i worked for had an annual operating budget that was twice what the NEA gets to fund ALL the arts orgs in the country (including its own administrative salaries). while the org i worked for is obviously not the norm, the pittance we provide for the arts makes me sick.

yeah... the org I work for had gotten NEA money the year before whichever year was the earliest you could have received money and qualified for stimulus money.

California gives jackshit at the state level, so it's mostly cities and counties. San Francisco is relatively great in this regard. I live in Oakland, which isn't the worst, but it isn't great. Definitely petitions and advocacy have worked to get governments to prioritize funding or not cut funding, but usually, once they make their decisions vis a vis applicants, there's nothing one can do ... unless there are unique political circumstances.

I remember reading something about some dysfunctional funding decisions in the UK recently.

Is this Les Instants Chavires in Paris?
Dysfunctional funding decisions in the UK seem to be largely due to the Olympics going over budget.

xp Matt: yes.

that's not actually an xp

you're right ... meant to say, yes the email I got was about the place he mentioned.