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From Arts North Carolina (8/31/2020)
Emergency Arts Funding Is Needed NOW
NC General Assembly Returns September 2nd
EMAIL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TODAY
Emergency aid is desperately needed for arts organizations impacted by business disruptions related to COVID-19. Allocations from the State’s Coronavirus Relief Fund created by the CARES Act can be distributed through the NC Arts Council to cultural organizations in need statewide. This emergency arts funding has bipartisan support through bills S738 and H1068 in which the funding request was recently more than doubled to address the mounting need, or through the $10 million allocation to the arts in all 100 counties as part of the Governor’s $20 million spending plan for stabilizing museums, zoos, and cultural attractions due to business disruption.
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT before the NC General Assembly returns to Raleigh on September 2nd. Tell your NC Senator and NC House Representative that the arts and culture organizations in this state are in dire need of this crucial funding so that they can rehire their people, rebuild their economies, and revitalize their communities as we recover from this crisis.
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ARTS Day 2019
ARTS Day 2019 Delegation (pictured above)
From left: Edith Brady, NCMC Board Treasurer; Ali Pizza; Alexander Brooks, NCMC History Section;, Dianna Cameron, NCMC Arts Section Chair;, Lindsey Lambert, NCMC Tech Meister; Peter Koch, NCMC Immediate Past President.
A delegation from the North Carolina Museums Council visited the Legislature on Thursday, March 27, 2019.
The delegation went to see Senator Deanna Ballard of Watauga County, Senator Kathy Harrington of Gaston County, Representative Joe Sam Queen of Haywood County, Representative Michael Wray of Halifax and Northampton counties, Senator Jerry Tillman of Randolph and Moore counties, Representative John Ager of Buncombe County, Representative John Faircloth of Guilford County, Representative Allen McNeill of Moore and Randolph counties, and Representative Chuck McGrady of Henderson County.
We spoke with each about the importance of museums to the economy of North Carolina. We presented them with a document from AAM (see link below) that states that in 2017, 2 billion dollars worth of economic activity were generated by museums. We shared ArtsNC’s goal of $1 appropriated per person in the state of North Carolina and we also shared with them that increased funding for the NC Arts Council benefits all museums in the state, particularly those involved with the arts and those that receive Grassroots grants.
Museums as Economic Engines in NC 2017 (PDF)
National
For the second time in three years NCMC Professional Development Chair, Michael Scott, attended the American Alliance of Museums Advocacy Day. Several other North Carolinians from NCMC member institutions also participated; meeting with members of Congress representing all districts in North Carolina.
AAM’s Letter asking Congress to support NEA and NEH
June 27, 2017 - North Carolina Museums Council Position on Federal Budget (PDF)
Resources For You
From the North Carolina General Assembly website...
"All residents of North Carolina are currently represented in the United States Senate by both Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. Representation in the NC House, the NC Senate, and the US House is determined by district. Each resident of the state has one representative in each of those legislative bodies, determined by the district in which their residence falls."
You can use the the FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS page on the NC General Assembly website to find your NC House, NC Senate, and US House representatives.
Go to the following NC General Assembly website link to FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS.
FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS
Let them know what is important to you!