NEW TOOLS!

New Tools for Vibrant Communities

By John Bebow - March 28, 2008

Here's a new toolkit for Michigan residents and community leaders who are convinced that healthy arts and culture are crucial to healthy Michigan communities which are, in turn, crucial to attracting and retaining talented workers who can help assure Michigan's economy thrives.

The toolkit, from ArtServe Michigan, is packed with facts and figures about Michigan arts and culture and helpful tips for those seeking to advocate for better arts funding from state government.

Taken straight from the toolkit, here are a few things you might not have known about the status of arts and culture in the Great Lakes State:

1. State funding for the arts in 2007 was $6.5 million. That's less than one-quarter of 2002 funding levels.

2. California spends more than $100 million a year on visual and performing arts education. Nine other states also have funding streams for this purpose. Michigan does not.

3. There is no reliable system in place to tax superstar entertainers and athletes who earn money in Michigan giving concerts and playing at professional sports venues. Arts advocates argue that a reliable tax system on these mega-multi-millionaires could provide an invaluable and consistent funding stream for Michigan arts venues and attractions. "Michigan's Department of Treasury is opposed... because the department does not currently have a reliable system in place to track what income is coming from non-resident entertainers."

The toolkit also offers personalized, community-by-community data on "creative industry" employment trends and state funding for local arts and culture projects so you can follow the money flowing (or not flowing) back home to your neighborhood.