Recently SC’s new gov. said that she is looking into discontinue funding for the South Carolina Arts Commission & E TV. This will not just affect SC as a whole, but it will affect me directly since one of my jobs depends on the money we receive from the Commission. Please take a moment to contact your senators & congressmen to overturn it. We have done it once, and we can do it again, but we have take action now!!!
Here is a link to an article in the Post & Courier that I was interviewed: Arts Commission Will Not Go Quietly
Why are the arts important to South Carolina citizens?
(Taken from the South Carolina Arts Commissions Website)
- The arts generate 3% of the state’s economy: 78,000 jobs and over $9.2 billion annually, with potential for more. >>
- Industries want to locate where there are educated, creative workers. Those workers gravitate toward communities with a thriving cultural life.>>
- Becoming an educated, creative worker requires the skills developed by exposure to and participation in the arts. >>
- An education that includes the arts produces higher achievement, especially among disadvantaged students. >>
- Tourism is South Carolina’s largest industry, and people who come for the arts stay longer and spend more. >>
- The arts revitalizes communities, large and small. >>
- People interested in the arts vote more, and do more for their communities. >>
- A majority of South Carolinians are already frequent arts participants. >>
- The state’s identity is tied to, represented by, and sustained through the arts. >>
- Residents are worried about how the state looks to the rest of the world. The arts in South Carolina are a source of pride they want outsiders to know about. >>