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Director’s Spotlight: Advocacy Efforts Are Not In Vain
By Anita Walker, Director
It’s like a treasure chest, or package full of surprises. Call me crazy,
but whenever some new study about the arts comes out, I can’t wait to open
it up and see if there’s some gem inside we can use for advocacy or to do
our work better at the Iowa Arts Council.
So you can imagine my glee when the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies sent out a report called Focus Groups with State Legislators and Legislative Staff. Now we get to find out what legislators really think.
I go straight to the “Highlights.” Bullet #1. “The arts are not, and likely never will be, a top policy priority in the states.” And this is a “highlight?” I’d hate to read the lowlights. Twenty-three legislators and 13 legislative staffers from 30 states participated in the interviews.
The report goes on to say that to be successful, the arts need to demonstrate how they impact top priority issues like education, health care and economic development. And, that impact has to be articulated to legislators through data. Specifically they asked how the arts impact job creation and student performance, how many people donate to the arts, and the impact of the arts on reducing crime among young people. The legislators want numbers, not just stories. As one put it, “Speaking for most of my legislature, I don’t think they vote by anecdote. I could just as easily find you somebody who took a dance class and ended up a serial murderer.”
The focus group said arts supporters can improve their advocacy efforts by presenting a united front, engaging influential community members as advocates, and targeting efforts and key legislators on key committees. They also said there is little value in trying to change the minds of hard line opponents of the arts.
If this is a recipe for success, Iowa advocates have already proven to be great chefs. In fact, legislators here are way ahead of their counterparts in other states in understanding the connection between the arts and quality of life/economic development issues. Their funding of the Iowa Cultural Trust, creation of Cultural and Entertainment Districts, support of the Iowa Great Places initiative and appropriation for the development of music commissions are evidence.
But despite the good will and acknowledgement of the importance of the arts in Iowa, per capita funding has not followed. We still sit in the bottom 10 states, which means there is more work to do.
The legislature is making funding decisions now. Keep in touch with your representatives at the Statehouse. Let them know about the difference you are making in your community so they can make a difference for the arts in Iowa.
