PROPOSED FY 2004 BUDGET OVERSIGHT HEARING
THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2003

Good afternoon, Councilmember Brazil and members of the committee on economic development. I am Dorothy McSweeny, chair of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. With me today from the D.C. Arts commission are executive director, Tony Gittens, and legislative and grants program manager, Lionell Thomas.

I am pleased to provide testimony on behalf of mayor Anthony A. Williams' proposed FY 2004 budget for the D.C. Commission on the arts. As the official arts agency and sole source of public funding for the arts in the District of Columbia, it is our mission to develop, encourage, and support the arts through quality programs and activities that foster and promote free artistic expression. We do this through four major goals:

1. We provide access to arts for all district residents, ensuring that no one is left out of the process;
2. We promote lifelong learning and interest in the arts and arts education for all ages with specific emphasis on our young people, from early childhood development through 12th grade;
3. We provide a platform for public and private partnerships in the arts; and lastly, we preserve the cultural diversity of the District of Columbia through the arts and humanities. This is all consistent with our ability to provide quality service to our citizens, while creating an atmosphere of economic and social growth in the district.

The Arts Commission is only one small agency, with a limited budget which has remained flat over the last eight years. We accomplish great things working within our financial limits as a partner with other agencies. While our programs and activities continue to address many of the city's social and economic challenges, we have been very successful in expanding resources outside of government -- being very mindful not to compete with the arts and cultural community we serve. One such example was a cooperative public and private effort that we undertook in FY2002 that carried over to FY 2003.

The much celebrated Party Animals project placed two hundred artistically designed elephants and donkeys throughout the city in all wards from April to October of 2002. The donkeys and elephants were then auctioned in October and November of 2002 in one of the most successful auctions in our city's history. Through this project, we were able to raise close to $1.2 million, which will be redistributed to the arts community and arts education programs.

Although we undertook this very lucrative venture to meet the growing demands and needs of the cultural community, we did it with the idea that we were doing our part to increase the district's economic resources understanding the city's current financial challenges. We also did it on our own initiative with the thought that we would not be penalized for our success. Yet, much to my consternation, we are being recommended for a $196,000 reduction in the FY 2004 budget.

I am reminded of a quote from president Lyndon Baines Johnson whom I had the honor of knowing personally. Upon the signing the law enacting the national endowment for the arts, he proclaimed, "government can seek to create conditions under which the arts flourish; through recognition of achievements, through helping those who seek to enlarge creative understanding; through increasing the access of our people to the works of artists, and through recognizing the arts as part of American greatness." I submit to you that our greatest charge is to provide a welcoming environment for the arts to nurture the quality of life for all our residents.

Investment in the arts is a sound economic policy, as all the impact studies have demonstrated -- $1.4 billion to the district's economy annually. We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish and the efforts of the arts community to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure that our voices are heard in all sectors of the city. The arts commission is committed to supporting an arts community that works for everyone - neighborhood by neighborhood.

I thank you for your continued support of the arts commission and for your comments at our last hearing to do whatever you can as chairman of this committee to safeguard our budget. Now you will hear from the director of the arts commission, Tony Gittens, after which we will be available for questions.
Thank you.