Photo by Brent Addleman
The ECCOTA gallery was closed yesterday marking the beginning of Artless Wednesdays, a statewide arts advocacy mission protesting possible arts funding cut in the state budget.

By Amy Cherry

Staff Writer

9/9/09 marked the beginning of “Artless Wednesdays” being  held across the state each Wednesday until a state budget is approved.
Elk County Council on the Arts, located on Main Street in Ridgway, was closed yesterday as it participated in the statewide arts advocacy mission.
The gallery windows were draped in black fabric with signs posted on the windows in demonstration of the 50 programs and projects in Elk, Forest, Jefferson and McKean counties which received funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts since 2007.
“As citizens we deserve a responsible state budget, to be passed in a timely manner,” noted Abbi Peters, ECCOTA executive director. “I urge residents to continue applying pressure to our legislators, call, e-mail, stop in their offices and remind them of the faces, the lives, the jobs that are affected by the drastic cuts and elimination in programs and services that are currently being proposed in the budget. These programs and services are vital to the quality of life and future of our community.”
The Artless Wednesday initiative was started by discussion of arts advocacy groups, Save the Arts of PA and Citizens for the Arts in PA.
The groups passed along the word to statewide arts organizations, encouraging them to demonstrate.
Among the proposed demonstrations arts organizations are considering include hosting a string quartet minus the instruments or covering artwork in public spaces.
“This shows how much art is in our lives and our community and how we’d be impacted if we lose that funding,” Peters said.
If the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is eliminated from the state budget, Pennsylvania will be ineligible to receive federal level arts funding and become the only state without a state arts council.
The current budget provides $14 million in funding for arts grants and $1.2 million for the administration of the PCA. Broken down this would cost each taxpayer a nickel a week or $2.60 for the entire year.
“Arts funding ripples out further than the actual projects,” Peters noted.
She explained that Kane’s Art in the Wilds receives state funding and attracts a crowd of 4,000 people. Those people spend money in the area on food, gas and lodging, therefore supporting other businesses and industries.
“These programs provide jobs, tax revenue and quality of life in PA,” Peters added.
In 2007/08 art projects and programs funded by state dollars totaled $34,442 in grants to 24 organizations across four counties; in 2008/09 funding was $34,211 to 25 organizations and in 2009/10 the budget decreased to $22,618 to 16 organizations.
Among the possible programs which may be eliminated if the art grand funding is not included in the state budget are Art in the Wilds, Ridgway Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous, University  of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Arts Programming, Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center, First Night Bradford and The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Additional information about the arts in PA can be found at www.citizensfortheartsinpa.org.