"Haley said taxpayers could decide for themselves whether to support the arts."


As a four-year participant in the South Carolina arts scene, I am shocked at the abuse and neglect it has been shown recently by local government. Cutting all public funding is a death knell to orchestras, museums, writing programs, theaters, and arts education initiatives -- those things that enrich and sustain communities.

I am hoping for another override, but this pattern in and of itself is damaging.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 8, 2012 at 2:55 PM

    I wonder if most schoolkids go on field trips anymore, or if cuts in school budgets and the arts alike have ditched those wonderful days. I remember going to see Shakespeare at the Milwaukee Rep, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the art museum--and these were incredible gifts every time. Look up Philip Pullman's defense of public libraries on Google and I think you'll find a lot of common ground.

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    Replies
    1. LindsayJuly 19, 2012 at 11:59 AM

      We took a trip in seventh grade to the hands-on science museum in Charlotte, and we got to take the Amtrak there and back! I remember thinking it was one of the coolest things. I can't imagine field trips being high on the priority list, especially with increasing emphasis on larger class sizes and online learning.

      I'd run across Pullman's speech and put it on my list to read -- thanks for reminding me! I especially love his section about volunteers ("Who are these people whose lives are so empty, whose time spreads out in front of them like the limitless steppes of central Asia, who have no families to look after, no jobs to do, no responsibilities of any sort, and yet are so wealthy that they can commit hours of their time every week to working for nothing?"). Gregory Petsko's letter to the president of SUNY-Albany was greatly in my mind when I read about the SC Arts Council. It's available here and is worth a look if you haven't seen it.

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