Arts Funding

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, whose 2012 program budget was cut 70 percent by the State House of Representatives, seems to have dodged a bullet: The Senate restored almost all the funding in its amended budget. As the House prepared to vote on the amended budget Wednesday, Jenny L. Hershour, managing director of the advocacy group Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, said: "A lot of arts advocates made a lot of telephone calls and sent a lot of e-mails on behalf of arts funding.

Incongruity was the word University of Pennsylvania President Sheldon Hackney used, and it well captured many of the sensations at Thursday night's black-tie gathering to dedicate the Institute of Contemporary Art's new building. For, as brief speeches were made, the striking new galleries opened and dinner served, America was at war, and late arrivals at the spiffy party were bringing the news that Israel had been hit by Iraqi missiles. Incongruous perhaps, but illuminating also.

Judging from the rush for free tickets to this week's Center City Arts & Culture Fest, the allure of culture is strong - especially at the right price. Special promotions like the Oct. 19-22 festival - see details at http://go.philly.com/artsfest - give audiences a welcome chance to sample the city and region's rich cultural offerings. Every arts patron, though, knows there is no free lunch for theaters, galleries, concert halls and museums during the rest of the year. In fact, the only people who continue to believe in that fairy tale may be local and state elected officials.

In the multibillion-dollar scheme of city finances, city funding for the Avenue of Arts amounts to chump change. That doesn't mean the Rendell administration doesn't think much of the project. Indeed, the Avenue of the Arts is a critical piece of Mayor Rendell's blueprint for Philadelphia's future and its economic rebirth. But the administration has insisted that the city can no longer be the backer of last resort, and thus that most Avenue of the Arts funding be from private sources - or from the state or federal government.

Mayor Street's proposed $4.4 million cut in arts funding for fiscal 2005 comes at an ironic time - just when the city and nation need more economic activity. And the arts generate that activity at a rate that would impress even the most conservative investor. According to a 2002 study conducted by economists at the Georgia Institute of Technology for my organization, Americans for the Arts, the nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year. That's more than most nations' gross domestic products.

In a dramatic showdown, the House voted narrowly yesterday to effectively eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, setting the stage for a second vote on a block-grant program designed to replace it. The 217-216 vote was on a procedural matter, but it amounted to a House decision on the future of federal arts funding. The NEA budget is part of a much larger $13 billion spending bill to pay for Interior Department, energy and forestry programs in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Yesterday's vote was on a measure to allow debate on the Interior bill to proceed while denying NEA supporters the chance to offer an amendment that would restore money for the arts agency.

LEAVE IT to the geniuses of Pennsylvania Legislature to find yet a new way to rob Peter to pay Paul and pretend it's responsible lawmaking. In this case, "Peter" is education and "Paul" is . . . education. And, the robbery is accompanied by an assault on the nonprofit model for supporting arts and culture. To raise $100 million for the budget - and also to create a fund for the arts - the Legislature plans to impose a 6 percent sales tax on tickets to arts and cultural events (8 percent in the city.

As the city government's financial support of the arts wanes and some local cultural groups resort to layoffs, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the William Penn Foundation have hired the Rand Corp. to suggest how Philadelphia and the region can sustain the arts here. Funded by $389,000 from the Penn Foundation, Rand will look at the way 11 major cities, including Philadelphia, support the arts with private donations, public money and other assistance. Denver and Seattle, for instance, imposed taxes to help support cultural groups.

After a few weeks of quiet, the killing of the National Endowment for the Arts is again becoming a priority for conservatives in Congress. "I'm worried," Jane Alexander, the actress and NEA chairwoman, said in an interview yesterday. "The next two months, I'm like this," she said, holding up both hands with fingers crossed. "I don't think we're out of the woods. " Two months ago, President Clinton called for a renewal of federal funding for the arts in his proposed budget.

EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN: Family Circle, a proponent of household efficiency, has discovered Corner on Health, a gym/classroom for overachievers. While riding stationary bicycles, participants in Cyclearning Conversational Spanish listen to Spanish - or nutrition awareness, French, Italian, theater appreciation and the films of Cary Grant - taught by what the magazine describes as a "bona fide" teacher. "You burn more calories when your brain is engaged," says Ellie Hodder, owner of the facility in Portland, Ore. JOB BANK: In its first issue, the editors of P.O.V.