Constable: How NEA cut would hurt arts in suburbs

By Burt Constable

bconstable@dailyherald.com

It's too early to say if the cost of protecting the president's properties in Florida and New York will eclipse the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts, as predicted by many social media commentators. But it is true that several popular suburban institutions would pay a price if the NEA and its $147.9 million budget were eliminated by the current administration.

"It would be a huge loss to the Fox Valley area and Chicago at large if we went away," says Kay Kendall, executive director of the St. Charles Singers, which is using an NEA grant of $10,000 to revitalize its marketing plan, update its website and increase the social media presence of the local group that performs, promotes and preserves chorale music.

"We've been so blessed to receive NEA funds," says Emily Ellsworth, artistic director of the acclaimed Anima-Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus. "It's been so crucial for putting together projects we otherwise wouldn't be able to do."

Anima-Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus is using its $15,000 NEA grant to commission a new work for singers and percussion from composer Stacy Garrop, which will be used in workshops at schools and other settings with percussionist Michael Folker. That money also will help bring composer Jim Papoulis to serve as guest artist for an outreach workshop for students and teachers as part of the annual SingFest on March 18.

"We really get a lot of bang for the buck with that NEA grant to reach kids who otherwise would not have these experiences," Ellsworth says.

Even for people who don't care about the arts and are concerned only with the bottom line, studies show that an NEA grant makes money for some suburban businesses.

"Culture and arts in the community can change the face of a community," says Cheryl Wendt, the chief development officer for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, which will be using a $10,000 NEA grant to support an artist residency by clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, which includes performances, public lectures, a master class for local students and the "Mingle with the Musicians" at the Elgin Public House after Saturday night performances.

"I don't think people realize that having a strong community arts organization contributes to the area," says Kendall of the St. Charles Singers. "Sixty percent of our audience eat at local restaurants before or after a performance, and that helps our community. It's more than a cultural value."

Studies show that every $1 given by the NEA leads to $9 more in other public funds or private donors. While the NEA gives money to charitable arts organizations in every congressional district in every state, 40 percent of NEA support goes to activities in high-poverty neighborhoods around the country, while 36 percent of NEA funds go directly to groups that reach people with disabilities, people in institutions and veterans.

At Wheaton College, a $10,000 NEA grant supports the Community Outreach for Developing Artists program, which provides early childhood music instruction to preschool and kindergarten students using the Musikgarten curriculum. Plenty of studies show that music and art programs can help students do better in other academic subjects, too.

Since the NEA was established by Congress in 1965, the independent federal agency has been targeted by politicians who say taxpayers shouldn't be funding the arts. Conservatives rail against controversial works of art, such as Andres Serrano's 1987 photograph of a crucifix immersed in urine or the current "Doggie Hamlet" piece by conceptual artist Ann Carlson that features sheep, dogs, actors and dancers in an open field.

But some critics also thought the NEA was wrong to help put Picasso's paintings or King Tut's artifacts on tour, help fund the design of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall or start a jazz program through the National Basketball Association that has trained more than 9,000 young musicians.

The NEA accounts for 0.003 percent of the federal budget, so cutting it to save money would be the equivalent of cutting the word "kindergarten" from this column to save space.

"It's a tiny sliver of the federal budget," says Ellsworth. "But the impact is immense."