Rarely has a theme been more apt than ArtsWestchester’s call to “Raise Your Voice for the Arts” at its Friday, Nov. 21, fundraising gala at Purchase College’s Performing Arts Center.
The 6 p.m. VIP dinner and 8 p.m. concert — featuring indie folksinger-songwriter Regina Spektor, a Purchase College alumna, and honoring presenting sponsor Montefiore Einstein — arrive at an inflection point for the 60-year-old nonprofit, one of the Empire State’s flagship arts councils.
In March, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) canceled $2 million in grants that were already earmarked for organizations in Westchester County. The economic loss was fourfold, said ArtsWestchester CEO Kathleen Reckling, because the monies were at a minimum one-to-one matching grants while other proposals in the pipeline no longer aligned with the NEA, NEH and IMLS’ new mandates as set forth by the Trump Administration. So the actual economic impact to the county in terms of loss was $8 million.
ArtsWestchester in turn launched a crowdfunding campaign to address a $200,000 shortfall in federal money. It raised $15,000 to present its big fall exhibit at its White Plains headquarters, “Meltdown” (Jan. 17), which explores climate change through the subjects of water and ice.
Federal dollars are just a single-digit percentage of ArtsWestchester’s roughly $6 million annual budget. The largest portion comes from New York state through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Westchester County, with the county providing ArtsWestchester with $2.9 million yearly. The rest of ArtsWestchester’s support comes from corporations, foundations and individual donors.
But the federal grants were about more than dollars, Reckling said. An NEA or NEH grant conveyed an imprimatur of excellence. Since 2014, $525,000 in NEA money has funded ArtsWestchester exhibits and performances, along with providing grants for more than 170 artists.
A two-year grant from ILMS — an organization that is the prime support for libraries and museums and that is being threatened with dismantling — funded an ArtsWestchester program to teach local ethnic groups how to curate their own heritage. Without that grant, Reckling added, the program can’t continue.
Faced with the new cultural climate, ArtsWestchester and local arts organizations are exploring how best to respond. Some groups may recast their grant proposals to correspond with the new NEA and NEH emphasis on STEM and America 250, the celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday. Others are thinking outside the box to explore partnerships between the arts and business. Philosophical as well as pragmatic, Reckling sees the current crisis as an opportunity.
“There’s a lot of creativity and boldness,” she said. “How do we create more earned income and new donors? I think of it as a moment to bring in new support for organizations.”
To register for the gala, click here.
