Ulster County has long been a magnet for people who crave creative ferment as much as a connection with nature. Many artists live and work in the county. Others come from all over to participate in a residency at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, which sponsors a rich roster of art exhibitions, concerts and theatrical performances. Or to the Women”™s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, which is also nationally known for its exhibitions and classes.
The Woodstock Film Festival brings in gifted filmmakers whose works represent cinema”™s cutting edge. World-renowned celloist Yo-Yo Ma and Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster are among the top performers who”™ve packed the Ulster County Performing Arts Center (UPAC). There are countless other venues showcasing quality talent.
Despite their tremendous importance to a region that otherwise lacks a strong economic base, the arts in Ulster County don”™t receive a dime of support from the county government.
Carla Smith, executive director of Byrdcliffe, remembers the letter her organization received about a year ago from the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Ulster County Legislature. “It said, ”˜don”™t expect to get any money,”™” she said. Chris Silva, executive director of the Bardavon, the Poughkeepsie-based theater that now runs UPAC, got the same missive ”“ a form letter informing him he wouldn”™t receive money. In the past, UPAC had received $2,500 in county funds, so both the message and the way it was delivered were a shock. “Where”™s the relationship?” Silva asked. “That”™s the only contact I”™ve ever had with the Ulster County government.”
The county doesn”™t even fund the Ulster County Arts Council (UCAC). It scrapes by on membership fees, small grants from the New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA), and individual and corporate donations, according to Executive Director Sherri Brittain. Brittain said UCAC”™s budget is about $45,000, but wouldn”™t give a precise number; a check of its most recently filed Form 990, which is required of nonprofits by the IRS, showed a budget of approximately $28,000, and that was in 2004. The Charities Bureau of the state Attorney General”™s office indicated the group”™s filing for 2006 was due in May and the organization was already in delinquency for not filing the form for 2005.
At press time, UCAC didn”™t even have a home; it had just got ousted from its quarters at UPAC.
BY THE NUMBERS
Despite its dire straits, UCAC did recently accomplish something of value. It contracted with the Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit arts advocacy group, to conduct a study on the economic impact of the arts in Ulster County, with the results announced last month.
If the numbers seem less than spectacular at first glance, it”™s because the study only tracked the impact from 11 organizations, a fraction of the 156 nonprofit cultural and arts groups in the county, according to Brittain. It shows that the impact is significant: $3.98 million over the course of four months. Of that amount, $3.14 million was generated by the organizations, which brought in $420,000 in local and state revenues. They also accounted for 86 full-time jobs, bringing in $1.96 million in household income. The remaining $838,505 was generated from event-related audience attendance, of which more than half consisted of non-residents.
Average spending by a resident attending an event, excluding admission, was $18; for non-residents, the amount rose to $44, including lodging, transport and meals, Brittain said. That exceeds the national average, which was $40.19 for non-locals, according to the Americans for the Arts, which surveyed 156 regions for its third Arts & Economic Prosperity study. The national average for local spending was slightly over the Ulster County number, at $19.53.
Meanwhile, with funding provided by two Dyson Foundation grants, UCAC plans to merge with the Highland Cultural Center this fall. Lewis Eisenberg, a business development consultant based in Gardiner who was hired to come up with the strategic plan, said the merger would link the northern and southern parts of Ulster County and carve out two distinct functions, administrative services overseen by Brittain and programming. A new programming director will be hired to handle this function.
But the reorganization won”™t solve the critical problem of “severe underfunding,” he said. Eisenberg said the arts council needs a budget of at least $150,000 in order to hire a full-time staff. He said the organization had survived over the past few years “only because of (Brittain”™s) incredible energy and determination and creativity. You can”™t do it on a shoestring.”
BETTER ACROSS THE RIVER
A dramatic contrast, in terms of a well-funded, well-run arts council and what it can achieve for the arts and the community, can be found across the river. In 2007, the Dutchess County Arts Council (DCAC) received county funding of $296,000, a substantial chunk of its overall budget of $724,000. DCAC President Benjamin Krevolin said the level of funding had been consistent for two years. The county money enables the organization to provide tiered levels of funding available for both large organizations and small ones. He said $50,000 is distributed to organizations for capital improvements that are deemed essential for a program”™s survival ”“ such as the $35,000 awarded for an equipment upgrade at the Children”™s Media Project. The group was required to match some of the funds.
The county money is also used for arts and education programs. In addition, the DCAC distributes $21,000 in grants to support projects from NYSCA for Dutchess County and also oversees an identical grant program for Ulster. NYSCA consolidated the distribution of its artists”™ grants through the counties in the late 1980s; Westchester administers the grants funding for Rockland, and Orange for Sullivan, according to Krevolin.
Brittain isn”™t happy with that arrangement; she”™d rather UCAC administer the grants. While she and other Ulster County representatives sit on the panel that reviews the grant applications, Krevolin said the panel sends its recommendations to a DCAC allocations committee, which has the power to make adjustments. The committee then sends the recommendations to the DCAC board, which makes the final decision. Board members include Ulster County residents, Krevolin said.
Krevolin said that in seeking funds from state and federal elected officials ”“ U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, and John Hall, D-Dover Plains, have been particularly supportive ”“ his group is a strong advocate for Ulster County. “We have to support the arts with a regional mindset,” he said.
In Ulster, all of the arts organizations are forced to compete for a tiny pool of NYSCA money since there aren”™t any county funds available to help support established organizations, Krevolin said. In Dutchess, “those organizations are out of competition for NYSCA money, so we can free up funds for new projects.” Not having that option “is the real harm in Ulster County.”
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Why such a difference between two organizations separated only by a river? The obvious answer is that the county on the east side of the river is far more affluent ”“ and has a business base that includes IBM Corp. “There is very little money in Ulster County,” said Ann Kalmbach, executive director at the Women”™s Studio Workshop. She noted it was home to only one foundation.
Lack of initiative and networking is another problem. “There”™s a general ”˜take care of yourself”™ attitude going on,” Kalmbach said. She said that right after the Business Week article came out in April listing Kingston as one of the nation”™s top 10 arts communities, the Kingston school district eliminated its arts administration.
She added that her organization brings in at least $2 million to $3 million annually. It gets most of its funding from state and federal sources, but that doesn”™t mean she”™s complacent about the lack of local support. “People are not informed about the need,” she said. “People assume we”™re pretty stable. In some years, that”™s not always the case.”
Smith at Byrdcliffe said her organization has “fewer than five local supporters,” who may also be on the board and often choose to sponsor something specific. Reliant on NYSCA and NEA money along with earmarked funds obtained by Hinchey and Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, the organization received a $200 contribution from the town of Woodstock. “At least they recognize us.”
Smith also belongs to the Woodstock Arts Consortium. A $10,000 grant from the town enabled the group to do a study on the economic impact of the arts, which revealed that nine nonprofits spent more than $2.5 million in 2006. In addition, “those of us who get federal and state grants bring in over $300,000,” she said. “The tax money is coming back to the county.”
In some cases, “you need to show local support to get state support,” said Laurent Rejto, co-founder and director of the Woodstock Film Festival and founder and director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission, a nonprofit geared to stimulating film production in the region. He said his organization is “talking to UCDC (Ulster County Development Corp.) and tourism and working with local people on our advisory board to create an atmosphere to help build an industry.”
The UCAC has been a dead end for him. His group isn”™t included in the links on the UCAC Web site. “Billboard magazine and the Internet Movie database is on their page, but the Hudson Valley Film Commission isn”™t there. We”™re confused.”
“The question is whether UCAC represents the arts community throughout Ulster County,” said Ron Marquette, former executive director of UPAC who is the current vice chairman of UCDC and a strategy leader for the creative economy committee of the Ulster Tomorrow planning initiative. “We”™re still looking for the answer.”
Greer Smith, executive director of Transart & Cultural Services, a multidisciplinary arts organization in West Park, was briefly on the UCAC board, but left after it became clear to her that nothing was to come of group”™s strategic planning sessions. “Their role is to advocate,” she said. “They should be the liaison between the artists”™ community and the political powers that be.”
She said her group”™s annual jazz festival “brings in hundreds of people to this area who haven”™t come here before. My particular mission is bringing the voice of artists of color to the region. Studies show that the fastest part of the cultural dollar is cultural heritage tourism, and the fastest part of that piece is African American tourism.”
“There”™s a definite awareness that the county is lacking,” said Smith. “What if all the arts organizations decided to walk away and close their doors? What would the quality of life be like then?”
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