Show Me The Money

17 Jan, 2008

I am currently sitting on the “Creative Capacity Steering Committee” which Commissioner Sam Adams has convened to look for a dedicated funding stream for the Arts in PDX. I was interested in some recent research gathered comparing Portland’s overall arts funding breakdown, with national trends:

Nationally, Arts organizations get 50% of their revenue from Earned Income (Tickets, et al.); in Portland that number is 39%; at PCS it is 67%.

Government (State, Local and Federal) funds make up 9% of the pie on the national front; only 4% locally; and only 1% of the PCS operating budget.

Individuals make up the difference: nationally they provide 21% of arts funding; in Portland they provide 30%; at PCS they provide 10%.

Interesting.

published in Portland Center Stage

1 comments

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k. crow said in 1-28-2008 @ 18:11:48

Chris, I hope you will continue to speak on your involvement with the Creative Capacity committee. I find it to be a promising development in the national movement to play catch up with long-range planning for regional cultural infrastructure. I think such an organization is particularly important in Portland, a city often touted for its urban planning, and its qausi-socialist mores.

Money matters aside, I think a particular challenge to cultural policy originates in organization. For example how can the creative class better develop as a visible and vocal constituency? Policy makers depend upon a strong, consistent voice from the creative class to make viable policy decisions. However, individuals in the arts community must dedicate so much of their resources (time, money, sanity) simply to endure as artists let alone to dedicate themselves to advocacy.

In Portland, is there enough incentive from the public sector (a measly 4%!) for artists to make the necessary sacrifices in order to develop its leadership pool? Without a knowledgeable advocate base, how can artists successfully collaborate with policy makers?