Baltimore County, MD smARTS, 3 Jan 2018

Previous Meeting Next Meeting

⏯

youtube image

►

From YouTube: Maryland Citizens for the Arts Nicholas Cohen

Description

Advocating for the Arts in Maryland

A

Advocates publicly stand up for an idea. Maryland citizens for the Arts brings advocates together to support arts and culture in our state. Joining me is Nicholas Cohen executive director of Maryland citizens for the Arts good to see you.

B

A

You're sort of a newcomer to the position I mean you're, not new to the arts, but since last March, you've.

B

A

Over this role and have been very busy, yeah.

B

I mean it's been great, I feel like I've, been an arts advocate my entire life, but it's it's great to be here. I love being in this role in serving the arts community in the state of Maryland.

A

I'm gonna give you a chance to answer a question that I'm sure you're asked all the time. How do you think the arts basically impacts our everyday lives? It's.

B

So important I think I, look at the holistic human as I call it and I think the arts contribute to that. You can think of this in the way of arts education for a young person, but also for when you get to it to be an adult you, you can say you can maybe how you look at the arts, how you attend arts events and when you look at it throughout Maryland, the arts are important, whether you're in a big city like Baltimore or a small town on the Eastern Shore in Western Maryland.

B

If, if you see the Arts in the community, you probably have a vibrant and happy one. Okay.

A

And happy people, but let's talk about the economic side, you kind of talked about the holistic side, but what about the economic impact? Well,.

B

And that's where I you know, look at the arts in taste like to two lenses right: it's it's the intrinsic value and also the economic, the power of it, because you know many times we think of our organizations as nonprofits and sometimes they're, thought of maybe it's just charities, but.

A

B

So much more than that, yeah.

A

B

So you know we know the arts provide huge economic investments, whether it's in terms of job production and investment, and- and it's just it's so important- to look at both of those lenses.

A

Okay, so let's give some hard figures to support.

B

Yeah, absolutely so in a recent study done in conjunction with Americans for the Arts MCA did this in the state of Maryland. We found that over we interviewed or surveyed over 500 organizations, Rafat arts organizations yeah, and we found that the arts are a billion-dollar industry. So that's that's in debt. So that's a serious.

A

Industry, yes, and.

B

So beyond that, we also, we also found that it's also job I mean this. Obviously, in today's economy, we're talking about job creation and job production, and so these these organizations support over twenty five thousand full-time equivalent jobs. That's.

A

B

Then you know lastly, I like to talk about look when we think about public investment for the Arts. You know that's government money going to support the arts. What is that give back? The give back is in terms of over eighty million dollars in state and local revenue that the arts organizations provide. So that's those three things alone, just show you the.

A

And in Maryland in regards to the rest of the nation, does pretty well. Does it not as far as its arts funding, that's good, that's good news.

B

It's great news, and you know what what that is, is kind of a determination with our I, like are thousands of arts advocates in the state, because you don't get to have good arts without good advocates. In my.

A

B

We are fourth in the nation in per capita arts funding, and that's it's just phenomenal and you that's why you see this vibrant arts community throughout the state right.

A

It's so important. Now you mentioned about advocacy, that's one of the roles of MCA. Is it not is to create and find and nurture advocates for the arts.

B

A

B

I think you know what what we try and do is we coalesce the artistic community and whether that's artists, arts, administrators funders and just general lovers of the arts, and we create this. What we call one voice for all the Arts in Maryland and that that's how you advocate you advocate with this message: that's clear and strong so that people believe in our message.

A

Right then, you can advocate all year-round but I know there's a special day that you dedicate to you know getting everybody together and going down to Annapolis absolutely.

B

I would say: that's and I've. Even before I was in this position. I I went to Maryland Arts Day igt, it's so much fun, and just because it's hundreds of arts people down in one place down in Annapolis and so what it's our flagship event Maryland Arts Day this year, it's February 22nd down in Annapolis for its it's a full day event, and what's great about this event, is we so we bring it in the morning some speakers we bring in some lawmakers they're. Just it's a raw raw right.

B

It's totally a rally around the arts, but then the important work in the afternoon is that's. That's. When the important work happens. We send all the individuals that show up to Maryland Arts to their their County delegation rooms and may get a chance to sit in front of their representatives. There lawmakers in the Senate in the house and tell them why they need to support the art.

A

B

The public investment is so crucial without something like Maryland Arts Day, which is the largest convening of kind of artists and advocacy in the state yeah.

A

B

A

B

Fourth, or per capita funding being fourth, a nation that doesn't happen, No.

A

So we need people to be there. Yeah I encouraged because I have gone many times. It's inspiring it's fun. It's it's exciting I mean it's a really great day and.

B

A

A little time we have left talk about the the initiative to try to cop.

B

Support from younger folks, yeah I mean you know, coming having been in the advocacy world for so long. I wanted to make sure that that up-and-coming artists and arts administrators get a chance to advocate. So we have this program called the emerging arts advocates and it's just a way to train and provide professional development to artists into arts, administrators and arts lovers on how.

A

B

And why we have okay.

A

Well, we've had the website up, people can get involved, Nicholas, Cohen, so good to see you and I look forward to seeing you down there now Natalie yeah.

B

I look forward to see everybody there. Thank you for.

A

Having ik and I'm Carolyn black so tear- and this is smarts- the Baltimore County Arts and Culture Show.