Georgia arts organizations, stung by the president's plan to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (among other federal arts programs), are fighting back with a postcard-writing campaign.
More than a dozen Atlanta-based groups will offer blank postcards to patrons, along with the addresses of the state’s U.S. representatives. Signage in some locations will describe the financial, educational and cultural impact of the arts on the state.
The organizations will then collect, stamp and mail the notes to Congress.
The House has, in fact, rejected President Donald J. Trump’s attempt to erase the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and last week a House committee presented a spending bill that would provide about $145 million for each — or five million less than last year’s bill.
But the scare was enough to prompt action. The campaign has been tagged #GAArts Future.
“Funding for arts organizations throughout Georgia is vitally important to our communities. Faced with the potential elimination of funding, we felt compelled to offer visitors a simple yet impactful way to contact their representatives and make their voices heard,” said Rand Suffolk, director of the High Museum of Art, in a statement.
The goal of the campaign is to demonstrate how the arts positively impact the lives of Georgia residents.
The organizations that will be offering the postcards include the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Woodruff Arts Center, WonderRoot, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, ArtsATL, Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta Contemporary, the Breman Museum, BURNAWAY, the Center for Puppetry Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA), the Atlanta Opera, the Michael C. Carlos Museum and Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA).
