Arts organizations are facing more cuts in state aid and they’re lobbying Albany to try and get some funding restored.
Sarah Lentini, President and CEO of the Rochester Arts and Cultural Council, says Governor Cuomo's budget proposal includes a 10% cut in funding for the arts. She says that follows a nearly 30% reduction over the past four years.
That means many organizations will have to raise ticket prices and other fees in an effort to survive. "First of all that creates disparity in terms of access. that i don't think we want in the community. Where folks of more limited means won't have access to the great quality of arts that we have here. But more importantly also it's a strategy that may not work because we don't have metropolitan area the size of a San Francisco or a New York," Lentini said.
Arts and cultural advocates from across the state were in Albany Tuesday lobbying for restoration of arts funding.
Lentini says the local arts community generates nearly $200 million to the local economy each year.