An open letter to Minnesota legislators

I was at Theatre Pro Rata's Emilie on Friday night when the storm hit. About 20 minutes in, the power went out, and the actors gamely continued until the the crew called hold and everyone was ushered into the basement of St. Catherine University's Mendel Hall, where we passed another 20 minutes waiting for the storm to pass. Pass it did (doing an astonishing amount of damage) and the play continued. Still without power, our only light was flashlights shone by the crew and Emilie's candle, flickering in the dark. It may have been a bad night to be a home owner or a tree, but there was a bit of theatre magic that night. Local An Open Letter to the Minnesota Legislature Dear Minnesota Legislators: First off, really bang-up job with the passage of the bipartisan Freedom to Marry Bill. I can't tell you how proud I am of our state, and how much it means to me as an individual and to my friends and relatives. I have never been prouder to be a Minnesotan than I was this past May. Thank you. I am not so proud today. I am angry. I am disappointed. It was announced last week that the FY 2014 Artist Initiative and Operating Support grant programs would be undergoing a change, restricting those Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) grants from "provid[ing] funding for activities or travel that take place outside the state of Minnesota or for applicants to bring individuals into the state." This restriction used to be in place regarding funds from the arts and cultural heritage fund, but was expanded for... ...what reason, exactly? Was it because of this Watchdog.org article by Tom Seward, enumerating the many instances that MN artists travel to far-flung locales on taxpayer dollars? Yes, some of them do. For many of them, it's essential. Though they might live in Minnesota now, they have familial and professional ties that cross state and national borders. Minnesota has grown, in many ways, beyond itself. But to ensure that travel isn't superfluous or a misuse of taxpayer dollars, you have a review board set up, by law, to see that the grant applications submitted are properly vetted. Did you think that wasn't happening? That people were being given free tickets to go anywhere they please without having to justify it? The new restriction wasn't needed--the review board was already a safeguard to prevent abuse. I'm all for justification and proper use of grant funds. A good part of my day job is determining what can and cannot be spent on a grant, and if the federal government can allow international travel for the sake of conferences and activities, as long as it's justified as integral to the performance of the grant, then there is no reason that Minnesota cannot have a similar rule that allows the same for Minnesotan artists using Minnesotan funds. I think you were aiming for a positive effect with this change, a refocus on Minnesotan art and culture by restricting the artists to work within the boundaries of the state. It will not do that. It will instead result in: 1) Fewer dollars coming into the state. Since they cannot use grant funds to travel outside Minnesota, artists make fewer professional connections and collaborations, and therefore less people from outside the state come back to Minnesota to work with them on other projects. One reason we have a vibrant community is we send artist ambassadors beyond Minnesota. Those artists bring new people back to the state that spend money. It's not rocket science. Maybe it should be--if they were on a grant to study rocket science they wouldn't be restricted from TAKING A TRIP TO MEET OTHER ROCKET SCIENTISTS. 2) A sequester of ideas. All those conferences and activities the artists had planned to attend to sharpen their work? No longer happening. All the new ideas and work they would create after a conference or workshop? Gone. They don't learn new techniques and bring it back to share with all their friends. They don't set up workshops to teach it, workshops attended not only by Minnesotans, but those from IA, WI, ND, and SD. Again, fewer people and fewer dollars coming into the state. 3) Less education. Children who are involved in and study the arts have a higher academic performance. Because of #2, fewer artistic ideas come into the state, and therefore less art is created, meaning there is less exposure of children to the arts, resulting in a less creative and educated future workforce. 4) Fewer people want to live here. When the quality of our artistic marketplace goes down, so does interest in living in our communities. By allowing our artists to collaborate and create outside state lines, they hone their skills and come back to show off their talent, performing onstage, showing their work in local galleries, and teaching residents how to make art of their own. And lest you think that these points don't have any real support, I would refer you right to the the MSAB website, which helped in their development and has further reasons why the arts has come to be a billion dollar sector of the Minnesota economy. I feel sorry for the position you've placed the artists in --many are no doubt scrambling to revise their grant applications. That will result in weaker applications as they rush to fix and redefine their scope of work. They won't be able to do the work they wanted to do. But these are resourceful people, not unused scrimping and saving and finding workarounds to do the work they love. I hope other people express their dissatisfaction as I have. I live in Minnesota because of its variety of artistic options and its commitment to expression and exploration. I feel that's been compromised now. I know others feel the same. I hope you'll reverse this decision. Regards, Joshua Humphrey --- If you have feedback or comments on any of the articles above, or suggestions for future blog and news items, please leave them in the comments or e-mail me at [email protected].