Arts
KPG to Oklahoma Legislature: Approve ARPA funding.
By Kirkpatrick Policy Group
April 17, 2023
Dear Oklahoma Legislators,
Thank you for supporting arts education and arts programming in Oklahoma. Kirkpatrick Policy Group – a non-partisan, independent organization established to identify and advocate positions on issues reflective of all Oklahomans, including concern for the arts and arts education – respectfully urges you affirm your commitment to the arts by approving during the current legislative session the following appropriation measures.
In his proposed FY 2024 Executive Budget, Gov. Stitt recommended $3.24 million in appropriations for the Oklahoma Arts Council, static from FY 2023. This funding would allow the council to carry on its several programs, including Arts Education in Schools, which provides grants and programs for hands-on arts instruction in Pre-K – 12 schools, impacting nearly 470,000 students statewide. The council also administers monies as part of the Oklahoma Art in Public Places Act, which requires that 1.5 percent of eligible state capital improvement project budgets invest in public art. We hope you will continue to support, at a minimum, these necessary revenue streams.
We applauded after the legislature passed SB 18 during last year’s second special session, which would have appropriated $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council to rebuild arts and culture statewide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge you to once again approve this much-needed ARPA funding. According to a recent report released by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Oklahoma’s arts and cultural sector has shown the slowest recovery rate in the nation following the pandemic. The state’s arts and cultural production accounts for 2.1 percent of the state economy, $4.5 billion to the state GDP, providing 38,965 jobs. Oklahoma ranked 50th in the growth of arts and cultural employment in 2021, and Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples said the report shows the risk of failing to invest in the rebuilding of the sector.
Oklahoma Arts Council funding strengthens the economy, preserves our state’s culture, drives academic excellence in our public schools, and promotes community development and talent retention in our workforce. Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Kirkpatrick Policy Group is a non-partisan, independent, 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization established in 2017 to identify, support, and advocate for positions on issues affecting all Oklahomans, including concern for the arts and arts education, animals, women’s reproductive health, and protecting the state’s initiative and referendum process. Improving the quality of life for Oklahomans is KPG’s primary vision, seeking to accomplish this through its values of collaboration, respect, education, and stewardship.