For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Montgomery County Councilmembers Roger Berliner and George Leventhal will be among those appearing at a news conference at the American Dance Institute in Rockville at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, to show support for a proposal to change the way the County appropriates funds for the many organizations and individuals that make Montgomery County a leader in the arts and humanities in the Washington area. Among those at the event will be Theresa Cameron, executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC), and representatives and performers from various organizations that support the new approach in funding arts and humanities programs.
Contact: Neil H. Greenberger 240-777-7939 / Jean Arthur 240-777-7934 / Delphine Harriston 240-777-7931
Montgomery County Considers New Approach for Funding Arts and Humanities
News Conference on Wed., March 21, in Rockville Will Detail How Change Can Improve Method of Appropriations
ROCKVILLE, Md., March 20, 2007—Montgomery County Councilmembers Roger Berliner and George Leventhal will be among those appearing at a news conference at the American Dance Institute in Rockville at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, to show support for a proposal to change the way the County appropriates funds for the many organizations and individuals that make Montgomery County a leader in the arts and humanities in the Washington area.
Among those at the event will be Theresa Cameron, executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC), and representatives and performers from various organizations that support the new approach in funding arts and humanities programs.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, in his proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget released on March 13, supported a plan previously advocated by some members of the County Council that would appropriate a single lump sum to AHCMC. The nonprofit organization would then evaluate requests for funds and determine how the annual funding would best be distributed.
The past practice for funding arts and humanities in Montgomery County had the County Executive recommend specific amounts for specific arts and humanities organizations. Those recommendations were then considered for approval by the County Council.
The new approach to funding for the arts and humanities is part of a strategic plan that has been worked on by the County and arts and humanities organizations. On Monday, March 26, the County Council’s Health and Human Services Committee will discuss the strategic plan starting at 2 p.m. in the County Council Office Building in Rockville. Leventhal is chair of the committee that oversees arts and humanities funding. The other committee members are Berliner and Duchy Trachtenberg.
The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County was founded in 1976. By County law, the organization was designated as Montgomery County's local arts and humanities agency. AHCMC funding is provided by Montgomery County government, the Maryland State Arts Council, corporations, organizations and individuals. The Board of Directors of the Arts and Humanities Council includes artists, humanities scholars, business leaders, civic activists, arts administrators, artists and nonprofit executives with a diverse mix of ethnic, economic, geographic and employment backgrounds.
"For the past few years, I have been trying to change the way we allocate public dollars for the arts and humanities," said Leventhal. "In the past, each arts and humanities organization felt it had to devote too much of its limited resources to lobbying elected officials on behalf of that particular organization. With a peer-reviewed funding process managed by the Arts and Humanities Council, I believe we can strengthen the entire arts and humanities enterprise. Supporters of the arts and humanities can join together and advocate for increasing the size of the entire pie, rather than quarreling with each other over scraps of the pie."
The County’s Executive’s recommended FY 2008 budget for arts and humanities is approximately $5.1 million. The County Council will examine the recommended budget over the next two months and will hear from residents before approving a final budget in May.
“This year marks a major turning point in the County’s support for arts and humanities,” said Berliner, lead member for libraries and cultural affairs of the County Council’s Health and Human Services Committee. “Our major arts institutions—from Strathmore to Glen Echo Park—reached consensus among themselves on how the County’s financial support for the arts community should be allocated. I applaud them for this achievement, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that this funding approach is implemented.”
The American Dance Institute is located at 1570 East Jefferson Street in Rockville, about one block from Rockville Pike (behind the Congressional North shopping plaza and one block north on East Jefferson from Halpine Road).
Release ID: 07-027