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NY Arts Industry in Peril

Theaters cope with major budget shortfalls as U.S. economy tanks

As the U.S. economy continues its tailspin toward recession, arts and cultural groups around New York are being forced to cope with significant cuts in city and corporate funding. To make up for anticipated budget shortfalls, the groups’ executives are trying to find creative new ways to both survive and boost revenue.

Many institutions are dealing with the shortfalls by considering extensive budget cuts; the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for example, is planning to decrease its budget by 7.5 percent and offset the loss by decreasing the number of performances, laying off staff and canceling free programs. Others groups have opted wait until the city allocates funds for the next fiscal year before they make any budget-related decisions. It is anticipated that the city will decrease its funding for arts institutions located in city-owned buildings by 9.9 percent for groups with budgets of more than $25 million and 8 percent for groups with budgets of less than $25 million.

In addition to cuts in city funding, officials at cultural groups have also had to endure reductions in corporate funding. For example, Altria Group, one of the world’s largest tobacco companies and a major contributor to the arts, put an end to its local grants program early this year — decreasing funding for many New York institutions such as the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Joyce Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Additionally, Citigroup has informed many of its arts grantees that it will no longer be providing funding. According to Crain’s New York Business, a Citigroup spokesperson confirmed that the company has decided to focus more on microfinance, education and the environment.

Creativity is key in the arts groups’ efforts to replace reduced and discontinued funding. Zuri McKie, the executive director of the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning in Queens, is raising money by selling commissioned artworks to developers who are seeking to make construction sites more aesthetically pleasing and selling naming rights for the seats in the center’s 400-seat theater.

No matter how creative arts officials are, their fund-raising efforts will likely not be enough to make up for their funding losses. Still, some remain optimistic that the cuts will be temporary and that New York’s cultural groups just need to find new ways to sustain themselves until the economy improves. –Kaitlin Krumeich