Arts Advocacy
Advocacy Alert: The Fight for Artistic Freedom is Here
Two federal arts funding stories broke over the weekend. Learn how you can join the fight below — but first here are the key details. On Friday morning Trump released a budget proposal that would eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts. Read via American Theatre: Trump Proposes Elimination of NEA and NEH The National…
Read MoreAdvocacy Alert: Tell Your Representatives To Oppose The 58% Cut To CA Arts Spending
Governor Newsom’s revision of the 24-25 California Budget proposes an unacceptable 58% cut to funding for local arts programs. His proposal would: Economic impacts are not isolated: Arts & Culture production drives 8% of California’s economy, producing over $290 billion in direct impact and supporting 847,688 jobs; it also drives 7.3% of state tax revenues.…
Read MoreAdvocacy Update: Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month
It’s Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month in California! If you’ve seen a spike in arts advocacy content on your social media in the past week, there’s a good reason for it. Last week kicked off Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month, an annual, month-long effort to highlight the work of artists in our state. Much of…
Read MoreCatch Up, California: Bay Area for SB 1116
Emergency Rally on June 9 at 12 PM We held an emergency rally for funding SB 1116, the Equitable Payroll Fund, to create jobs and revitalize local economies. Watch the livestream here: California arts organizations have suffered for years from under-investment. The state ranks just 24th in state arts funding on a per capita basis — and…
Read MoreCatch up California: Ask your reps to fund the live arts!
If you’re connected to Theatre Bay Area, you probably know that small performing arts organizations are both key to a vibrant local scene AND are closing at an alarming rate. You probably also know that arts funding is harder than ever to come by, and arts workers struggle to make ends meet while living the Bay Area. …
Read MoreNew Legislation Aims To Aid Small Arts Organizations Struggling with AB 5
by Rotimi Agbabiaka On August 26, SB 805, or the “Save The Performing Arts Act of 2021,” a California Senate bill that aims to help nonprofit performing arts companies, with annual revenues of $1.4 million or less, pay their workers minimum wage, passed unanimously through the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is now on track…
Read MoreTheatre Advocates Mobilize in Response to California’s Gig Worker Law
by Rotimi Agbabiaka Last month, California’s AB5 went into effect, requiring companies across the state to reclassify their independent contractors as employees in order to comply with classification guidelines set down by the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in the “Dynamex” case. The law, which was aimed at the profit-maximizing practices of tech giants like…
Read MoreTheatre Bay Area and AB5
A message from the board of Theatre Bay Area: Many in our community are asking questions about AB5, the new California employment law that went into effect January 1 and outlines new rules around classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. Aimed at the growing “gig economy,” the law extends far beyond, reaching almost every…
Read MoreProposed Increases to NEA and NEH: A Letter from Brad Erickson
Dear Colleagues, Advocacy works! Monday morning we received word from Americans for the Arts and other leading advocacy organizations that Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement that not only sustains crucial support for federal cultural agencies but actually increases funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities by $2 million…
Read MoreArts and Community Members Assemble at City Hall for San Francisco Arts Advocacy Day
Theatre Bay Area staff joined nearly 400 artists, arts administrators, cultural producers, and cultural ambassadors in a spirited rally to advocate for (1) policy priorities (2) a message of “No Cuts,” and (3) stories about the transformative nature of cultural and creative expression. Theatre Bay Area staff gathers with colleagues from Z Space and Yerba…
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