Rob Bettmann

More than one person has questioned me about why the DC Advocates for the Arts included Government Transparency in our issues on our Arts Advocacy Day March 3rd, 2010. I recently received the following from the Sunlight Foundation by Jerrol LeBaron, and think it does a great job outlining what advocates locally, and across the country, are working for regarding transparency. In doing that, the piece clarified for me why government transparency is a public policy issue for the arts.

“Transparency is key to keeping legislators, agencies and politicians in line. But there are two types of transparency:

1. Transparency after the fact.
2. Transparency before the fact.

Transparency after the fact is something we have to some degree in the US.  For example, we know about the final versions of laws that are passed, after they have been passed. Well, that is better than nothing. However, the law has been passed and it is too late to reverse it.

Transparency before the fact is something that hardly exists at all at the state and congressional levels. Transparency before the fact would mean that the final, final version of the bill is available to everyone several days in advance of the vote.

Now, that is real transparency! This provides a way for citizens to find out about legislators who are serving special interests before the law is passed. This provides us with the opportunity to get our voices heard before the law is passed.  Now that is a much better form of transparency.

Imagine if each government agency was required to display to the American people their final, final versions of rules and laws and budgets many days before they were allowed to make them official.

Transparency before the fact creates and inspires community activism and unity. It also helps to increase proper representation and accountability.

Transparency after the fact helps in those areas and is needed, but it also contributes to apathy and is less important than transparency before the fact. — because it is already too late — the damage has been done.”

I think that transparency is an arts issue because the numbers really are where the rubber meets the road. We should know where the government is planning to spend our money, as well as where they have spent it.

“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

–James Madison, letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822

It’s impossible to really dialogue about support for the arts, and arts advocacy, in the District without considering what policy-makers and stakeholders are doing in Virginia and Maryland.

As example: the great Film Tax Credit fire of the early 00′s. In that case legislators (across the country) provided tax credits to lure film and television productions to their municipalities. Quite quickly EVERYONE had a tax credit, and the race to the bottom began to offer the best tax credit, resulting in actual revenue losses for municipalities. (I’ll link these later today or tomorrow) Currently states are rolling back those initiatives.

For the most part, there are no new ideas in arts advocacy, or governance. We make hay from efficiency, and finding the best ways to provide services to our communities. Arts are a natural ally to developers in place-building, to educators in reform, and to care-givers for seniors. Further, the arts are a part of almost every local economy. The film tax credit is an example of how policy-makers and arts advocates lose by not considering their neighbors.

Here in the District, with 600,000 residents and 17-20 million visitors a year, our arts and culture sector provides over 20% of local tax revenue. In addition to serving community interests, government support for funded and un-funded initiatives to support the creative economy (private and not-for-profit) makes sense.

There are barriers to local and regional best practices emerging, but most of them are only political. (As opposed to a new metro line, or stadium, where big money must be lined up.) Legislators in DC, MD, and VA perhaps have few excuses to find common ground, and direct local pressures. In my capacity as Chair of the DC Advocates for the Arts I’m trying to further develop our organization’s relationship with the Maryland Citizens for the Arts and the Virginians for the Arts. Good policy emerges from good information, and our job as advocates gets easier when we really are able to provide policy-makers with the best policy suggestions. I’m looking forward to attending the Maryland Citizens for the Arts Advocacy Day, and have reached out to try and do the same with the Virginians for the Arts.

As artists and arts advocates we are not alone in our struggles. I’m taking comfort, and pride, from my work with other artists and arts administrators as an arts advocate. If you’re interested in participating in arts advocacy in the District, please check our website, and sign up to receive our monthly updates.

The other week I made the graphic in this post for our invite on Facebook. This was to be a graphic used internal to our community. One of my board felt that it was confrontational and that we shouldn’t use it, so we’re not. This is why we do drafts of things, to be sure. Perhaps it is confrontational. I was thinking that in arming artists and arts organization leaders, many of whom have been to this rodeo one or two times before, a call-to-arms type of thing wasn’t such a bad idea. There’s a real potential role there: encouraging local, and regional, participation/cooperation in arts advocacy.