Category: Art

In a city of transience, I’m beginning to feel like the old guy on the block. The one who ‘remembers when’. In that spirit I’m publishing today something that I wrote back in 2007.

At the time I wrote it I was pretty afraid to be ‘barred’ by the Kennedy Center for criticizing them. I run a local dance company, and my company cannot grow without the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center on the Millenium Stage. The Millenium Stage/Kennedy Center is a critical credit and potential support. I thought that if I didn’t publish this, but just gave it to some folks I might appropriately influence policy, without making enemies. I gave it by hand to six people who I knew could influence without making me enemies. I don’t know if it had any impact, but in 2009 they didn’t bring the Nutcracker in at Christmas, and haven’t since, so that’s a start.

(Title Removed)

If you liked dance, and wanted to see a few performances each year, would you pick: a), The Kirov, American Ballet Theater, and Alvin Ailey; or b) Washington Ballet, Lucy Bowen-McCaulay and Reflections? It is no-one’s fault; the majority of audience members pick A. Continue reading “Institutional Memory”

The oversight hearing for the DCCAH was today. It began at 4:30pm, and ended just after 8. Council-member Thomas and his staff (Rodgers and Pittman) were solid, as was representation from the community. It was interesting to see how many arts organizations delegated their participation to staff, rather than leadership. The E.D. (Russell) from Washington Ballet was there… the ballet knows the value of government relations well. They are the largest recipient of non-capital dc government funding in the last five years (over 3 million in earmarks and grants.)

A development person from Dance Place was there. Dance Place is one of the organizations potentially hardest hit by the NCACA reduction. I testified after her, and because she didn’t mention NCACA and their loss of funds, I figured I wouldn’t either. Maybe somehow the NCACA funds the president cut are being put back? Here is my testimony as I wrote it, and the portion enclosed in bold brackets I did not ‘offer’ live.

Testimony of Robert Bettmann to the
Committee on Economic Development
Chairman Harry Thomas

FY 12 Oversight Hearing for the

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

March 16, 2011

Thank you Chairman Thomas, council staff, and members of the Committee on Economic Development for the opportunity to testify today.

The impact and influence of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is incredibly positive, and is felt in every ward, and by hundreds of thousands of residents each year. Arts funding offers incredibly strong return on investment. The five million dollar FY 11 budget went out in over 300 grants to residents this past year. Collectively the budgets of those organizations and projects are hundreds of millions of dollars.

Continue reading “Oversight Testimony”

Text of sign on letter created by Partner group planning DC’s Arts Advocacy Day 2011:

Mayor Vincent Gray
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
March 5, 2011

Dear Mayor Gray,

We are writing to ask that you maintain the FY 11 local funds allocation
for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

The District’s local funds contribution to the arts and humanities is less
than $5 million dollars this year, and those funds were distributed in
over 300 grants to artists and community groups providing access to the
arts for District schoolchildren and residents. We know that you are an
arts supporter – with some serious hand dancing skills, to boot – and that
you face tremendously difficult choices in the FY 12 budgeting process.
With such a small allocation for the arts and humanities already, deeper
cuts will have no discernible impact on the overall budget, and the arts
have already been disproportionately cut: from over $14 million in FY 09
to under $5 million in FY 11.

Continue reading “Letter to Mayor Gray, March 2011”