Students rehearsing in June for the Wizard of Oz at the Lawrence Arts Center, which was affected by the funding cut. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)
In 2011, Kansas made headlines by eliminating all public funding for the arts. That meant the state no longer qualified for federal matching grants of more than $1 million. But some recent changes mean the state will reapply for the lost federal dollars. KPR’s Stephen Koranda has more.
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During the last legislative session, lawmakers restored state funding for the arts. And now, the state’s arts agency, the Creative Arts Industries Commission, will reapply for federal grants. Some of the lost federal money had come from the Mid America Arts Alliance. That group's executive director, Mary Kennedy… says the devil is in the details, but this is a step in the right direction.
“It’s not the last step, there’ll be many more issues that will to be resolved in order to arrive at FY 2014 with federal and state funding, but it’s a good first step.”
Right now, it's unclear if Kansas will have its federal funding requests approved. The earliest Kansas could receive any federal money would be the middle of 2013. I’m SK at the Kansas statehouse.
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In 2011, Kansas made headlines by eliminating all public funding for the arts. That meant the state no longer qualified for federal matching grants of more than $1 million. But in the last legislative session, lawmakers restored the lost funding. Today (TUE), it was announced that the state’s arts agency, the Creative Arts Industries Commission, will reapply for federal money that supports the arts. Some of the federal money had come from the Mid-America Arts Alliance. That group's executive director, Mary Kennedy, says the application is a huge step forward for the arts in Kansas.
“It’s not the last step, there’ll be many other issues that'll have to be resolved in order to arrive at FY 2014 with federal and state funding, but it’s a good first step.”
Right now, it's unclear if Kansas will have its federal funding requests approved. The earliest Kansas could receive any federal money would be the middle of 2013.