Major Funding Cuts to the NEA!

This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, by a close vote of 217-209, an amendment to cut an additional $20.5 million from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the FY 2011 appropriations package. The amendment offered by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) would reduce the NEA budget to $124.5 million, turning the clock back four years to its FY 2007 funding level. Considering the fact that the House Appropriations Committee had already cut the NEA’s budget by $22.5 million before it even got to the floor, this additional cut aggravates an already difficult situation. The NEA has not seen this kind of deep cut in 16 years.

To see how your member voted, please visit our Roll Call link by tomorrow at 3pm ET. For a quick preview of key votes, see the chart below.

Republicans Voting AGAINST NEA Cuts		Democrats Voting FOR NEA Cuts
Bass, C. (NH-02) Biggert (IL-13) Buchanan (FL-13) Dent (PA-15) Dold (IL-10) Gerlach (PA-06) Gibson, C. (NY-20) Grimm (NY-13) Hanna (NY-24) Lance (NJ-07) LaTourette (OH-14)	McKinley (WV-01) Meehan (PA-07) Platts (PA-19) Schock (IL-18) Shimkus (IL-19) Simpson, M. (ID-02) Stivers (OH-15) Tiberi (OH-12) Turner, M. (OH-03) Walden, G. (OR-02) Wolf (VA-10)	Boren, Dan (OK-02) Cardoza (CA-18) Costa (CA-20)

Members Not Voting: Boehner (OH-08); Giffords (AZ-08); Green, G. (TX-29); Diaz-Balart, M. (FL-21); Matheson (UT-02); Sullivan (OK-01) ; Wittman (VA-01); Young, D. (AK-AL)

Two Amendments Withdrawn:
The two amendments to zero-out funding to the National Endowment for the Arts by Reps. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) and Connie Mack (R-FL) were in effect withdrawn. The grassroots arts support rejecting these amendments was clearly effective. Advocates sent more than 62,000 messages to Congress within a three-week period.

Next Steps:
Congress will begin a 10-day recess on February 18. When they return, the U.S. Senate will begin consideration of their own version of the FY 2011 funding legislation as early as February 28. While members of Congress are back home in their districts, we encourage you to inform your local media about the devastating impact the House appropriations bill would have on the arts in your community. Americans for the Arts has set up a Media Alert through our E-Advocacy Center to help you quickly and efficiently send your opinions to the local radio, TV, and newspaper stations in your area. We’ve already matched up the media contacts for you based on your zip code. You just need to customize the article’s talking points and hit send.

We need the Senate to reverse the potentially devastating effects that could be caused on the arts that the FY 2011 appropriations bill passed by the House today. Our customizable Media Alert is a fast and easy way to communicate your support for the NEA to local media outlets and help show your U.S. Senators why the NEA is an important grant-making agency in your state.

Help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. If you are not already a member play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today -- it's free and simple.

Minor Cropping May Occur

The artists participating in Minor Cropping May Occur (selected diaries 1962-2011), come from a diverse range of backgrounds and geographic locations: Mike Brodie (USA), JH Engstrom (Sweden), Carl Johan De Geer (Sweden), Janine Gordon (USA), Nick Haymes (USA), Hiromix (Japan), Takashi Homma (Japan), Keizo Kitajima (Japan), Daifu Motoyuki (Japan), Walter Pfeiffer (Switzerland), Jacob Aue Sobol (Denmark), Nick Waplington (UK), and Rona Yefman (Israel). Most of the works featured at Lombard Freid Projects will be premiered in the United States and many of them presented for the first time outside their place of making.

Don't miss the highlights of the exhibition both Nick Haymes's and Daifu Motoyuki's work both dealing with family.
"In Nick Haymes photographic series ‘Zoloto,’ there is a brutal honesty that challenges the cliché portrayal of family life in picture perfect photo albums. Photographed daily over a period of over nine years by imploying a diverse range of cameras and techniques, the series exists as a veristic diary that combines both the high and lows, the picturesque and perverse, the sublime and the banal. ‘Zoloto,’ the Russian word for gold (observed by Haymes through his interactions with his Russian in-laws) reflects his affections for his family life-however unhinged it may appear."

Tokyo based Daifu Motoyuki’s intimate family portraits present us with an idea that runs counter to the stereotype of the average Japanese family. Captured over four years, the photographs detail an honest account of the sprawling chaos associated with his large family’s daily life (five siblings and two working parents under one roof). Often hectic and unkempt, Motoyuki’s scenes are candid portraits of a working class Japanese family capturing the endearing dysfunction within.