SOURCE: NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES
State senator secured dedicated state funding for arts programs
PHILADELPHIA -- As a lifelong arts supporter, Senator Richard J. Cohen of Minnesota has attended his share of plays, movies, concerts, art exhibits and, at one time, even wrote a film column. His love for the arts started in high school when he was an usher and a stage hand at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater. Many years later, he is serving his fifth term on the board of directors for that same theater.
In addition to being on the Guthrie board, he serves on the board of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is formerly an ex-officio board member of the National Assembly of State’s Arts Agencies, formerly a member of the policy board for the Americans for the Arts and he also was a participant in 1997 at Columbia University’s American Assembly Forum for the Public Purpose and the Arts.
Serving in his seventh term in the Minnesota State Senate, Cohen chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Elected to the State Senate in 1987, he has a long history of support for the arts in the Senate. Shortly after his election he started the legislative arts caucus, and in the 1990s Cohen garnered enough support to establish permanent funding for the arts in Minnesota, while chairing the State Government Finance Division. By doing so, he lifted Minnesota’s ranking for art’s funding from 32nd to sixth in the nation. Cohen also was responsible for the first major capital appropriations for an arts and cultural organization beginning in 1996 with funding for the Science Museum and, in 2003, the Guthrie Theater and the Children’s Theater.
In 2004, Cohen began an effort to include arts and humanities funding in a constitutional amendment that ultimately provided dedicated funding for clean water, conservation, and arts and culture for the next 25 years in Minnesota by raising the Minnesota sales tax. Minnesota voters approved the constitutional amendment last November with more than 59 percent of voters voting affirmatively.
For his longstanding commitment to the arts, Senator Cohen is receiving the 2009 Public Leadership in the Arts Award. Americans for the Arts will present Cohen with his award on Thursday, July 22 at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit in Philadelphia.
“Senator Cohen has been the chief legislative champion of the arts in Minnesota since his early days in the Senate,” said Jay Dick of Americans for the Art. “Due to his tireless support for the arts, state funding for the arts in Minnesota will increase from $10 million per year to more than $30 million next year and continue at this level for at least the next 25 years. There is no one more deserving of this honor.”
The National Public Leadership in the Arts Awards are given in recognition of an elected official or artist who plays an important role in the advancement of the arts and arts education within his or her community, and whose vision and leadership provide heightened visibility to the value of the arts.
The first award was presented as part of NCSL’s 2006 Fall Forum in San Antonio, Texas, and since then this annual award has been presented at NCSL Legislative Summits. For more information on the award and Senator Cohen, contact the NCSL press room.
NCSL is the bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staff of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, it has a record of 49 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.
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