Anyone out there reading the Brownsville Herald.."Commission approves PUB bill hike by Emma P-Treviño " ?
Check out the comments section....my goodness the squible squable....
TAOB readers, What do you think ? yay or nay...Is this the way to go ?
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Art by Rosendo Sandoval - Title:"La que bailo con el diablo " contact: galloblanco03@yahoo.com
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7 comments:
Why should anyone have to pay for supporting the arts unwillingly? The cost to visit museums is relatively inexpensive in Brownsville. We shouldn't have to shove culture, art, or the appreciation thereof down the throats of the masses who couldn't care less. For the starving artists out there, don't quit your day job. There are very few Dr. Montalvo's willing to support you. If you want to become better artists, take courses at UTB or better yet, the Museum of Fine Art to support the arts and development of fine artists. Spend time with Winter Texans when they return to the BMFA. You could learn alot from these practiced and experienced men and women. Simply put, most local art I've seen is repulsive and appears as it is done in a hurry. My opinion yes, but I think most people who are tired of seeing the same old regurgitated garbage people around here call "art" would agree. It only takes one of your crummy art "happenings" to keep most people (such as myself) away and especially, from purchasing art.
I can't think of anything else in this world but to see the Brownsville Art Scene continue to grow. I will gladly pay an extra $2 dollars on my PUB bill for the support of the BMFA. Its plain and simple I want to see the BMFA with its new funds be able to support more local artist and bring more exhibitions.
On the political aspect of it, as far as the way it was done, well frankly it doesn't surprise me.
I do hope that those in apposition of the way it was done will stand up and voice their concern at the next meeting...
Gabriel Trevino
I think that people would be willing to spend more money on the arts, but really what has the BMFA done for local artists? And more importantly, why do they need this bail out? I guess it could be that 2 day opening event that they had. And please they are not the only entity promoting the arts in Brownsville, they are however the only ones squandering money geared for the arts...
how is the board of directors of the bmfa and camille house appointed? if these are not commission-appointed boards, then they shouldn't be awarded a dedicated source of revenue from a municipal fee. giving them money without oversight is just another financial scandal waiting to happen. also they should've studied the matter further to better distribute the money among more entities.
patricia a.
"Commissioner Leonel Garza said the proposal is a great concept, “but I don’t like the idea of asking people for more money.” He asked for the appointment of a committee for further study."-Quote from aforementioned Brownsville Herald article
Being an art advocate, I hate to sound like the Devil's advocate, but I have to agree with Commissioner's request for further study.
While such a hike would greatly be advantageous to the art community, many more questions arise. Such as:
How will the funds be divided among the art community?
Will there be an application process and what will be the criteria for means of selection to receive such funds? Will it be competitive?
Will it only apply to NPO's such as museums, associations, etc or could schools, individuals and businesses apply?
How are the funds meant to be used? For programming, operations, professional development, public art, education, scholarships, research...etc??? Will there be limitations to how the funds can be used?
How will recipients be held accountable for use of the funds and for the effectiveness of their funded projects/proposals?
Basically, a bunch of "How" questions.
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In my own respect, I really don't mind paying $3. Like Gabriel, I would gladly do so! But I do like to know where my money is going and the effectiveness of its impact.
Being that the PUB customers will be paying this hike, I think it should be to fund projects or initiatives that directly impact our community (in other words something your average Brownsvillian, the one who will see a movie at Cinemark once a week but may have not returned to one of our museums since a field trip, will notice and find value in). I also think that PUB customers should regularly be informed of the impact of the hike revenues on the community through updates, etc...basic marketing and PR, keep your customer happy and informed!
Also, this hike should also not be seen as the main means of bringing more funds into the art community. Then we'll be requesting for an increase each time the the arts community grows a little bigger, which hopefully it one of the main impacts of this hike.
Don't forget that we have other sources of funds such as the Brownsille Community Improvement Corporation, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and various other public and private sources for funding. Has the city ever considered a Grants for the Arts Hotel Tax? Is there one in place already? I know San Benito does and many cities have created very enriching and successful Arts and Culture grants programs through hotel tax revenues. Just check out the San Francisco site: http://www.sfgfta.org/
I look forward to seeing how questions are resolved in concern to the PUB hike, but in the meantime I feel this matter merits further study.
The sad thing is that only the "chosen few" will benefit from this $3 increase...not those that do more with less. It is only for organizations (i.e. BMFA) that know how to spend other peoples' money so irresponsibly and have the nerve to come ask the PUB customers for a bail out. I agree with the above post...there should be some sort of discourse as to the allocation of these funds. But unfortunatley all these discussions happen "under the table" (*wink wink) and "behind closed doors"....
hey mayra, i just posted the exact same thing yesterday at the Cafe Brownsvillee blog. great minds think alike. i wanted to email the mayor about it but he doesn't have a public email posted online like trevino did. if you think about other entities that receive a dedicated revenue from a local fee or tax, they all have an oversight and advisory board: gbic, bcdc, pub, bcvb, etc. the same should apply to the arts. i do think a percentage of it should go towards citizen-produced programming at channel 12. local music acts can promote in a weekly show. channel 12 could be like a combination of a local pbs/c-span channel. this would allow more creative people to express themselves in different ways. i also think some of the money should go to making Art in the Park a larger, city-sponsored, official arts festival that will attract more out-of-towners. i don't think a small fee added to the rate/day of a hotel room will be detrimental. the hotel industry would benefit from more cultural events in the city.
patricia a.
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