Earlier this month arts organizations across the country were shocked to hear about proposed cuts to funding. This is also the case in Kentucky.
Some organizations in the state that receive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have already been notified that they have lost their funding.
Kentuckians for the Arts is the commonwealth’s arts advocacy organization. Lori Meadows is the group's chair, She said it's difficult for these arts organizations to function if they don't know what kind of funding they have.
“They include that as part of their budget, as part of their anticipated revenue that they're receiving to make the arts available to the people of Kentucky. That's the whole purpose of the NEA, nothing like this has ever happened.”
She said the damage caused by the loss of this funding could be irreversible.
“ I think this is bringing about a change, and it's not going to go back to how it was, even a couple of years ago. Anything on this magnitude just causes a forever change.”
Meadows said changes in other areas could tie up state support for the arts as funds are moved around to cover different areas.
Officials with the Kentucky Arts Council say protecting the arts gets bipartisan support in Kentucky because so much of the state relies on its art, music, and culture to attract tourism.
