Guest Column: Public funds request for MTPA could be put to better uses • Opinion (www.HometownAnnapolis.

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Our region is blessed with many community arts organizations providing affordable,
accessible and quality performing arts, visual arts and arts education opportunities to
people of all ages, backgrounds and incomes.

For over 30 years, Maryland Hall for the

Advertisement Creative Arts has been proud to be the
home of, and provide support to, many of
these grass-roots organizations.
Former State's Attorney
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Annapolis Glen Burnie Anne Arundel Maryland Hall's board opposes the
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$250,000 request for public funding by the
Maryland Theatre for the Performing Arts Enter Keywords
at Park Place for three principal reasons:
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the negative impact the request will have
on capital funding for other nonprofit Select Category
organizations, including the arts magnet school at Bates Middle School; the long-term Click ad below for more information
funding MTPA will likely need to survive and the drain on dollars this will mean for
existing arts organizations; and concerns about whether MTPA will be affordable and
available to local arts and nonprofit groups.

Maryland Hall agrees a new performing arts venue would be a welcome addition to
Annapolis, but we also believe there may be other, and possibly better, options to MTPA.

We believe public funds need to be used effectively to support the arts and existing arts
organizations. Even in boom times, funding for the arts is limited. The $250,000
requested by MTPA is the first step toward future requests for government funding
estimated to be between $30 and $50 million to support the construction costs of $75 to
$100 million.

The $250,000 requested by MTPA will negatively impact this year's capital funding for
other nonprofit organizations including HAF for the William Paca House; Coordinating
Care Center for people with disabilities; Reece Road Community Health Center; and
Annapolis, Arundel, Broadneck and Southern high schools.

MTPA's $250,000 request comes at a time when the state has not been able to support
the capital funding for the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet at Wiley H. Bates Middle
School, which is open, operating and partnering with Maryland Hall in arts education.
Maryland Hall has not requested capital funding from the state this year.

We strongly believe that public funds should support community arts purposes. As
planned, MTPA will not serve the existing arts organization, neither housing nor
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Guest Column: Public funds request for MTPA could be put to better uses • Opinion (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital) 4/14/10 7:51 AM

planned, MTPA will not serve the existing arts organization, neither housing nor
promoting their continued viability. Search

Rental rates for MTPA would, at best, strain budgets of local performing arts LOGIN
organizations including Maryland Hall's resident companies: the Annapolis Chorale,
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opera, symphony and Ballet Theatre of Maryland.
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The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County has engaged a task force to survey our
community's performing arts organizations to assess their needs for future growth over Login or Create An Account
the next five to 10 years. This independent study needs to be completed and reported as
a critical first step.

It is important to note that nationwide, performing arts centers of the size and type
proposed by MTPA have not been self-supporting. Most rely on annual government
stipends to survive. Even Montgomery County's Strathmore Hall, with its larger,
wealthier, more established arts community, and direct highway access and public
transportation from the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore suburbs, has needed
government support to survive.

We believe it is better to take the time now to develop a long-term plan for the arts before
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committing millions of dollars in public funds, not only to the construction of a new
theater, but also to supporting its operating deficits for years to come.

All of the considerations above underscore the Maryland Hall board's position to oppose
public funding until a comprehensive and objective analysis of the arts needs and our
community's resources is completed. At a time when budgets across all sectors of our
economy are being cut and jobs are being lost, we believe an independent study of all
the fiscal issues is prudent before committing taxpayer dollars.

Maryland Hall believes a new performing arts center should be scaled to the region's
artistic community, demographics and financial resources. Access should be affordable. • BUY PHOTOS & VIDEO>>
The theater should be multi-purposed and funded in part for other broader community
uses, including public education.
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Maryland Hall embraces a state-of-the-art performing arts center for Annapolis, but one
that houses, and

The writer is executive director of Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

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