Evanston resident Julie Cowan designed an educational Web site about architecture – a site children use to design and draw floor plans for their dream classrooms. The site was possible because she received a grant from the city.
Evanston always has been known as a haven for the arts. But in its attempt to close the almost $4 million budget gap, City Council may have to cut funding for people like Cowan and similar groups.
Last year nonprofit organizations and individual artists in Evanston received 20 arts grants totaling $43,000, said Michelle Brodsky, chairwoman of the Evanston Arts Council. About $30,000 came from the city’s budget and the Illinois Arts Council provided the rest.
But this year City Manager Roger Crum has proposed cutting $10,000 in arts grants – a third of the money the city dispensed in arts funding last year – and a full-time program manager position in the cultural arts division of the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department. These cuts would save the city $51,600.
But cutting the arts would impact the high quality of life many people move to Evanston for, said Doug Gaynor, Evanston’s director of parks, forestry and recreation.
If City Council passes the cuts, the Evanston Arts Council will give out only between 15 and 18 grants, Brodsky said. The organization may apply to be nonprofit so it could secure its own grant funding instead of having to go through the city. Many grants are awarded only to nonprofit groups – not city agencies, Brodsky said.
“The impact is wide and deep,” she said.
Cowan, a visual artist and professional Web site designer, said she received $2,500 to fund her Web site (www.archkidecture.org), which is still being developed. She said she realizes Evanston faces a deficit, but she believes cutting arts funding would be a great loss for the city – a belief other local artists said they shared.
Cowan is applying for a grant again this year so she can continue work on the site. Her goal is to educate pre-school children about architecture.
“It’s so necessary for kids to have these arts programs,” she said.
The Shanti Foundation for Peace, which also received grant money from the city, works with Evanston schools to develop and provide arts education that promotes nonviolence.
The director of the Shanti Foundation, Indira Johnson, said she received $1,400 in 2001 and $5,000 in 2000 to work with five Evanston middle and grade schools. Johnson said if her group is not able to receive grant funding this year, it will not be able to work with as many schools in the future.
Recently, the Shanti Foundation has worked with two Evanston/Skokie School District 65 schools: Nichols Middle School, 800 Greenleaf St., and Timber Ridge Magnet School, 3701 Davis St., in Skokie. One artist works at each school, helping students to develop an artistic piece to perform at the Chicago Cultural Center on Feb. 7.
Yet another group that could be affected by cuts is Soul Creations, an Evanston-based nonprofit group which Brodsky said she was proud to help with a grant. Last fall Chaaze Roberts of Soul Creations performed music and dancing to educate children and adults about African culture at the McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St.
Besides cutting grant funding, Crum proposed cutting a full-time program manager. This position was budgeted for last year and has not been filled yet, Gaynor said.
The person filling this position would have been responsible for organizing Evanston art festivals.
In the past, the Department of Parks, Forestry and Recreation has hired part-time employees to oversee festivals like the Ethnic Arts Festival and the Lakeshore Arts Festival. To have consistency, Gaynor said he proposed having one full-time person to oversee all the events.
Gaynor said if his department has to continue hiring part-time employees for each event instead of having a full-time position, the city will not save any money.
Brodsky said she and other arts supporters plan on attending council meetings to express their concerns. Aldermen will discuss the arts program at a Feb. 2 budget workshop at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
