By Jerry Lower, Publisher
One of the joys of living in our coastal area is the wide variety of arts and cultural organizations located within short reach.
On any given night, a drive of less than half an hour can enrich our lives by exposing us to visual arts, live music, dance and theater — all of the highest quality.
To help you find and enjoy these cultural experiences, the Palm Beach ArtsPaper has provided professional journalistic coverage of the South Florida arts scene for three years, with such experienced and talented critics as Greg Stepanich, Bill Meredith, Hap Erstein and Chauncey Mabe.
Few small, independent newspapers are located in such an arts-rich community that they can justify having a dedicated arts section. That is why at The Coastal Star we are proud to have the ArtsPaper Season Preview as part of our October edition.
Our hope is to keep the ArtsPaper in print all season (October through May) as part of The Coastal Star — and online all year round at www.palmbeachartspaper.com.
Thousands of Coastal Star readers regularly attend performances at our local art venues, and hundreds are donors to these institutions, including many of you who add time as board members.
In better economic times, our community does an extraordinary job of providing donations in support of the arts. Unfortunately, in the current economy, all arts institutions are facing tough times. Costs are up and attendance is down. Most would be hard-pressed to balance their budgets with ticket-sale income alone.
Fortunately, most are 501(c)(3) organizations and can accept tax-deductible donations from supporters.
While the ArtsPaper serves as a close companion to the arts community, it is not a 501(c)(3) and is funded by paid advertising. Most of that advertising revenue comes from the same arts organizations currently struggling to make ends meet.
When long-established theater companies like Florida Stage close their doors or Palm Beach Opera is forced to reduce the number of performances, we know other arts organizations will be cutting back and (as a result) trimming their advertising budgets.
In the case of the ArtsPaper, that lack of ad spending translates into less space for us to promote upcoming shows and events, and that lack of promotion may lead to lower attendance and ticket sales. It’s a vicious cycle.
To break this cycle, here is my challenge to you: Please give additional tax-deductible donations to your favorite arts organizations and let them know you would like to see them use it to advertise in the ArtsPaper.
Don’t wait for their next fundraising campaign. Do it this week.
I know this is not a long-term solution and this idea may sound too simple, but your financial support will keep the local arts scene alive by giving arts organizations more money to promote their artistic offerings. It also will help us keep the ArtsPaper alive.
As a result, my hope is that all of us will enjoy a community enriched by the arts — and arts journalism.
— Jerry Lower,
Publisher
Comments