8/29/2019 UPDATE: The below information was provided to the museum advocacy community in March 2019. As of August 2019, the Governor has signed a budget that reinstates funding for the Alaska State Council on the Arts.
The Governor’s proposed budget does not include funding for the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA), which would eliminate the council from the Department of Education and Early Development.
ASCA maintains the Alaska Contemporary Art Bank, provides grants to many museums in the state, and has been a strong advocacy partner on behalf of arts and humanities in Alaska.
As members of the statewide museum community, your voice matters on this issue.
You can reach your legislators by email, phone, social media, or mail.
Find out who your Senators and Representatives are with this interactive map, and then find their contact information below:
Alaska House of Representatives
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) maintains an Advocacy webpage that allows you to find your elected officials by entering your address. There you will find your federal and state elected officials, including address, phone number, and social media handles.
Consider sharing a Facebook post or Tweet and tagging your elected officials:
“I support the Alaska State Council on the Arts, which provides valuable resources to the state of Alaska and my community. Please support the continuation of ASCA @[insert social media handle]”
You can also send a 50 word message to your legislators, using the link below.
The House Finance Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) Subcommittee met on March 18th and 20th to vote on the governor’s budget amendments. The subcommittee did not approve the proposed elimination of ASCA. Next, the Finance Committee will review the recommendations from the subcommittees and construct a budget.
Take a moment to thank the members of the House Finance DEED Subcommittee.
Write to the House Finance Committee to support the recommendation of the House Finance DEED Subcommittee to fund ASCA.
Museums Alaska’s Board of Directors has supporting ASCA as one of our top legislative priorities this year. Please be sure to subscribe to our digital mailing list to stay up to date on this and other advocacy calls to action as they occur.
Museums Alaska maintains resources on our website to help you navigate the Alaska legislative process here. We will continue to share more resources and information as it becomes available.
We also hold a monthly Advocacy Task Force teleconference meeting, that is open to anyone interested in advocating on behalf of Alaska’s museums. Please join us!
