Hundreds of artists and administrators met last week to discuss the state of the arts in Illinois. Rachel Otwell reports:
Politics dominated the discussion, with a focus on ever-shrinking budgets for many arts groups, including the Illinois Arts Council Agency - the state department that oversees government spending on the arts.
Funding for the council has diminished from about $20 million dollars in 2007 to less than $9 million in 2012.
Ra Joy heads Arts Alliance Illinois - the state's largest such advocacy and membership group:
"Despite these very challenging circumstances, artists and creative enterprises can be part of the solution."
As the budget impasse continues - state arts funding could be virtually erased. The conference took place in Evanston. Many of the speakers also urged arts groups to focus on becoming more diverse.
