Friday, May 9 (6pm-8pm)
Hunter College
Hall 714 West Building (7th Floor)
68th Street/Lexington Avenue
Please RSVP to elsa@latinoarts.org or call 212-876-1242.
Moderator:
Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center
Panelists:
Ms. Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of NYSCA
Arana J. Hankin, Assistant Secretary for Cultural & Economic Development Office of Governor David A. Paterson
Kathleen Hughes, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Assistant Commissioner
NYS Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, 54th District, Chair, Black Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus
Laurie Cumbo, Founder of MoCADA
Organized by the Steering Committee of the Cultural Equity Group:
* Amerinda Inc., American Indian Artists
* Asian American Arts Centre
* Association of Hispanic Arts
* The Bronx Council on the Arts
* Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
* Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College
* The Children's Art Carnival
* The Harlem Arts Alliance.
* International Museum of African American Cinema
* The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Center Memorial and Educational Center
* Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)
* Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance
* Nuyorican School Original Poetry Jazz Ensemble, Inc.
Dear Artists, Cultural Activists and People concerned about the community:
We have certainly brought in 2008 with a burst of energy and excitement filled with opportunity and hope for the future! We applaud everyone for their dedication and hard work to preserve and landmark our institutions and culture, which will have an instrumental impact on the quality of life for our communities as well as for future generations. In order to make an impact we must continue to educate ourselves about the funding process.
We need your voice to be heard and we would appreciate your support in sending this email far and wide to your perspective communities in order to demonstrate to our legislators that our culture is important to the cultural landscape of New York City. Please do not continue to allow the challenges of our community to fall on the shoulders of a few because we need everyone in order to create an impact.
The Cultural Equity Group (CEG) cordially invites you to attend a very important Town Hall Meeting on Friday, May 9, 6pm at Hunter College (68th Street and Lexington Avenue) 7th Floor, Hall 714, West Building, to discuss three very important issues that will impact our community:
1. Sustaining our artists, arts organizations and cultural institutions of color during the current "recession" and new stricter budget reforms;
2. Defining a new per capita funding model based on the ethnic and racial demographics of New York City-a more realistic support process, which would impact communities that are underserved;
3. Exploring recommendations, strategies and policies for cultural equity.
Your participation is important! It will help define New York City's Cultural policy of the future. Sample copies of letters to be sent to your elected officials will be distributed at the meeting. There will also be a petition for you to sign.
Please make every effort to attend. You can RSVP at elsa@latinoarts.org or call 212-876-1242. Thanking you in advance for remaining unified in our commitment to Cultural Equity for our artists and the communities we serve.
Very truly yours,
Steering Committee
Cultural Equity Group