Federal Funding for Arts in Transit & Transportation Update

Wednesday, June 26th at 3:00 PM Eastern

Cost: Free

Presenters:

Patricia Walsh, Public Art & Civic Design Senior Program Manager, Americans for the Arts

Lauren Cohen, Government Affairs and Grassroots Senior Coordinator, Americans for the Arts

With talk on Capitol Hill about a new infrastructure bill it is time to discuss the prohibition of federal funding for art in transit and transportation projects. On December 4, 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) was signed into law which provided a long-term funding certainty for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment. Unfortunately, the FAST Act also established a prohibition for use of FTA funds for art in transit projects, disrupting a long standing and highly lauded national tradition. The 2015 prohibitions remove local control from transit authorities and reverses nearly over 100 years of systemic enhancement of our transit systems to the detriment of communities across the U.S.

In this webinar, hear from Americans for the Arts staff as they outline the history and impact of this issue and highlight how you can advocate for the return of federal funding for arts in transit projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the federal funding prohibitions for arts in transportation and transit projects
• Understand the impact of the provisions on communities across the U.S.
• Leave with information and resources to engage with their U.S. House of Representatives on the issue of federal funding for arts in transportation and transit.

____________________

Ruby Lopez Harper

Director of Local Arts Services

Americans for the Arts

1000 Vermont Ave NW 6^th Floor

Washington, DC 20005-4940

202.371.2830 x2079

202.789.2830 fax

www.AmericansForTheArts.org

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