Advocacy |
Arts Advocates See First Increase to State Arts Funding in 16 Years
With Pennsylvania’s bipartisan state budget now signed into law, we’re celebrating a big win for arts funding: an additional $1 million will go to the Grants for the Arts line item — the first increase in 16 years.
Alongside statewide advocacy group Creative Pennsylvania and arts advocates across the state, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council has had boots on the ground, asking elected officials to support a $5 million increase in this year’s budget. We sent letters, we met with members of the Appropriations Committee in Harrisburg, and we hand delivered postcards you signed during our Policy & Action Roundtable this spring.
While the end result is a fifth of what we asked for, the $1 million increase to the Grants for the Arts line item over the Governor's original flat-funded proposal of $9.59 million — an amount arts advocates have been pushing to raise for over a decade — is proof that advocacy works. And we’re excited to build on this framework in future cycles.
The Grants for the Arts line item is the primary source of direct grant funding for the arts and creative sector. In Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCI/PCA) is the state agency entrusted to distribute these funds throughout the commonwealth. (The agency’s administration fees are covered through a separate line item.) The increase means that the agency now has $1 million more in funding to work with than originally budgeted, and our advocacy will continue to make sure those dollars are deployed in a way that best supports the arts statewide.
We're grateful to every elected official who took the time to meet with us and to those who submitted letters of support. We want to extend special thanks to Sen. Jay Costa and his office for their steadfast leadership and advocacy in championing this increase once it was on the Senate floor. We also appreciate the support of the Arts & Culture Caucus, especially its co-chairs, which includes Sen. Patrick J. Stefano.
Alongside the increase, Arts Council CEO Patrick Fisher also joined Jonathan Stein and Eric César Morales in developing the fiscal code language that was included in the final budget. Thanks to strong support of Stephen Bruder, Policy Director for Sen. Costa, the budget includes the following text:
From money appropriated to grants to the arts, no less than $1,000,000 shall be used by the Council of the Arts to award grants for multiyear, tiered technical assistance and organizational development services for arts and cultural organizations rooted in and serving historically underserved communities, to strengthen organizational capacity, community engagement, artist development and long-term sustainability. This funding shall supplement and not supplant funds awarded by the Council of the Arts for these purposes in fiscal year 2025-2026.
What does that mean? While we don't yet know how the additional $1 million will be implemented, this language ensures that PCI/PCA will need to clearly demonstrate how at least $1 million of their 2026-2027 budget is spent in a way that meets the language above. How the funding is spent is ultimately up to PCI/PCA and needs to be approved by their Council, but we will continue to be a strong voice in advocating for these funds to be spent equitably and in a way that moves the agency back toward its original mission: supporting the arts as a public good.
And our arts advocacy has already produced a real, concrete outcome with the agency this year. In June, after we joined others in raising alarms over the agency eliminating grant funding for small arts organizations, PCI/PCA voted to restore the funding for organizations and programs with annual budgets between $10,000 and $100,000.
A PCI/PCA meeting scheduled for July 9 was postponed and has not yet been rescheduled. When a new date is announced, we encourage the field to attend virtually and register to give public comment, so Council hears directly how you'd like to see that additional $1 million put to use. (Sign up for our Advocacy in the Arts newsletters for updates.)
The $1 million increase to the Grants for the Arts line item didn't happen on its own; it took the following Southwestern PA legislators willing to write letters of support, offer guidance, and push conversations forward:
- Rep. Arvind Venkat (D) – House District 30
- Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D) – House District 34
- Rep. Brandon Markosek (D) – House District 25
- Rep. Roman Kozak (R) – House District 14
- Rep. Josh Kail (R) – House District 15
- Rep. Robert Matzie (D) – House District 16
- Rep. Emily Kinkead (D) – House District 20
- Rep. Dan Frankel (D) – House District 23
- Rep. Aerion Abney (D) – House District 19
- Rep. Jessica Benham (D) – House District 36
- Rep. Lindsay Powell (D) – House District 21
- Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes (D) – House District 24
- Rep. Dan Deasy (D) – House District 27
- Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R) – State Senate District 46
- Sen. Patrick J. Stefano (R) – State Senate District 32
- Sen. Nick Pisciottano (D) – State Senate District 45
- Sen. Devlin J. Robinson (R) – State Senate District 37
- Sen. Lindsey Williams (D) – State Senate District 38
- Sen. Jay Costa (D) – State Senate District 43
If you live in one of their districts, we encourage you to join us in taking a moment to express your appreciation to them. A quick email or phone call to your legislator goes a long way toward keeping the arts top of mind for the next budget cycle. (If you’re unsure who represents your district, use this link to find your representatives and senators, along with their contact info.)