00:00How did your experience today compare to when you were here under past administrations for Arts Day?
00:07Well, I think like a lot of people in the country, there was a kind of look of confusion on everybody's face.
00:15Because no one really knows what's going on.
00:19And, you know, it makes it so you have to be nimble and be willing to pivot.
00:24But I think that we were very well received.
00:26It's just that no one really could say this is what's happening or this is not what's happening.
00:31It was kind of like, we'll see what happens and maybe we'll be able to work together.
00:36So I'm hopeful that we will.
00:39What was your experience at the White House like specifically?
00:43Just like that.
00:44You know, there's some really nice people.
00:46We were well received.
00:47We had a great conversation.
00:48They listened and took a lot of notes.
00:50And I think they're interested in, you know, what we're doing.
00:54And they don't know how to respond because no one knows right now.
01:00I mean, and I'm not, I'm not, I don't mean to be negative about it.
01:04It's just what it is.
01:06Did anything surprise you at all today?
01:08Maybe the chief of staff of the senator from West Virginia, who was a young woman who said, she sat down and said, hi, I was a theater major.
01:21And I was like, never mind, you're hired.
01:23Just come with us.
01:25Because she gets our entire message about arts and arts education.
01:29Why is now such an important time to advocate for funding for the National Endowment for the Arts?
01:34Well, it's always important to advocate for that.
01:38And I think that, you know, arts can be a really powerful change agent.
01:43And they can heal people.
01:45And they can bring people together.
01:47And I think that's very important.
01:48It's also what a lot of people don't understand is that, you know, the big cities have thriving arts scenes.
01:55But the National Endowment for Arts gives grants to every congressional district in the United States.
02:02So those places are often underserved.
02:05And they need a little seed money, which is like a good housekeeping stamp of approval,
02:09so that they can go out and start their dance company or their theater company or their orchestra or their museum or their writer's workshop.
02:15As the president of the Creative Coalition, what's the next step for you after a day like today?
02:21Where do you and the coalition go from here?
02:22I mean, I think we're waiting to see how the budget shakes out, when it shakes out.
02:31I think we have a lot of allies that we've cultivated over the years.
02:35And it just depends on, you know, where things land.
02:38So we're like everybody else.
02:40We're kind of like we're here.
02:42We're trying to do our best.
02:43We come back every time.
02:44We talk to everybody.
02:45Arts is not a partisan, you know, endeavor.
02:48So we're hoping that, you know, the people that get the sort of more emotional, spiritual, enlightening part of arts will be on our team.
02:59And we also hope that the people that realize that for every dollar spent by the National Endowment for the Arts, $9 is returned to the economy.
03:07You know, there's a lot of talk about parity and, you know, between countries.
03:11Well, the NEA is a moneymaker.
03:13So for those people worried about the budget and balancing things, that's bringing money into the federal coffers.
03:18So I hope they realize that.
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