Arts institutions bring in big money from tourists — but get the short shrift from the city, supporters said Tuesday as they launched a campaign to increase cultural funding.
“The economy of the city could not stand without culture and the arts,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens), who is spearheading One Percent for Culture campaign.
Van Bramer and others are demanding the city allocate one percent of its roughly $70 billion budget for the city’s roughly 1,200 culture and arts groups.
The city now gives less than one-quarter of a percent, or about $155 million, according to the Department of Cultural Affairs. That’s up from $152 million in 2012.
The groups generate about $6 billion for the city’s economy annually, a city official said.
Tourists drawn to the world-class institutions stay in hotels, eat in restaurants and shop at local businesses, Van Bramer said.
But Klaus Biesenbach, director of the MoMA PS1, an arts museum in Long Island City that joined the campaign, said city funding to PS1 has declined.
“This city needs cultural institutions,” said Biesenbach, who added more funding would allow the museum to expand its educational programs. The arts “have to be supported.”
Campaign members include the Lincoln Center Theater, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
