Imagine a World Without Culture

“…where writers put down their pens and artists put down their paints. Where architects stop designing our cities and poets, dancers and sculptors stop teaching our children. Where our national landmarks fall into decay. Where debate is no longer fostered in our universities, or on our radio dials. Where our symphony halls fall silent and our libraries go dark. Where our collective history is left unmade and unwritten.”

NO! We can’t imagine a world devoid of creativity and imagination. So for the past week we’ve been in advocacy mode, spreading the word about CULTURE STOPS! to our online communities via our blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Who Is CULTURE STOPS!
CULTURE STOPS! is a grassroots group of artists and arts-and-culture supporters from Providence, RI, who met recently to discuss the federal budget cuts. They share the belief that the power of creative thought is the lifeblood of democracy. They want to call attention to the deep and widespread cuts proposed by Congress and the President to federal funding for the arts and humanities, heritage and preservation, arts education and a host of related federal programs that quietly fuel the creative sector. The group felt it was simply not sufficient to press ‘send’ on a prefab e-mail to Congress. Something else had to be done – so CULTURE STOPS! was born.

CULTURE STOPS! in Action
On March 10th, 2011, cultural organizations and creative businesses - from museums, theaters, universities and libraries to architects, design firms and bookstores - will be asked to “STOP” work for eight minutes to a full eight hours in recognition of a possible future without their knowledge and services.
 
This national day of action will put a face to the millions of individuals, for-profit companies, and non-profit organizations that fuel and sustain the creative sector and are the backbone of America’s ingenuity.

Did you know that according to Americans for the Arts, “The non-profit arts industry alone generates $166.2 billion annually in economic activity, supports 5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs in the arts and related industries and returns $12.6 billion in federal income taxes”?

For the organizers of CULTURE STOPS!, it’s not just the potential for economic devastation that is troubling, but the prospect of diminishing the vitality of American life. If you believe how significant this force is in the lives of all Americans – in our schools, our businesses, our homes – and how much our society will be forever damaged if we fail to honor and support this creative impulse, then please help us create a buzz for culture.

Thank you!