On Monday, April 19, Atlanta artists marched two miles from Woodruff Park to the state’s capitol. The march was to raise awarness of the 2011 state budget passed by Georgia’s House of Representatives which would eliminate the Georgia’s Council for the Arts. This would make Georgia the only state in the country without an arts council. This all translates to zero funding for a burdegoing art scene.
The senate is expected to vote on the budget next week, before sending a final budget to Govenor Sonny Perdue for approval. Painter Fahamu Pecou joined art organizations such as Wonderroot and Sam Flax for the march. For him the situation “hit close to home.” He calls it a “It’s a major blow to the arts in the state of Georgia.”
“People had to act,” Fahamu explains. “Their basically pulling the rug out from under us in terms of how we can operate and function. We seen time and time again the negative effects of removing art and culture from governing bodies.”
“[The March] was about raising awarnesss but it was also about taking a stand. Alot of the people who were present weren’t not neccessarily politically inclined, It’s not enough that we came to march, alot of work still has to be done and we have to put pressure on elected officials to do more in terms of art,” he adds.
Check out these photos by John Goode from the march below. And click here to voice your thoughts on the elimination of the Georgia Council for the Arts.
GREATeclectic aka Kendrick Daye is a DJ, artist and the Editor of Art Nouveau Magazine. As a freelance journalist and photographer his work has been featured in the NY Times Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Upscale Magazine, Creative Loafing, Honeymag.com & Yo-Raps.com.
