Sal Prizio knew he couldn’t sit idle as the state legislature slashed funding for the arts in the spring.
He believed unwaveringly that arts organizations across the state not only provide an outlet for creativity but that they bring people together and boost local economies. As chair of the advocacy organization Arts4NH and executive director of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, he saw these impacts first-hand.
After the legislature nearly eliminated the State Council on the Arts, ultimately deciding to leave the council intact but pull its funding, Prizio spent the summer connecting with other arts leaders across the state to devise a plan.
“Elected officials have essentially absolved themselves of any responsibility for fostering this part of the business sector in the state, so we must take it upon ourselves and speak with a louder voice,” he said.
The upcoming New Hampshire Creative Culture Summit resulted from those conversations. On Monday, Sept. 15, stakeholders in the state’s creative economy will gather at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage to connect, share resources and create an action plan for generating longer-term support for the arts.
The event is open to arts advocacy organizations, libraries, historical societies, brewers’ associations, museums, performing arts centers, theater groups and more.
“When you’re running your day-to-day operation, you start to get the sense that it’s you against the world,” Prizio said. “And if nothing else, this summit leaves people with a little sense of at least some affirmation and a sense that, ‘Hey, there really is a community of like-minded people who understand the struggles that I’m going through and understand the topsy-turvy world in which we live.’”
The gathering will feature panel discussions on topics such as navigating funding and the role of businesses in supporting the cultural sector. Harold Steward, executive director of New England Foundation on the Arts, will deliver the keynote speech. In the afternoon, participants will break into small groups to discuss action items.
Deanna Hoying, executive director of Symphony NH and a board member of Arts4NH, has worked closely with Prizio throughout the planning process. For her, the goals of the summit are twofold.
“We want to have the Arts Council reinstated to its full glorious being, as it should be, but also, we want to make sure that we also create a sustainable network of all of these different groups,” she said.
A large impact
The state cuts coincide with the Trump administration’s slashing of federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of which Prizio said have been “decimated.” While the organizations still exist, their financial resources have been significantly reduced.
Similarly, New Hampshire’s Council for the Arts now relies on business tax credits and donor support to keep funding arts organizations and initiatives across the state. Its staff has shrunk from seven people to one.
While navigating a tight budget season, Republican lawmakers repeatedly argued that the arts are a want and not a need.
Data collected by Arts4NH, however, continues to challenge that assertion.
In the 2024 fiscal year alone, the Council awarded $1.5 million to 180 grantees in over 60 communities.
The Council served as the largest source of funding for arts organizations and individual artists in New Hampshire prior to its defunding, according to Arts4NH. The state invested 73 cents per resident in the arts and culture sector, and the Council’s funding yielded over an estimated $2 million in goods and services and $50 million in earned income by grantee organizations and projects.
Data collected in 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Assembly of State Arts Agencies found that New Hampshire’s arts and culture economic sectors had a $3.4 billion impact and represented 21,000 jobs.
Organizations like Symphony NH, which annually received around $13,500 from the Council to fund its performances and community outreach programs, must now identify alternate sources to finance their work.
The question of where to secure the money poses great concern for Hoying.
“Now trying to do that also in the environment we’re in, where so many federal programs have been shuttered, particularly around arts and culture,” she said, “I do think what we’re also going to see is foundations, whether they’re small family foundations or larger foundations, I think they’re going to have a lot more people knocking at the door because they have to, because other avenues have been closed.”
‘An opportunity to experience the arts’
The past few months have been an “emotional rollercoaster” for Carey Cahoon, co-founder and managing director of the performing arts organization Theatre KAPOW. She’s worked hard to balance the difficult reality of funding losses with feeling inspired to continue creating theater.
The summit, which she helped organize as a board member for Arts4NH, represents that sense of inspiration.
“It’s not a culmination of anything,” said Cahoon, who eventually hopes to see more gatherings happen across the state. “It’s the kickoff and the beginning of figuring out where we’re going to go from here. I’m excited about blowing the roof off of the Bank of New Hampshire Stage with all of the ideas and all of the conversations and the new partnerships and things that come out of it.”
From bands playing at local bars to theater performances, dance recitals, art classes, mouth-watering food, comic books and more, Cahoon wants people to realize that creativity abounds in the world around them.
“The arts aren’t something on a pedestal somewhere that they can’t touch,” she said. “The arts are tactile, and the arts are all around them. There are so many amazing things that they can do, see, hear, right in their community, wherever their community is.”
Hoying, too, wants to continue to ensure that the arts remain accessible despite the absence of state funding.
“It shouldn’t matter what your circumstances are. You should have an opportunity to experience the arts in some fashion,” Hoying said.
As they head into the summit, Prizio and his fellow Arts4NH collaborators envision the event providing a constructive space for members of the creative economy, rather than a place to lament what’s been lost.
“Here we are at this particular point in time,” he said. “How do we come together and make sure that we insulate ourselves from whoever happens to be in office, from the state legislature all the way up to the governor? And how do we influence legislation moving forward to protect ourselves from ignorance, frankly?”
More information
Organized by Arts4NH and hosted by the Capitol Center for the Arts, the New Hampshire Creative Culture Summit will take place at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord on Monday, September 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendance is free and lunch will be provided. To register for in-person or virtual attendance, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-hampshire-creative-culture-summit-tickets-1592003608649.
To learn more about the State Council on the Arts, visit https://www.nharts.dncr.nh.gov/.