Transcript:

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Luis Hernandez: This election, Rhode Island voters have the opportunity to weigh in on five statewide ballot questions. In the weeks leading up to Nov. 5, we’ve been covering each of those questions in-depth. This time we focus on the final question, which asks voters to approve a $10 million bond for the continuation of the Cultural Arts and the Economy Grant Program. Here to talk more about it is Todd Trebour, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, which administers the program. Todd, thanks so much for your time.

Todd Trebour: Thank you so much for having me.

Hernandez: First of all, just start by telling us what the bond is. Ten million dollars, what does it go towards? 

Trebour: Sure. The $10 million will be for the purpose of funding one-to-one matching grants to continue the Cultural Arts and Economy Grant Program administered by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for capital improvement, preservation, and renovation projects for public and nonprofit artistic and performance centers, museums, and cultural arts centers located throughout the state of Rhode Island. Of that $10 million, $6 million will go to three named organizations. Two million dollars to the Tomaquag Museum for their new and larger facility and research center in Kingston on the URI campus. As we all know, Tomaquag is the only Indigenous-run museum in the state focused on Native history and culture. Two million dollars to the Newport Contemporary Ballet to support the building of Newport Center for Arts, Dance, and Education. And $2 million to Trinity Repertory Company for accessibility improvements to the historic Lederer Theater Center. And the remaining $4 million will go to RISCA to support a one to one competitive matching grant program for the cultural arts and economy grant program.

Hernandez: So you mentioned that extra $4 million left over that’s gonna go to RISCA. Could you give me a little bit more about what that money is going go for? How many more programs can that help? What are you going do with that?

Trebour: It’ll depend specifically on the guidelines themselves and how they’re evolved through a public hearing process. But I’ll just speak to the 2014 bond. That bond, which was for $30 million, supported 54 projects statewide that have just been completed. … Projects that were supported around the state – so some spaces that were more arts education in focus, for instance, the Artists Exchange Theatre space in Cranston, as well as the arts center at the Warwick Boys and Girls Club. There were also community gathering spaces supported through previous bonds, including Oasis International’s thriving African American Cultural Center on Broad Street in Providence, as well as the Cape Verdean Museum in Pawtucket. A cultural facilities grant supported them building community gathering spaces where they can now host groups up to 50 people and have language classes in those spaces as well.

Hernandez: I wanted to get a sense of why this is necessary. Are these organizations having difficulty raising money or there’s no money from anywhere else? Why is this necessary? 

Trebour: State investment is really critical to cultural facilities projects. In the prior two bonds that were passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2014 and 2021, $36 million was dedicated towards capital improvements through this program, and it supported upgrades to cultural spaces to make them compliant with the American for Disabilities Act. It helped buildings conform to new and updated fire codes, modernized systems to make them more energy efficient, and increased space and programming capacity. One thing to know too with this public investment is that for every dollar of state funds spent, nearly $3 are gained from other sources to support these projects.

Just from the 2014 bond alone, which was $30 million, related construction costs were over $105 million, with more than 490 Rhode Island companies engaged, and businesses supported in all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island. 

Hernandez: We’ve talked about it throughout the year. A lot of arts and culture organizations struggling right now, including Trinity Rep, which is included in the grant, as you had mentioned. WaterFire also. Lots of smaller entities we’ve talked about throughout the year. This is by far the smallest bond measure on the ballot this year, $10 million. Is that enough? 

Trebour: You know, it’s, it’s significant for the arts and culture community. As a sector in general, arts and culture is not as invested in as other sectors, despite the significant economic benefits that arts and culture brings to the state of Rhode Island specifically. The most recent U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data from 2022 shows that arts and cultural production accounts for $2.4 billion of the Rhode Island economy or 3.3% of the economy, supporting over 18,000 jobs. Now for context, this ranks third among comparison sectors, with construction being second at $2.8 billion. So it’s something that’s under-recognized in terms of the importance of arts and culture to our economy. Moreover, arts and culture have a fivefold bottom line, so it’s not just economic, but what they contribute to the civic fabric of our communities and our cohesion, to education of both adults and young people, to health and well being of individuals, and as well as our cultural heritage and its perpetuation and what that does for the uniqueness and livability of our communities.

Hernandez: Has there been any opposition to this bond?

Trebour: Not that I’m aware of, no. As I mentioned, both prior bond measures in 2014 and 2021 were overwhelmingly approved by voters. 

Hernandez: If it is approved, specifically what happens next? 

Trebour: So what will happen next is there will be a public process around the guidelines themselves for the program, getting community feedback on them in preparation for the grant program opening in October of 2025.

Hernandez: Is there anything else you want to add on this?

Trebour: I think that when we talk about these cultural bond projects supported by this investment, we tend to think about the economic impact of the construction itself, but there’s a lot of impact that the programming that occurs in those spaces has in their communities as well. Many of these cultural centers are in downtowns, so these are Main Street development projects happening throughout Rhode Island. But moreover, just in terms of economic impact, Americans for the Arts, in their 2022 Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 study, sixth version – they’ve done it for over 30 years, City of Providence has participated multiple times – they found that nationally, on average, when people attend events, they spend $38 per person, in addition to event admission, in their communities, at local businesses, at restaurants, etc. So there will be a direct economic impact from these construction projects themselves in terms of how they impact their communities, but there’s also the continued ripple effect for years of the economic impact of the programming that happens in these spaces. And of course, not even talking about the benefits of the arts education programming that happens in these spaces in terms of increased school attendance and increased student retention, as well as just the ability for us to go into these spaces and be transformed by the programming that’s happening within them.

Hernandez: I’ve been speaking with Todd Trebour, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Todd, I really appreciate the time. Thank you so much. 

Trebour: Thank you for having me.

You can find our breakdown of ballot question one here, on whether Rhode Island should hold a constitutional convention; learn more about question two here, on whether to support capital improvements at URI and RIC; learn about question three here, on whether to approve a $120 million housing bond; and learn more about question four here, on whether to approve a $53 million green economy bond. Go here to see how all five state referenda questions will appear on the ballot.

Early voting is underway in Rhode Island. While the voter registration deadline has passed, the state allows for same-day, in person voter registration – but you will only be able to vote for president and vice president. Election 2024 coverage by The Public’s Radio is sponsored in part by Ascent Audiology & Hearing, Providence Picture Frame and Rustigian Rugs. Find more of our elections coverage at thepublicsradio.org/2024elections, including voting guides for Rhode Island and Massachusetts.