At the Bossier City Council meeting held last Tuesday, proposed funding for the Bossier Arts Council (BAC) was reduced $30,000 from last year’s budget of $110,000.  Before I list just a few of the many ways that the BAC serves you and our entire region, you might be interested to know how the City of Bossier allocated funds to the arts in 2009 and how they propose to allocate arts funding in 2010.  In 2009, the City of Bossier provided $200,000 to arts organizations across the river (yes, Shreveport).  The City of Shreveport provided $93,900 to these same Shreveport projects, LESS THAN HALF THE AMOUNT THAT WE (City of Bossier) provided to SHREVEPORT arts venues!!!  The 2009 budgets are available online – Bossier gave $106,100 more to Shreveport art programs last year than did Shreveport!!!  Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

Bossier’s 2010 proposed budget allocates $75,000 to these same Shreveport projects, yet CUTS our own Bossier Art Council’s already bare bones budget by $30,000.  I, for one, think this is unfair and ill conceived.  Shouldn’t the councilmen of the City of Bossier re-allocate at least $30,000 of the $75,000 to the Bossier Arts Council, the ONLY officially sanctioned art venue that we have?   I am not aware of any funding to the Bossier Arts Council by the City of Shreveport either in 2009 or 2010.

Here are just three ways that the BAC affects your community (there are many more too numerous to mention here: (1) the East Bank Theatre offers wonderful theater productions several times a year in an intimate setting; many of East Bank’s productions are sell-outs and held over for additional performances; the EBT also monitors the Senior Stars Performance Group that visits our elders in nursing homes and assisted living facilities; (2) the Bossier Arts Council’s art gallery features a wide variety of different artists’ works monthly or bi-monthly.  Each new exhibition opens with a public reception to meet the artist and includes cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres.  (3) Our children benefit from numerous arts programs offered in schools throughout Bossier Parish.  Last year the BAC awarded $45,500 to various arts programs in Bossier Parish Schools. 

With four employees and an annual budget of just over $400,000, the Bossier Arts Council enriches our community in a way that can only be described as priceless.

Make no mistake, I support, appreciate and attend many art programs and venues in Shreveport.  For example the Robinson Film Center and Bistro are amazing and are always first to offer award-winning independent films that might never be shown in the area otherwise.  I patronize this wonderful place often, both for the films and the cuisine, and will continue to do so.  Shreveport’s list of arts organizations are too numerous too mention.  The City of Bossier relies almost solely on the many services of one arts organization – the Bossier Arts Council

A study commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor’s office revealed that every $1 spent on arts productions generates $7 for the community.  As art awareness and appreciation grows, that number will only increase.  Although Shreveport has many exceptional arts venues, should the Bossier City Council finance those facilities at the expense of our own Bossier Arts Council?  I implore you to contact your Bossier City councilmen and demand that they amend the 2010 budget as proposed by this humble arts lover.  The citizens of Bossier City deserve no less.  All of the Bossier City councilmen can be e-mailed at bossiercity.org.  Just click on City Government to automatically send an e-mail to each Council Member.


Lea Beaty Stroud
Bossier Parish Resident

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