Piper Bulletin March 2010

After Metro Phoenix Partnership for Arts and Culture (MPAC) announced Monday that it will close its doors due to the stresses of the economy, the arts and culture community has expressed hope that the community can build on the organization’s accomplishments. [MPAC board votes to 'wind down' organization in flagging economy ...]

"Like our major funders, the Flinn Foundation and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, our goal is to find a long-term solution to arts and culture funding," said Sandra Werthman, chair of the MPAC board of directors, "and our board will continue to work on this initiative, on a grassroots basis."

The Flinn Foundation and Piper Trust had made a five-year commitment to the organization, with the goal of MPAC achieving self-sufficiency by the conclusion of the grants in early 2011.

Judy Jolley Mohraz, Piper Trust president and CEO, said, "We continue to recognize the importance of public funding for the arts and hope that the economy will support such an initiative as early as 2012."

MPAC has worked to position the creative sector as an integral component of the regional economy and to increase funding for arts and culture. The organization had brought significant awareness, particularly within the business community, of the importance of arts and culture in building the community's economic viability.

"The progress and inroads that MPAC made are huge," said Steve Martin, MPAC board member and managing director of Childsplay. "It's terrific that the business community got behind the effort with their time and expertise, and we can build on that going forward."

More than $1 million in remaining grant funds will be returned to MPAC's funders, which have announced they will redirect grant funds for a one-time arts and culture initiative.

Piper Trust and Flinn Foundation are working out details for the use of the remaining grants funds to support arts and culture organizations. Carol Kratz, Piper arts program director, said the two foundations will distribute information on the proposed one-time initiative in the next few weeks as soon as details are finalized.

Many of MPAC's projects, including CALA (Celebración Artistica de las Américas), a recognition of Phoenix as an important crossroads of arts in the Americas, and Metro Phoenix DNA, a branding initiative to elevate the region's cultural identity, may find homes in other organizations.

Brenda Sperduti, executive director, Arizona Citizens for the Arts, and Rusty Foley, board president, Arizona Action for the Arts, issued a statement following the announcement:

"MPAC provided the community with valuable resources, important strategic direction and critical research that proves the importance of Arizona's arts and culture industry to a vibrant state economy. MPAC's work remains as a foundation for efforts by Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and hundreds of arts and cultural organizations statewide to build upon. This setback makes it all the more clear that we must work collaboratively in a statewide coalition to sustain and expand Arizona's vital arts and culture sector."

MPAC commissioned a number of research reports on the impact of arts and culture on a vibrant economy and a number of other arts topics.

Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts, said, "Over the years of the MPAC initiative, I was most impressed by the research 'Arts, Culture and Latino Audiences' that MPAC conducted and released regarding Latino participation in arts and cultural events. The research confirmed many issues regarding participation and barriers to that participation. At the same time, the report put an end to some of the misconceptions about how this valued community experiences the arts in Arizona."