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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 19, 2023 11:38 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Ben Waxman |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Investing in Arts and Culture |
| On December 23, 2020, a mural of LGBTQ activist, organizer, and community leader Gloria Casarez was painted over by real estate developers without warning. Casarez, who died in 2014, was Philadelphia’s first Director of LGBTQ Affairs and devoted decades of her life toward advancing social and political progress for marginalized people. Her mural was the only one of over 4,000 murals in Philadelphia to show a LGBTQ woman of color. As seen with the destruction of the mural dedicated to Gloria Casarez, if the Commonwealth does not raise up the voices of marginalized artists and communities, their impact on the culture of Pennsylvania will be lost. Without proper funding, both artists and Pennsylvanians who enjoy the benefits of public art are greatly diminished. My legislation would create a grant program to fund organizations and Pennsylvania artists whose public art benefits historically marginalized communities. More resources must be provided to arts organizations and artists to prevent the pandemic and economic crisis from further eroding Pennsylvania’s long history of publicly accessible art. Please join me in supporting artists and Pennsylvanians by investing in critical funding for public art. |
Introduced as HB903