Dear editor:
I was disheartened to read Cowboy State Daily's article about filmmaker Sean Patrick Higgins, a colleague and former classmate of mine, who worked tirelessly to advance opportunities for media storytellers in Wyoming.
Yet, due to a lack of support, he packed up his efforts and headed north to finish the job in Montana. This should not be the loudest story about Wyoming’s creative economy. Yet the narrative persists.
As a UW student, I was told that Wyoming lacked the necessary opportunities to build my career. So, like so many of our young folks, I left - just not for long. Home lured me back.
I returned to found a non-profit theatre company. Slowly, and with little-to-no pay, I grew the organization from the ground up.
It was an arduous entrepreneurial effort that required passion, patience, and perseverance. Imagine the time saved and communal impact added had more support been available.
According to a recent Wyoming Arts Alliance economic analysis, the creative economy contributed $1.3 billion to Wyoming's GDP in 2022. That’s 2.7%. In comparison to two other sectors, Agriculture contributed $1.17 billion and Outdoor Recreation contributed $2 billion.
However, when comparing the amount of state dollar support that each industry received, the disparity is evident.
Bringing in 2.4% of Wyoming’s GDP, Agriculture received $36 million in state support. Outdoor Recreation, yielding 4.1%, received $46 million. And Arts and Culture? They received only $18 million despite comparable economic contributions.
I do not raise these numbers to suggest that Ag or Outdoor Rec should receive less funding. Nor am I making a case of cause and effect.
Instead, I cite these figures as evidence that the creative sector is, and has been, underfunded in Wyoming despite its notable contributions to our state’s economic vitality - not to mention its contributions to health, community, and livability.
In the face of diminished state support, creatives have turned to federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This is no longer a viable option. Recently, the NEH and NEA terminated awards, including a grant that funded 80% of Wyoming Humanity’s operating budget and grants to multiple Wyoming arts organizations.
The Wyoming Creative Sector can no longer rely on financial support from federal agencies, nor can the industry sustain its work and impact given the picture of current state-level funding.
What are we to do?
Send more Wyoming artists out of state? Perpetuate the unsustainable “starving artist” stereotype?
Or, can we embrace our creative sector, celebrate artists, and nurture this generative industry?
If you benefit from the arts and humanities, if you read books or watch tv and film, if you listen to music or dance the country swing, do your part to keep this vibrant cultural work alive.
Purchase a ticket to a local performance. Donate to a community arts program. Volunteer at the library. Tell your friends, colleagues, and elected officials about how the arts improve your quality of life.
Creative workers need your support. And Wyoming needs its creatives.
Sincerely,
Anne Mason, Laramie
