Just in Time for The Holidays

There’s some holiday cheer coming our way from Washington D.C. The federal budget appears to be all wrapped up with no government shutdown in sight. The good news is that federal cultural agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) may see increases in their 2020 budgets. For many years, the NEA has been under the threat of extinction, so the addition of some $7 Million to the budgets of both endowments is hugely important. Locally, many Westchester organizations, including ArtsWestchester and the Hudson River Museum, regularly receive grants from the NEA. Important support from the NEH has also fueled programs of Historic Hudson Valley. So there’s opportunity for additional cultural funds for Westchester. Bravo also to Congress for allocations and policies for art programs for veterans and active military. Such programs have been shown to be therapeutic in treatment of PTSD. There’s also new support for arts-based programs for juvenile justice purposes.