I was thrilled to receive news today that one of my favorite NEO artists, Pamela Dodds, a REALNEO artist of the Day [1], has been awarded a $25,000 Individual Support Grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation [2]. The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation was established by American artist Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) and his wife Esther. The foundation provides large grants to ‘serious, fully-committed artists,' ‘regardless of their level of commercial success.' This year the foundation received 482 applications from which twelve artists were selected to receive awards. I'm proud to say Evelyn and I have one of Pamela's inspiring and impressive linoleum cut prints in our collection... "Drift", above... perhaps it is time for more area collectors to seek out her work... website here [3]!
If Real NEO leaders so chose, we could have raised $20 million per year in cigarette tax income for the arts to provide similar $25,000 "Individual Support Grants" to 800 NEO artists per year. We also could have raised sales taxes by 0.25% to raise $40 million per year for 1,600 such grants. Either scenario would have created real art and supported real artists for the region, and pumped real money into real local hands, to be spent throughout the local economy. That could rehab artists lofts, and abandoned houses, improving the regional economy in many ways. Instead, our community taxed citizens to pay for white elephants and abstract politicized economic development initiatives that may not ever show any real return to the real people of this community who always foot the bills.
Obviously, NEO artists dp not find such innovative funding ideas at play in NEO, despite being taxed for that supposed reason, and the regional promise to make art work. Thankfully, there are other places to look for insightful support for the art that never left NEO [4] with the establishment.
Join me in congratulating Pamela on her success, and serious, full, globally recognized commitment to art and being a real NEO artist.