Dear Virginia House of Delegates,

My name is Cheryl White. I am one of the many residents of Virginia who you represent. Today you will be faced with a vote that could possibly cut funding to the Virginia Arts Commission. I need you to be my voice and vote in favor of continued financial support for the VAC. I need you to think about people like me, because every Monday I go to work at a museum in Virginia. I know the staff, the collection, and all the ways we use our limited budgets to their best advantage. I field daily calls from people inquiring about appraisals, because they have fallen on hard times and sadly think that selling off their family’s heirloom art collection is the next step. In the evening, I leave the museum and travel to a local University where I teach Art History. I stand at the front of a room with over 80 students for three hours. Class is a marathon, it is late, the room is dark, some people fall asleep, but still I show up and teach. I do this because, simply and honestly put, art is the love of my life.

Dorothea Lange's work. (Photo | Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division)

Just this year I began teaching a course that concentrates only on art created in the last ten years. I have been amazed by the Virginian artists whose work is forming the voice of my generation. These works are not only beautiful, they are also historic examples of how we as humans exist today. These are the same artists who benefit from VAC grants or funds from the National Endowment of the Arts, which the VAC helps to disseminate throughout the state. In times of financial hardship, when one is forced to choose life over limb, it may seem easy to cut arts funding. However, I implore you to recall the iconic art created during our last Great Depression. Works by artists such as Dorothea Lange, whose poignant black and white photographs of the Dust Bowl today express the resilient spirit of American workers. I want you to recall the last time you visited the Pentagon or the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and realize that institutions like this were born from a government who supported the arts.

I choose to study art even when everyone told me to be a nurse or a teacher.  I racked up student loan debt and I will happily payback every penny with interest because I know that art is worth it. Every work, whether it is a painting or a building, expresses the spirit of human creativity. In fact, art nurtures us much like teachers and nurses. It documents our history, provides priceless inspiration and fuels innovation. So, with all of my heart I ask you to please represent me today. Be my voice and support continued funding for the Virginia Arts Commission.

Thank You,

Cheryl S. White