TESTIMONY
Skye Kowaleski, Executive Director of JACK Arts, on the Struggles and Hope for the Organization Amidst Budget Cuts
5:07:24
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130 sec
Skye Kowaleski, Executive Director of JACK Arts, a performance and civic space in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, testifies about the challenges faced by the organization due to budget cuts.
- JACK Arts has had to reduce programming by over 30% and cut staffing despite already struggling with capacity issues.
- An entire performance festival serving dozens of artists and hundreds of audience members yearly had to be canceled.
- The organization is fighting to keep its doors open if the budget situation continues.
- Despite the difficulties, Kowaleski maintains hope, highlighting JACK Arts' positive impact on the community by providing a nurturing space for artists and hosting community events.
- They emphasize that artists are mapping a blueprint for a more beautiful way of life through their work.
- Kowaleski requests the council to add $53,000,000 to the adopted budget to reverse the cuts and restore baseline one-time funding.
Skye Kowaleski
5:07:24
Hi.
5:07:24
Good afternoon.
5:07:26
Thank you so much for the opportunity needed to testify.
5:07:29
Testified today.
5:07:31
It's my first time because I'm a little nervous.
5:07:33
I appreciate you.
5:07:35
My name is Skye Kalilevski.
5:07:36
I use the other pronouns.
5:07:38
I'm the executive director of Jack Arts.
5:07:41
Jack is a performance meat civic space located in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with a mission collaborate with adventurous artists and our neighbors to bring about a more just and vibrant society.
5:07:51
We know the impact that Jack has because we are told by artists and audiences and neighbors, by seniors in our Sikasa program, how grateful they are for the nurturing dot provoking community forward artists forward space that we provide daily.
5:08:07
Space to not only present theater, dance, and music, but host block association meetings, tenant association meetings, community organization meetings, space to pack, mutual aid, And I joined leadership in 2022.
5:08:22
I had high perhaps naive hopes for growth for the organization.
5:08:27
Expanded and robustly supported programming.
5:08:30
And instead, due to budget cuts, we've had to cut programming by over 30% reduce staffing when we're already struggling with capacity.
5:08:39
We had to cut an entire performance festival, which serves dozens of artists and hundreds of audience members per year.
5:08:46
And if this continues, we will soon be fighting to keep our doors open.
5:08:51
And yet, I keep fighting with that same hope that I walked in with because each day I get to watch our artists create spaces that imagine what it would be like if we adequately funded resources for our communities.
5:09:04
If we funded the arts, They are mapping a blueprint for a more beautiful way of life.
5:09:11
1, where we are all living abundantly, resource, and free.
5:09:15
And I am asking you today to invest in them, invest in a future because they are building it.
5:09:22
So I joined my colleague in asking that the council add 53,000,000 to the adopted budget to reverse the cuts and to restore the baseline one time funding for CIGs and CDF and FY 25.
5:09:33
Thank you for your time.
