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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jirina Ribbens, Executive Director of Ice Theater of New York
5:33:34
ยท
151 sec
Jirina Ribbens, Executive Director of Ice Theater of New York, testified about the need for increased and stable funding for cultural organizations in NYC. She emphasized the impact of her organization and the challenges faced due to inadequate and unpredictable funding.
- Requested baseline funding increase, ideally to 1% of the city budget for culture
- Highlighted the need for more timely and stable funding processes to allow for better planning
- Pointed out that their organization's funding has decreased since 2022, limiting growth and program expansion
- Stressed the importance of public support for the arts, especially given the sector's economic impact and role in attracting visitors to NYC
Jirina Ribbens
5:33:34
Hello.
5:33:35
Good afternoon council member Rivera and representatives of our cultural sector and the staff here present.
5:33:43
I thank you for letting me address this cultural affairs budget hearing.
5:33:46
My name is Irina Ribbons, and I'm the executive director of ICE Theater of New York.
5:33:51
We dance with knives on our feet.
5:33:54
Since our founding in 1984, it has been our mission to create ICE Dance as a performing art.
5:34:01
We every year present over 30 performances to about 12,000 viewers, and we serve 1,500 children annually and introduce them to skating.
5:34:11
One of our participants twenty years ago is now a manager in Riverbank State Park, So we're also a pipeline to careers.
5:34:23
ITNY fully supports the ask of our community even though I personally wanna ask for the 1%, I think ideally.
5:34:31
But happy to stand with my colleagues in asking for this baseline funding.
5:34:36
We need more funding.
5:34:37
We need easier and more timely processes.
5:34:41
We need some stability in the funding stream so we can adequately plan and do not live in fear of getting not funded again.
5:34:49
Especially if we've already implemented the programming and find out eight months into the season.
5:34:56
We're among the lucky ones who did receive funding from DCLA for FY '25, and our expected funding for FY '26 is actually gonna be down from last year, and it's been down since 2022.
5:35:10
For a small nonprofit, the lack of funding prohibits our growth.
5:35:13
We're like a perpetual startup.
5:35:15
Every year we're broke.
5:35:17
Know, forty years of this.
5:35:18
We cannot grow, and hence we struggle to expand our programming.
5:35:22
The basic costs for running an organization increase annually, and the funding is just not keeping up.
5:35:28
Our loyal private patrons support us, but it's harder and harder to convince younger people to give to the arts because they haven't received the arts education and don't understand how vital the arts is for our community.
5:35:41
Our sector is in crisis, and we deserve more public support.
5:35:46
My colleagues have said that it hasn't kept up with the budget, and I really think 1% for culture for a city that depends so much on cultural sector for its economic output and for attacking visitors is just a minimal investment.
5:36:00
So I thank you for your attention and for your support for our cultural sector.