Pictured: Acadiana Center for the Arts, photo by Joseph Vidrine
LAFAYETTE, LA – Councilwoman Nanette Cook brought a proposal to restore last year’s funding cuts to the Acadiana Center for the Arts during the July 6 City Council meeting. The City Council passed the restoration of funding with a unanimous vote. Councilman Glenn Lazard brought a similar proposal to increase city support for Festival International de Louisiane, which also passed.
AcA Executive Director Samuel Oliver said, “We are grateful for the City Council’s decision to restore the cuts made last year now that we are reopening to a regular schedule of performances, exhibitions, and other community events. The support of the Council and the Guillory Administration are crucial at this time when the arts are coming back after a dark and difficult 18 months.”
“AcA currently raises $8.50 from the private sector for every $1 of city investment. We believe that is the definition of a successful public-private partnership,” said Oliver.
The City reduced funding to arts and culture last July in anticipation of revenue shortfalls from the pandemic. However, those shortfalls never materialized. The AcA, like most arts and music organizations, have experienced significant revenue shortfalls due to government-imposed limitations on events. Cook’s ordinance restored funding to the previous level of funding for the city-owned building.
This support is dedicated to operating costs of the City-owned facility, which AcA manages in a public private partnership. The facility was built and opened as a hub of arts and cultural activity for the residents of Lafayette and Acadiana in 2011. Since that opening, AcA has hosted hundreds of high-profile events and exhibitions in the world-class facility.
City Council members voting in support of the ordinance included Pat Lewis (District 1), Andy Naquin (District 2), Liz Webb Hebert (District 3), Nanette Cook (District 4), and Glenn Lazard (District 5). Mayor-President Guillory spoke in support of the ordinance at the meeting.
AcA, the City, and a community of supporters raised $22 million to build the Acadiana Center for the Arts facility, which is held in trust by the City of Lafayette. As a result, the AcA facility is a debt-free asset of the City of Lafayette. The City of Lafayette contracts the 501(c)(3) entity Acadiana Center for the Arts to operate that building in a public-private partnership. That contract puts full responsibility for operating, programming, and fundraising activities on the AcA, but it also makes the City responsible for reimbursing building-related expenses (particularly insurance, maintenance, and utilities) up to an amount controlled by the City Council.
