Terry Goddard Puts the Arts Front and Center

Press Release

Goddard Headquarters Opens its Doors to Local Artists for "First Friday"

Arizona Attorney General and Democratic Party nominee for governor Terry Goddard has turned his campaign headquarters into a gallery and invited local artists to display their work during tonight's "First Friday" art walk event in downtown Phoenix.

The office, located at 1001 North 3rd Avenue (3rd Ave./Roosevelt Rd.) in Phoenix, will be open to the public from 6:00-9:00 p.m. tonight, as part of the event.

In conjunction with "First Friday," Goddard also released his long-term plan for restoring state funding to support community arts programs, arts education in public schools, and cultural tourism throughout Arizona. (Read the complete plan, titled "Culture, the Arts and Economic Recovery," here. [PDF])

"The arts are a critical piece of our economic recovery," Goddard stated. "Places that succeed in attracting and retaining inventive and creative people prosper; those that don't, fail.

"More than 50,000 Arizonans are professionally employed in the arts, and tens of thousands more work in related culture and tourism positions," Goddard added. "$300 million in revenue is generated annually by Phoenix-area nonprofit arts projects alone, but public funding for the arts from the state and local governments has decreased significantly. State arts funding now stands at 14 cents per capita; that is the same per capita funding that was available in 1976. We have to reverse this trend now if Arizona is going to attract 21st century businesses--and the jobs they bring--to our state."

Source