2.2-2509 - Duties of the Commission.
§ 2.2-2509. Duties of the Commission.
A. The Commission shall perform among others the following duties:
1. Stimulate and encourage throughout the Commonwealth growth in artisticquality and excellence, public interest and participation in the arts, andaccess to high quality and affordable art for all Virginians;
2. Make recommendations concerning appropriate methods to encourage economicviability, an intellectually stimulating environment for artists, andparticipation in and appreciation of the arts to meet the legitimate needsand aspirations of persons in all parts of the Commonwealth;
3. Promote the development and implementation of a planned, sequential, andcomprehensive program of arts education, taught by licensed teachers endorsedin arts education, in the public elementary and secondary schools of theCommonwealth;
4. Provide supplemental learning opportunities to the public school artseducation curriculum;
5. Encourage the development of a network of professional arts organizations,the media, and arts promoters, including, but not limited to, the literary,visual, and performing arts for the production of classical and new works ofart, and diversity in artistic expressions;
6. Provide funding for and technical assistance to artists, recognizednonprofit arts organizations, and arts organizations and activities whichcelebrate and preserve the various cultures represented among the citizens ofthe Commonwealth;
7. Encourage and support the creation of new works of art, arts organizationswhose primary objective is to increase public access to the arts,particularly in underserved areas, and performing arts tours to increase theavailability of this form of artistic expression throughout the Commonwealth;
8. Establish a program of financial assistance to provide scholarships,grants, and other awards to artists who demonstrate exceptional ability andtalent;
9. Establish an advisory panel composed of artists, art administrators, andcitizens to advise the Commission concerning fiscal matters;
10. Encourage arts organizations to dedicate to endowment at least one dollarof the price of each adult admission to performances or exhibitions or atleast one percent of moneys collected in fund campaigns;
11. Encourage arts organizations to develop and implement endowmentenlargement plans which yield enough income to underwrite one-third of theorganizations' annual operating costs;
12. Apply to any appropriate agency or officer of the United States forparticipation in or receipt of aid from any federal program respecting thearts, and, in respect thereto, enter into contracts and agreements with theUnited States or any appropriate agency thereof;
13. Provide incentives to local governments to encourage public support andfunding of the arts;
14. Accept gifts, contributions and bequests of money or any other thing tobe used for carrying out the purposes of this article;
15. Develop specific procedures for the administration and implementation ofa program, so long as any such program is for the benefit of a nonprofitorganization, qualifying as a § 501 (c) (3) organization under the InternalRevenue Code, whereby interest earned on endowment funds donated to stimulateand encourage public interest and enjoyment of music and the performing artsmay be matched by state funds appropriated for this program, and preparewritten guidelines to govern such program; and
16. Administer any funds available to the Commission and disburse such fundsin accordance with the purposes of this article. In allocating funds to bedisbursed to arts organizations, the Commission shall give preferentialconsideration to arts organizations actively implementing an endowmentenlargement plan, either individually or as members of a regional consortiumof arts organizations.
B. Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect the statutorypurposes of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
(1968, c. 567, §§ 9-84.03, 9-84.06; 1979, c. 314; 1989, c. 331; 1992, cc.218, 432; 1996, c. 161; 2001, c. 844.)