The council voted Monday to approve two five percent taxes - one that will go to a new fund for the arts, and the other to pay for maintenance and capital needs for Nationwide Arena and other cultural institutions in the city. Those in the arts community say the funds will help keep Columbus's artist community thriving.

 “I think we are fiercely proud of two things in Columbus,” says Franklinton-based artist Kate Morgan. “Sports, which you can’t get around, and I think closely following is the arts.”

Morgan says she and her fellow artists have benefitted greatly from funds and programs through the Columbus Greater Arts Council.

“Getting grants and having access to funding I think is hugely important,” says Morgan, who was featured in CGAC’s Art Pop program placing local artists on billboards across the city. “It lets the artist know that they are thinking on the next level, and so it creates a little bit more pressure to create a polished, finished piece.  I think we all hope that somebody will just discover us one day, and you know, you're rich and famous, but that is not at all what happens.”

The vote on Monday was the final step in a plan to invest more in arts to make Columbus more in line with its competitors.

We have more than 30 studies that point to the fact that we are massively underfunded publicly compared to our competitive cities - cities like Cleveland, and Pittsburgh and Nashville,” says Jami Goldstein, VP of Marketing, Communications and Events for Greater Columbus Arts Council.

The two taxes both benefit arts and entertainment, but work a bit differently - one tax  of 5 percent will go to a new fund called the “Creation, Innovation and Inclusion fund” that supports artists, art institutions, and art education.

“What that looks like is free days at franklin park conservatory and the Columbus museum of art, what that looks like is trips for fifth graders to COSI or their access program that provides thousands of opportunities for young kids that may not live in the right zip code or have family money to be able to come to COSI,” says Goldstein. “Those kids get opportunities through public investment in the arts.”

The non-arena tax is estimated to raise around 6 million per year. Venues except for Nationwide Arena will collect the 5% fee on all tickets valued at more than $10. Venues with a capacity under 400, as well as events for non-profit, private and public primary education and government entities are exempt from collecting the tax.  Ohio State athletics is also exempt from charging the fee, but the city says OSU has committed $1 million to the arts per year.

 “These kinds of funds position our larger cultural institutions to be competitive on the world scale as well as building things on the grassroots level,” says Goldstein. “We do small grants for artists so musicians, dancers, visual artists, painters, photographers can get supply grants from us. So we want to invest in individuals, and we want to invest in children, and we want to invest in those institutions that make our quality of life so wonderful in Columbus.”

The second tax of 5% applies to events at the Nationwide Arena, and includes all events except those for non-profit organizations, private and public primary education and government entities.

The money will be split between the arena and a fund for city cultural institutions. Nationwide Arena will get 80 percent of an estimated 3 million per year, which will go to maintenance for the arena. Other cultural institutions, like the Columbus Museum of Art for instance, will have access to the other 20% for capital improvements and maintenance needs.

That’s $1.75 on a 25-dollar ticket,” says Goldstein. “That tiny investment by each individual contributes to a pot that goes into making more free festivals available like Summer Jam West on the Hilltop, or Maroon Arts Group's Box Park.”

Goldstein says that investing in the arts is an important investment for the city. According to a 2017 report from Americans for the Arts, non-profit arts and cultural industry spends more than 400 million annually, and the industry generates nearly 15 thousand jobs in the Columbus area.

“It makes the overall community quality of life better, and makes us better positioned to attract business and residents and tourists,” says Goldstein.

Morgan says that these new funds could help expand access to arts and art culture to more places around Columbus.

It doesn't mean that you have to be an artist or you have to learn how to do a painting or a sculpture,” says Morgan. “It's just about engaging and learning to see things differently.”

There is opposition to the taxes and a group is reportedly working to gather enough signatures for a referendum on the taxes.