With Missouri lawmakers hammering out the state’s budget in Jefferson City this February, students, artists, and nonprofit volunteers spent a day roaming Capitol halls and offices, vying for attention — and a portion of Gov. Mike Parson’s $52.7 billion budget proposal.
It was Rain Luzynski’s first time at the Statehouse, and the Kansas City Art Institute senior in illustration was eager to make a good impression.
“It's really exciting to go talk to legislators about advocating for the arts, and I really wanted to do my best and give it my all and talk to everybody as much as I can today,” Luzynski said.
Luzynski, a member of the school’s student leadership council, had been prepped about the way the day might go.
“I expect it to be like pretty quick, fast-paced, just kind of hopping into meetings and just trying to get some conversations in as quickly as possible,” Luzynski said with a laugh. “Probably pretty hectic, but I think it'll be fun.”
Each year, more than 100 artists, performers, and members of arts groups come from places like Joplin, St. Louis, and Kansas City for what art nonprofits around the state call Arts Advocacy Day.
This year they’re asking legislators for a $20 million investment in the arts. It amounts to 60% of Missouri’s Nonresident Entertainers Tax, on out-of-state artists and athletes who play or perform in Missouri.
Kyna Iman, a Missouri Citizens for the Arts lobbyist based in Jefferson City, said the tax generated nearly $36 million last year. Artists were here today to show the impact of that funding.
“This is an annual event and we have arts advocates come in from all over the state, talk to their state reps and tell them what they're doing with arts funding back home,” Iman said.
In 2023, $6.8 million was appropriated to the Missouri Cultural Trust Fund. The Missouri Arts Council used those funds to support 436 grantees in 194 locations, commissioning more than 36,000 artists. According to the Missouri Arts Council, their work is estimated to have reached 4.2 million people.
“I always say it makes it a lot better when they (lawmakers) have a personal face when they're looking at a budget book that's an inch thick with numbers all over it,” Iman said.
Arts KC Senior Manager of Public Policy and Government Relations Branden Haralson was in charge of handing out assignments to the group from Kansas City, distributing informational packets and arming the volunteer lobbyists with a few talking points.
“In all of these packets we have all of the arts organizations represented in each of the representative or senator's district,” Haralson said. “As well as how much money and who receives grants from the Missouri Arts Council.”
“It’s one of the many tactile ways that they show the impact of the dollars,” he said.
Time to meet the lawmakers
The office of state Sen. Greg Razer, a Democrat from Jackson County, was one of the first stops of the day, and it was senior in fiber and social practice Cole Vacek who pressed the thick, black packet into Razer’s hand.
“I think we're in a pivotal time where a lot of my peers around me aren't registered to vote, and even if they are registered to vote, there's a lot of people who don't want to vote,” Vacek said. “It partly comes back to feeling like there's a lack of transparency in political environments, and they feel so disconnected from it, and they feel uncomfortable talking about it, and they choose to completely disengage.”
Razer acknowledged Vacek's frustration, and encouraged the students to be proactive, to get involved and to make their voices heard by voting.
He also noted the role arts communities have played in revitalizing urban Kansas City, and bringing people back downtown.
“In fact, I can make the argument that the renaissance of Kansas City didn't happen with Kay Barnes and the Sprint Center,” Razer said. “It happened with First Fridays in the Crossroads.”
“You don't get the nightly news, you don't get the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parades, (but) your community is the reason that we're succeeding,” he said.
And with global events like the FIFA World Cup coming to Kansas City in 2026, Razer is keen to show off everything the city has to offer.
“We have a golden opportunity for the world to come for the first time. And we've got to show them everything we have to offer,” he said. “We're not simply sports and barbecue, and we've got to rally around that.”
Jackson County Democratic state Rep. Emily Weber is another lawmaker the group was eager to meet.
Weber graduated from KCAI in 2009 with a degree in graphic design, and students were curious to hear more about how she became a politician.
“We didn't have advocacy day at the Capitol when I went to school,” Weber explained. “But I did have some really good instructors that did talk a lot about propaganda and how art can influence people in political ways.”
Weber's interest in politics grew instead through volunteer work in animal rescues, climate change and reproductive health care.
“I started realizing I have worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, I’m still paying off massive loans, and I've been without health care,” Weber said about her decision to seek office.
“I've been paid less than a man for the same job and I realized I'm a minority woman in the state of Missouri,” she remembered. “Like, yeah, I have some (campaign) issues and I'm going to run for office.”
Following her successful campaign in 2020, Weber succeeded fellow Democratic state Rep. Judy Morgan in 2021.
Processing the lessons learned
After a day spent speaking with legislators, Vacek said the experience helped him see the value in his work.
“For students, it's empowering,” he said, “asking for what we want and what we deserve, and just advocating for how awesome we are.”
It’s a good investment for the state of Missouri, too, he said.
“A lot of young artists want to leave Missouri when they graduate college. No one really wants to stay,” Vacek said. “And so to keep better artists and grow our arts and culture sector in every facet, we have to make it more desirable to live here.”
Before leaving the Capitol, Luzynski, Vacek, and the other KCAI students gathered for a quick photograph to remember the day.
“I thought it was a great experience. It was really lovely getting to talk to all of these different people and hear about their work,” Luzynski said. “I feel really hopeful after it and I feel really motivated to get more involved.”
“Honestly, it was a great learning experience and I'm ready to learn more,” they said.
Given the glacial pace of getting things done in state government, students won’t find out until mid-May if all these meetings had an effect. That’s when the General Assembly must pass their final budget, to send to the governor.
