Minnesota’s State Appropriations Over 30 Years

Year - Arts Appropriation
1976 - $500,000
1977 - $500,000
1978 - $1,771,000
1979 - $2,378,600
1980 - $2,429,593
1981 - $2,326,246
1982 - $2,039,589
1983 - $1,524,443
1984 - $1,966,518
1985 - $2,265,107
1986 - $2,495,313
1987 - $2,767,747
1988 - $3,015,749
1989 - $3,184,346
1990 - $4,135,602
1991 - $4,278,195
1992 - $3,959,032
1993 - $4,043,092
1994 - $6,142,613
1995 - $6,318,145
1996 - $6,897,000
1997 - $6,981,627
1998 - $13,018,000
1999 - $13,036,000
2000 - $13,064,000
2001 - $13,118,000
2002 - $12,616,000
2003 - $8,593,000
2004 - $8,593,000
2005 - $8,593,000
2006 - $8,593,000
2007 - $8,593,000
2008 - $10,336,000

“Except for its educational opportunities, nothing strikes me as more important to Minnesota’s quality of life than its art programs. Theater, music, dance, visual arts are all important to parts of a good society.”

—Former Governor Elmer L. Anderson from the 1977 Governor’s Commission on the Arts