About
An initiative of MAAP, Restoring Opportunities for Artists and Residents (ROAR) is a grassroots statewide campaign composed of artists, arts organizations, and concerned residents who are working to restore equitable arts infrastructure and ensure public accountability within Pennsylvania’s arts funding system. The campaign officially launched on March 12, 2026, when we held a statewide convening with 50+ individuals and organizations.
ROAR came together in response to sweeping changes to public arts funding by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). In 2025, they created a new division, Pennsylvania Creative Industries (PCI) with a mission focused on supporting economic development, and they funneled their ENTIRE $9.5 million state appropriation through this division, abandoning their original mission “to support the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania communities.”
These changes mark a significant departure from decades of community-based, equity-centered investment. As part of their new strategic framework, PCI has eliminated:
Preserving Diverse Cultures Division, ($650,000), a long-running division that has been in operation in some form since 1979 and annually invested into 40–50 BIPOC artists and arts organizations across the Commonwealth through its Community Based Engagement Grants and Strategies for Success program.
PA Partners for the Arts, a decentralized system that ensured local expertise and accountability in distributing state funds. Included in this elimination was the Creative Sector Flex Fund ($1.5 million), which regional partners administered and that provided unrestricted operating grants to 300 small arts organizations statewide.
Folk and Traditional Arts, ($600,000), a program that functioned as a lifeline for underfunded cultural traditions and was responsible for administering Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships, maintaining regional partnerships, documenting traditional arts practices across the state, and creating infrastructure support for artists.
Arts in Education, ($1.5 million), built regional networks that connected teaching artists to schools with limited arts programming through Arts in Education Residency Grants, including 29 projects in Philadelphia, which have been cut.
Arts Organizations and Arts Programs (AOAP) entry track, provided general operating support to emerging and mid-sized arts organizations as they build capacity and prepare for long-term state funding eligibility.
These programs were critical pieces of workforce infrastructure, offering communities development tools and necessary regionalized support so that the arts could function as economic drivers. The removal of these programs is creating structural barriers for countless artists and small arts organizations, particularly since they will no longer support fiscally sponsored organizations.