Elk County Council on the Arts Urges Advocacy for Rural Arts Programming

The Elk County Council on the Arts (ECCOTA) is issuing an urgent alert following the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ announcement that all statewide partnership programs will end in September 2026. This decision threatens the future of arts access, education, and creative economic activity across Pennsylvania.

Since 2009, ECCOTA has served as a contracted partner organization with the PCA, distributing hundreds of thousands of state dollars to teaching artists, cultural organizations, community events, and creative entrepreneurs. The partnership model was built to ensure that all Pennsylvanians, including those in the most rural counties, could access meaningful arts programming.

Through Arts in Education residencies and Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grants, ECCOTA has brought transformative cultural experiences to thousands across Elk, Cameron, Forest, Potter, and McKean counties. Ending these programs will result in the loss of two full-time positions at ECCOTA, the elimination of essential administrative support, the end of teaching-artist residencies in local schools and community spaces, and a severe blow to local artists, events, and organizations that rely on PCA-funded opportunities.

ECCOTA’s region includes some of the Commonwealth’s least populated and most underserved counties. Without partnership programs, most local organizations will lose access to arts funding entirely. ECCOTA urges residents, educators, artists, and community leaders to advocate for the preservation of rural arts funding before these programs disappear. A petition can be found at https://www.eccota.com/save-rural-arts. Everyone who believes that the arts in Pennsylvania should be served to all communities are encouraged to sign.

For more information, please contact the Elk County Council on the Arts at www.eccota.com!