The city of Amarillo has been very fortunate that private funding has primarily supported artistic endeavors. Nationally, symphonies are going broke.
Opera companies can no longer afford to go on the road.
Yet many inside and outside the city have expressed surprise that a city the size of Amarillo has been able to support a symphony, a ballet, an opera, and a major theatre. Of course, local arts need private support because there is political argument against public funding nationally and from the state. In fact, the state of Texas ranks last in per capita funding for the arts. The state is creating a Cultural Endowment Fund, which ultimately will be used to support the arts, thereby eliminating the need for the use of taxes for such endeavors. Also, there has been political pressure to end Congressional funding for the National Endowment Of The Arts.