ARTSblog

When considering that art is a universal language I think many of us may inadvertently dismiss the idea of how this relates to business.

But the tie between arts and growing global businesses is a strong one that has roots in community engagement, enhanced reputations for business, and the fact that the arts can cross over those drawn borders on maps.

A couple of weeks ago, two leaders in the fields of global markets and corporate social responsibility lent their expertise to a webinar hosted by The Conference Board, in partnership with Americans for the Arts, on the role of arts and culture in the success of global markets.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Lynne Kingsley

If you were to untangle the unified, multi-layered rope that is arts education in public schools in this country, would you find equal amounts of art, music, theater, and dance strands?

Without thinking, most of us would say mildly, “well, not exactly.”

As a theater person, I realize this too, but it can’t be THAT unequal, right?

The Snapshot of Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 2009-10 (a first look at top level national data from the upcoming FRSS study), published on Monday reveals a huge gap between the number of schools that offer art (83 percent) and music (94 percent) instruction and those that offer drama/theater (4 percent) and dance (3 percent) instruction at the elementary school level.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Tim Mikulski

Just before writing this post, I started to think of one teacher who made a significant impact on my life.

As I took a minute to think about it, I realized that there have been many more than one who still resonate with me as I veer closer to my 40′s than to my elementary school days. Although not all of them are arts-related, many of them are.

Going back to elementary school chorus, I can remember the excitement and pride I felt being selected for our fourth/fifth-grade mini-chorus. The eight of us practiced and practiced with Mrs. Hitchens during lunch for three weeks before singing a Russian folk song for our winter show.

I later joined our newspaper club, and Mrs. Carlin sparked my journalistic instincts as I conducted a few hard-hitting interviews with my classmates about leaving our school and going to the middle school.

In middle school, I can still remember playing 60′s folk music on guitar with music teacher Mrs. Meiss (I wish I had a video of us playing “Bad Bad Leroy Brown.”).  Read the rest of this entry »

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Sunoco volunteers helped paint three panels of a 42-panel mural as part of Philadelphia’s “This We Believe” city-wide mural project.

If I had to come up with a theme for the month of April, it would be the role of the arts in enhancing communities.

I spent time in Washington, DC, at our National Arts Advocacy Day on April 4-5, and then followed that with a trip to Philadelphia to attend the Council on Foundations annual conference and the U.S. Chamber’s Corporate Community Investment conference.

At all three of these events, arts and business leaders spoke about the important role the arts play in building strong and vibrant communities which leads to numerous benefits including attracting and retaining a strong workforce and enhanced civic engagement.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Theresa Cameron

It sure has been a wacky spring for weather across the country.

Several of our local arts agencies have been affected by the tornadoes and floods of the past week. They have been assessing the damage and helping out their communities in any way they can.

Buddy Palmer of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham (AL) reports that they are working to help find artists that may have been displaced but that a weekend arts festival would go on as planned.

Sandra Wolfe, the executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa is happy that none of the arts facilities in the downtown were damaged and she and her staff are okay, but everyone is very shaken.  Read the rest of this entry »

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