It’s the end of the first full day of the conference and my brain is already overflowing with ideas, thoughts, models, best practices gleaned from my colleagues in the field. It’s exhilarating! My one on one conversations with colleagues and the larger sessions I’ve attended have been full of the language of the arts in the 21st century creative economy, community development, community vitality, investment in the arts and arts education, capacity-building, sustainability, creative capital, authentic and unique, hand-made and home-grown. And, as an activist for the arts, I’ve attended sessions and had conversations about hardball advocacy for the arts, political organizing, strategic alliances, and building relationships. Those are also part of the language of the arts in the 21st century. (more…)
Tagged with: AdvocacyArtsPolicy
June 21st, 2008 at 06:24am
Anne Katz
WHYY radio in Philadelphia aired a report earlier this week on the arts and the upcoming Pennsylvania presidential primary. Included in the segment are interviews with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund about the ArtsVote initiative, as well as the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, local host of our annual convention this June.
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Tagged with: AdvocacyPodcastPolicy
April 18th, 2008 at 09:09am
Liz Bartolomeo
“In his impassioned and witty keynote address, Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert Lynch assessed the seemingly grim situation with optimism, pointing out that the arts are a growth economy.” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
Tagged with: AdvocacyPresident-and-CEO
April 17th, 2008 at 12:54pm
admin
Modeling of democratic values and principles in the schools has gone off course, but it is not too late to change direction.
By Merryl Goldberg, Ed.D., Professor of Visual and Performing Arts, California State University San Marcos
If you put a musician in a place where he has to do something different from what he does all the time, then he can do that—but he’s got to think differently in order to do it. He has to use his imagination, be more creative, more innovative; he’s got to take risks….I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that’s where the great art and music happens.
- Miles Davis, Reading Jazz: A gathering of autobiography, reportage, and criticism from 1919 to now
Arts Education is, technically, core to the school curriculum according to federal mandates and certain state mandates. However, it is rarely made accessible to all students despite earnest advocating on the part of dedicated organizations and individuals. Advocates in the arts have developed many compelling arguments defending art’s value within schools. Many of these advocacy efforts focus on art’s impact on “soft skills” such as: children’s self esteem, ability to care, and insight into cultures and ways of communication across cultures. Other efforts focus on art’s more quantifiable impact, such as test scores or better daily attendance. While these efforts have merit they just haven’t made a true impact in terms of changing school policy toward the arts. I suggest a different tact.
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Tagged with: AdvocacyArts-EducationPolicyResearch
March 25th, 2008 at 02:38pm
John Abodeely
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