ARTSblog

Since Americans for the Arts started the Creative Conversations program in 2004, in response to the feedback and initiative of the Emerging Leaders Council, the program has grown to serve over 50 communities and about 2000 individuals each year. Through Creative Conversations, we have witnessed the creation of strong local emerging leaders networks that still exist today, observed communities start a cultural or strategic planning process, and helped unify groups of people engaged in arts and culture to help spark dialogue, spur advocacy efforts, and create networking opportunities.

While the Creative Conversations program was initially created by and for the Emerging Leaders Network, we have seen and welcomed interest in the program from other networks and individuals as well. Having the structure of a national movement connected to a community’s grassroots initiatives can provide a framework and timeline for enacting a new project or bringing different groups of people together around a single issue.

This year, we are officially expanding the Creative Conversations program to invite and encourage individuals, organizations, and networks of all types to host an event, and engage their community around a cultural topic or issue that is of importance to them locally. You can view ideas for previous Creative Conversations here. Read the rest of this entry »

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Kate Marquez

There is no question the arts are essential to build community in dynamic, lasting ways. However, arts organizations are constantly defending this concept. Unfortunately, in today’s economic climate it seems the best way to keep the arts alive is to attach monetary terms to their worth.

Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) has found there is more to gain than lose by venturing down this avenue and building lasting partnerships with businesses, for the sake of preserving art and supporting artists and musicians.

When local government funding was no longer available, due to budget cuts, SAACA turned to the business community to collaborate on events and programs. SAACA began to build arts-related partnerships, creating benefits for all parties that continue to unfold and grow.  Read the rest of this entry »

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In a fun, new video Americans for the Arts talk about the diversity and breadth of the annual convention programming and schedule from great session options and dynamic speakers to special events in Baltimore. To find out more about the convention go to http://convention.artsusa.org

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Last week, Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., of Charleston, SC, delivered the 23rd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, focusing on the art of city design and the role mayors can play in transforming their cities into dynamic and more livable cultural communities. For those who were not able to attend the lecture, you can download or listen to it here. In addition, Americans for the Art was lucky enough to be able to interview Mayor Riley backstage before the show and ask him a few questions about the importance of the arts in cities and advocating for the arts on the local, state, and national level.

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People have been asking, “What’s the difference between Americans for the Arts Annual Convention and the Half-Century Summit?”  If you watched the video above, you’ll know that they’re the same thing only this year, there’s so much more to offer.  Find out more about Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit at http://convention.artsusa.org, and to create an animated video like the one above, go to http://www.xtranormal.com.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:14 — 3.9MB)

Bob Lynch, President & CEO of Americans, discusses the recent arts advocacy work of the artists from the movie “Me and Orson Welles.” The stars and director not only participated in a panel discussion on arts education for the movie’s premiere in Georgetown, but also spent a day on Capitol Hill talking to legislators about the importance of the arts and arts education.

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Recently, Maryo Gard Ewell was visiting our Washington, DC offices speaking with the Americans for the Arts staff about the early history of the community arts movement in this country. Maryo shared a quote that I really connected to as I’ve been thinking about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the arts infrastructure in America and Americans for the Arts 50th Anniversary, both being celebrated in 2010. The quote is from singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, who was the keynote speaker at the first National Assembly of Community Arts Agencies (a previous iteration of Americans for the Arts) convention in 1979, and it went something like this,

“You (arts people) can’t be the dance band on the Titanic…you must climb to the crow’s nest and gaze out into the waters ahead. As the eyes and ears of America, we artists and arts activists and arts organizers must help steer the ship of America through the icebergs… so that all of us journey safely to the future.”

The Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit, our 50th Anniversary Convention, will take place from June 25-27, 2010 in Baltimore, MD. Registration has just opened for this unique convening that will both celebrate past success and envision the future of the arts, while also delivering the training, tools, and professional development that you need and expect from our Annual Convention. Eclectic, fun, and funky, Baltimore is the perfect setting for this distinctive convening that will celebrate the past, engage in the present and strategize for the future. Read the rest of this entry »

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This past Sunday, actors, actresses, musicians, and other celebrity artists turned out to show their support for arts education at  P.S. Arts Express Yourself 2009.  This annual event brings out well-known artists such as Jack Black, Lisa Kudrow, and Steve Carell, among others, in an effort to restore arts education programs to all California public schools and to support P.S. Arts programs for students who don’t have access to arts programs in their schools.  While celebrity artists certainly help spotlight the issue of arts education with their advocacy and willingness to speak up for the arts, you don’t have to be famous to be an effective arts advocate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:00 — 3.7MB)

Bob Lynch, President & CEO of Americans for the Arts, discusses the recent National Arts Awards which took place on October 7th in New York City. In this podcast he focuses on the value of honoring partners for the work they do and making sure their advocacy stories gain attention in the media.

Find more information on the 2009 National Arts Awards here.

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It’s that time of year again!  Creative Conversations and National Arts and Humanities Month are right around the corner.  Every October, in honor of National Arts & Humanities Month, Americans for the Arts partners with emerging leaders from across the country to host Creative Conversations—local gatherings and discussions that focus on pertinent topics from arts leadership to arts advocacy.  Last year, more than 1,500 emerging arts leaders participated in 43 locally hosted Creative Conversations throughout the country, and those leaders continue to be engaged at the national level.  In celebration of 2009 being the 5th Anniversary of Creative Conversations, the 10th Anniversary of the Emerging Leader Network and the 50th Anniversary of Americans for the Arts, our goal is to support communities in hosting at least 50 Creative Conversations this year.

Is someone in your community planning to host a Creative Conversation?  Are you considering it?  If so, there are a few easy steps to follow: Read the rest of this entry »

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Every October, we help coordinate the country-wide celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month. Part of the month’s continued success is due to the partnerships forged among arts and other community groups that host exciting events during the month. This year, we are happy to have Art21 as an official partner of NAHM. Art21 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing knowledge of contemporary art, igniting discussion, and inspiring creative thinking by documenting artists at work and in their own words.

As part of NAHM, Art21 invites you to participate in Art21 Access ’09, an international screening initiative of hundreds of public screenings and events for the upcoming fifth season of the Peabody Award-winning television series, Art:21—Art in the Twenty-First Century, this October before its premiere on PBS.

Planning an Art21 Access event is simple and free for all participating venues. You can host your own event in collaboration with your local museum, library, arts council, university, community-based organization, or art space between September 28 and October 30, 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

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For those local to the Washington, DC metro area, tonight, The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts present a free performance featuring hip-hop artists from Argentina, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, and Vietnam on the Millennium Stage, Tuesday, July 28, 2009, at 6:00 PM. As participants in the Cultural Visitors Program, this program provides artists like these with instructive and informative experiences in their discipline, exposing them to the creation and performance of world-class art, and giving them opportunities to develop relationships with U.S. arts professionals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described these programs “as one of the ‘smart power’ elements that are integral to the State Department’s public diplomacy mission to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people of other nations.”

How important do you think cultural exchange is to diplomatic relations between the U.S. and other countries?

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We all know that joint-venture partnerships can yield many benefits. In hopes to spark more creative partnerships, here are some interesting partnership examples formed with arts organizations around the country. Some are likely partnerships between arts organizations; others are “unlikely” partnerships, which sometime can often bring in new audiences.

Success, of course, depends on each partner’s willingness and ability to live up to its part of the bargain.

Public Art In Detroit Benefits Community and High School Students
A dozen or so west side high school students created a mural on a three-story-high exterior wall of a vacant building in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. The project, Detroit Neighborhood Arts Corps, provides high school-aged artists with the opportunity to give back to their communities through the creation of public art. The College of Creative Studies (CCS) project was funded by the Skillman Foundation. This project probably solves two problems, it brings arts education to public schools which may have cut art programs and it brings public art to an under-served community. Read the rest of this entry »

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:24 — 3.1MB)

Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, discusses how awards presentations and special events can better integrate the arts and artists throughout programs. He concentrates on the recent 33rd Annual Arts Awards of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville as a successful example of careful use and placement of the arts within a special event.

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