ARTSblog

Week after week, story after story is published in newspapers and magazines all across the country. They take different angles, but they all have the same message: an education that includes the arts produces workers that companies want to hire.

• The San Diego Business Journal writes that in an age of increasing globalization, jobs that lack elements of creativity will wind up overseas. So while math and science are important, it might be music and art that make the difference between a lay-off and a promotion.
• The Daily Press in Escanaba, MI, published a story this week about China’s shift from a teaching-to-the-test curriculum to one that encourages creativity, just as the United States is doing the opposite. The No Child Left Behind philosophy is not preparing our children for tomorrow’s world.
• Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is driving the point home in speeches on the campaign trail, saying that employers are looking for creative types. Like Richard Florida, Huckabee believes that creatives will make up the American workforce in the future.

So the word is getting out. The idea is catching on. Creative workforce has Buzz. And Buzz is the beginning. Before Paris Hilton was everywhere, she had Buzz in the Manhattan nightlife scene. Before healthcare reform was on every politician’s agenda, Michael Moore’s Sicko had Buzz.

But what do we do now? How do we in the arts harness the creativity Buzz and use it to ensure that every child gets a quality arts education?  At Americans for the Arts, we are working on leveraging the Buzz to get foundations, corporations, and political leaders involved so that No Child Left Behind doesn’t leave the arts behind.  We know you are working on it too. What are you doing with the Buzz?

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Are You Ready?
The fall is typically a busy time for hiring-are you ready? Even if you aren’t actively looking for a new position right now, it never hurts to stay on top of what’s happening in the field. 

Take advantage of all the services our new and improved Job Bank has to offer:

• Register as a Job Seeker on our site
• Update your resume every year and every time you change jobs
• Post your resume so that employers can easily find you
• Create Job Agents so jobs can be e-mailed to you daily

10 Steps for Success
Keep your application at the top of the stack! By following these 10 simple guidelines, you’ll be sure to have a better chance of having your resume read and considered.

1.  Double and triple check your resume for spelling and grammatical errors.
2.  Create a professional e-mail address for your search.
3.  Pay close attention to the instructions from the job listing.
4.  Never send a resume without a cover letter.
5.  Do your research on the organization and the position.
6.  Address your cover letter to a specific person (e.g., a hiring manager or executive director).
7.  Customize your letter and resume to each job.
8.  Do not pester their office with status check e-mails and phone calls.
9.  Compare your skills/knowledge/experience with the job posting requirements.
10. Keep track of where you have applied, with whom you’ve spoken, and what actions have been taken.

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Americans for the Arts new Job Bank has been booming since it was launched June 20. Our special introductory rates for members will expire at the end of September, so don’t let this be a missed opportunity! If the rates are not enough to make you visit, maybe this will:

• Every job posting has an average of 150 click-throughs.
• Job searching is FREE for EVERYONE!
• We have over 550 resumes to browse and over 800 registered job seekers on our site.
• Sign up for resume or job listing e-mails delivered daily to your inbox .

Not a member? Visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/Membership to choose the membership that best fits your needs.  E-mail JobBank@artsusa.org for further assistance.

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Have you been wondering how you’ll get that extra help you need this fall?  Did you know that part of the new services provided in Americans for the Arts Job Bank allow you to post an internship posting for free?
We already have over 650 registered job seekers since our new Job Bank was launched in mid-June.  Once you’ve posted your position, you’ll be able to browse through over 450 resumes posted on our website.  And, all postings receive an average of 146 click throughs.
Simply visit http://JobBank.artsusa.org, create an Employer account and get started!  Questions?  E-mail JobBank@artsusa.org.

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Find me a sofa without a picture hanging above it. It might not be original, fine art bought in a white-walled gallery. Most of us choose to hang a framed print of people kissing in Paris, or a reproduction of an Impressionist master picked up as a museum souvenir, or a poster of beer bottles from around the world held in place by thumb tacks. Whatever the medium, whatever the image, we all put something on that blank stretch of wall that runs between the furniture and the ceiling.  What unites all of the different things we put there is that we choose them; we want to hang them there. “I think this one should go above the couch, we say. 

Ask a person why they chose to hang a particular thing in their living room, and they’ll give you an answer that doesn’t take a masters degree in art history.  They like the way it makes them feel. It complements the colors in the room. It’s interesting to look at. It matches the mood of the room. It’s happy.

In other words, without consciousness or recognition, we acknowledge that art has a role in our everyday lives.

Now here’s the question: how can we take this collective assumption, that art belongs in our homes, and use it to redefine how we make the case for the arts? I am by no means suggesting that arts professionals should walk into funders’ offices, and demand operating support because there’s a picture on the wall. What I am suggesting is that we as a culture broadly accept art plays an integral part in our lives. So why do we find it so difficult to translate that into case-making?

A recent Monograph,* based on a research study that was an outcome of the 2006 National Arts Policy Roundtable, asks corporations with a steady history of funding the arts why they think corporate support for the arts is declining. For many of the respondents, it came back to the perception that the arts are not relevant to a company’s business, their goals, their employees, or the communities in which they operate.

But we know that’s not true. The arts are just as relevant to communities, and therefore businesses in those communities, as paintings are to living room walls. Without them, we have a blank spot.

*The April 2007 Monograph, “The Quality and Nature of Corporate Support for the Arts’ A Pilot Study,” is one in a series of in-depth issue papers published by Americans for the Arts throughout the year. Monograph is a benefit of Americans for the Arts professional membership at the Standard level and above, and is also available for purchase in our Online Store.

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You are the executive director, marketing manager, fundraiser, event planning guru, board and volunteer coordinator, and finance expert. Sound familiar? You are not alone. Well, sort of…

Many arts organizations, particularly those in small communities or rural areas, are run by one person. If not one, a few people. Small staffs are so common in the nonprofit arts that talk of wearing multiple hats has become a cliche. And yet it’s the reality for most of our members. 

It’s easy to feel isolated when you work in a small office, or you are the only arts professional in your town. But that’s where Americans for the Arts comes in. You are part of a national network of people all working toward the same goals. We provide a variety of programs and services just for you.

• Connect with other small organizations like yours through the Rural and Small Communities Peer Group. The peer group meets annually at our convention, and throughout the year on a listserv dedicated to your needs.
• Visit our Online Store and browse through books specific to arts in small communities, books that connect you with the field at large, and books to help you brush up on arts management skills they didn’t teach you in school.
• Create a network of people working in the arts in your community. We make it easy to hold a Creative Conversation during October, which is National Arts and Humanities Month, or any time of year.
• Raise awareness in your community about the need for arts education. Get involved in our Art. Ask for More. Campaign, visit our Online Resource Center for arts in public schools, and learn how No Child Left Behind might affect arts in your schools.
• Take advantage of free information resources, including Creative Industries Reports available online for every state legislative district in the country, and ArtsMarketing.org, a virtual clearinghouse for all things related to marketing the arts.

And don’t forget: you are much bigger than the size of your staff or the number of people in your town. You have a voice on the national level. And the work you are doing advances the arts for all Americans.

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We are pleased to announce our new and expanded employment resource: Americans for the Arts Job Bank. 

You have told us that you are concerned about who will be the next generation of leaders in our field. We hope this service will facilitate your search and become a one-stop shop to help you get connected to top arts employers and job seekers, including new leaders in the field all across America. Our strength is in our numbers-about 60,000 visits to our website per month-which will only increase your visibility.

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I am a new Americans for the Arts Action Fund member, now what?

On behalf of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, welcome and we appreciate your support.  Within 4-6 weeks of joining, you will receive in the mail a Welcome packet including your personalized membership card and unique membership ID#.  You can begin to take advantage of your Arts Action Fund benefits including: Read the rest of this entry »

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Exciting news from our Government and Public Affairs Department…

Yesterday afternoon the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $35 million increase for the NEA for its FY 2008 spending bill. 

If this funding level is maintained by the Senate and signed into law by President Bush, it will represent the largest increase in NEA history. The agency, currently funded at $124.4 million has only seen increases of under 3% for the last several years.

In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) invited Americans for the Arts to organize a high profile panel of witnesses to testify at a congressional hearing “Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation,” in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day on March 13, 2007. This was the first hearing in over 12 years held on the importance of investing in the arts.

We want to extend a special thanks to all of Americans for the Arts grassroots activists for your letters and calls to Congress.  It’s working!

Continue to help the arts by becoming a member of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund  today!

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Some of you may have noticed an email Americans for the Arts sent our a while ago about “The Members Project,” a new intiative being launched by American Express.  Well, if you are like me, the e-mail may not have registered with you. Now that the project’s Web site is active and the initiative is underway, I wanted to bring it to your attention because I think it is pretty cool and innovative.  Basically, American Express has combined an array of components – social networking sites, reality TV shows with public voting (like American Idol), growing public interest in philanthropy and voluntarism – into a single initiative. Here’s how it works: American Express cardmembers register to participate and recommend or nominate project ideas – new programs or initiatives that will make the world (or their community) a better place. Cardmembers have a few weeks to nominate, as well as to review ideas posted by others. Read the rest of this entry »

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MEMBERSHIPS
Did you ever wonder why you received something in the mail marked as Arts Action Fund when you are already a member of Americans for the Arts? Or receive a renewal notice from Americans for the Arts when you thought you had already renewed? The membership team is here to explain the difference between the two memberships. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to the launch of ArtsBlog and ArtCast.  ArtsBlog is the blog of Americans for the Arts and will feature posts by various staff members of Americans for the Arts as well as outside experts.  It is our hope that ArtsBlog will be a source of valued information and a home for important discussions.  Comments and questions on ArtsBlog are both welcomed and encouraged.

ArtCast is a monthly podcast produced by Americans for the Arts featuring Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO. To listen to ArtCast, click the play button below.

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