On Monday, February 4th, President Bush released his FY 2009 budget request to Congress, which included several drastic cuts proposed for some key arts programs. For FY 2009, President Bush has proposed a $16.3 million cut for the National Endowment for the Arts–from $144.7 million to $128.4 million. For the eighth consecutive year, the President’s budget has eliminated funding for the Department of Education’s Arts in Education programs. Also, the FY 2009 budget request calls for a rescission of $200 million in already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The President’s budget is the first step in the appropriations process. While it serves as an important framework, Congress has the power to set its own priorities and change the funding levels. Visit our E-Advocacy Center to make your voice heard by writing your Member of Congress and urging them to increase funding for arts and culture and restore funding for the arts in education programs. While we have provided you with a customizable letter that you can send on, we recommend that you add your own thoughts and stories about why the arts are important to you and your community. You can also make a difference by joining us in Washington, DC for Arts Advocacy Day 2008, March 31-April 1, 2008, where you can meet with your Members of Congress face-to-face and urge them to support the arts!
No matter what level you join at, all Americans for the Arts members receive discounts of 20-30% on some of the leading publications in the field. These journals are key resources for arts administrators, arts education professionals, public art managers, and artists.
Arts Education Policy Review, published by Heldref Publications Arts Education Policy Review discusses difficult, often controversial, policy issues regarding K-12 education in the arts throughout the nation and the rest of the world. Focusing on education in music, visual arts, theater, dance, and creative writing, the journal encourages varied views and emphasizes analytical exploration. Multiple perspectives make Arts Education Policy Review a key resource for arts educators, administrators, policy analysts, advocacy groups, teachers, parents, audiences, and all those concerned with arts education.
Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, published by Heldref Publications
The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society offers valuable insights into the role of the arts as well as strategies for supporting the arts in a cultural landscape dominated by the global economy and mass media. The journal tackles significant practical and theoretical issues in arts policy, management, marketing, support, intellectual property, law, governance, and cultural production and dissemination. Analysts, sociologists, arts administrators, educators, trustees, artists, lawyers, and concerned citizens will enjoy the articles, commentaries, and reviews of publications.
Public Art Review, published by FORECAST Public Artworks Public Art Review is the only journal focused on exploring the many dimensions of public art. Each issue provides opinion, analysis, criticism and discussion about the nature and trends in public art. Published semi-annually since 1989, our readership includes artists, architects, curators, city planners, students, educators, design professionals, program administrators, community leaders, writers, and more.
This week Iowa caucus goers cast their first votes for President, and primary voters in New Hampshire get their chance on January 8. And like the candidates, the Americans for the Arts Action Fund has been busy building support for the arts and arts education through the ArtsVote initiative. The initiative is dedicated to making sure that the presidential candidates make on-the-record statements in support of the arts and arts education.
On Nov. 29, the Arts Action Fund and ArtsVoteNH hosted a statewide Arts Policy Forum at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH. The event, a first of its kind, allowed New Hampshire voters who support the arts, arts education, cultural diplomacy, and the creative economy to learn about how the presidential candidates support the arts, and hear from and ask questions by campaign representatives. Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of the Arts Action Fund, welcomed the audience at the Arts Policy Forum and provided an overview of the ArtsVote initiative. His remarks are included in the video below. And check back for more video highlights from the Arts Policy Forum.
Americans for the Arts and NonFiction Media presents “Taking Stock: Connecting the Dots”, a video chronicling the Puget Sound Region’s Emerging Arts Leaders’ dynamic series of Creative Conversations.
Ride along as young arts administrators grapple with the shifting landscape of arts funding, advocacy and space use models.
Thrill to the strains of peer networking, collaborative problem solving, and mutual edification!
This film shows what is possible when today’s leaders come together to invent the way forward–rather than waiting to have it shown to them.
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?
