Being a member of Americans for the Arts is a valuable asset because it is the only advocacy organization in the country that is championing a diverse portfolio of cultural issues and initiatives to ensure that all Americans connect to the arts in a meaningful way. In the areas of arts education, the critical role the arts play in community development, as well as health and wellness with a great focus on well being of our military, and public support for the arts.

Mid-America Arts Alliance wanted to take action to empower artists to continue their strong role in the ecology of the creative economy. So they decided to do something new: train artists as entrepreneurs. To this end, Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) has entered into a partnership that invests more fully in the lives of the artists who work in their region providing a cutting-edge professional development for artists across six states.

“Art amplifies what landscape quietly asserts” - Max Garland, Wisconsin poet laureate, 2014

It's so easy to only think "in the bubble" - of a specific community, specific experiences, or specific issues. Being part of Americans for the Arts opens the door to a myriad of new thoughts, ideas, and colleagues. The staff is even available to come to you; my organization Arts Services Initiative of Western New York brought Jay Dick to Buffalo to do advocacy training for our area's cultural leaders.

Americans for the Arts and I share a common vision: we both see arts as the solution. The value of art in our everyday lives is what brought me to my job as Marketing and PR Coordinator at Silk Road Rising, where I was a patron before I was an employee.

Dr. Seuss penned some of the best-selling children’s books of all time. So when his original artwork was scheduled to go on exhibit at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL) in Abilene, Texas in 2012, the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council jumped on the opportunity to capitalize on the artist’s popularity.

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