Arts Intranet

It’s hard to believe that another National Arts & Humanities Month has come to a close. We want to thank all of you that helped us celebrate the arts and humanities in October.

Launched more than 30 years ago in honor of the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts, celebrations now take place across the country and range from local proclamations to mayor’s arts awards to Creative Conversations to public art premieres and more.

This year, we set out to learn what you were doing at the local level, and you did not disappoint! Thanks to our new National Arts & Humanities Month Interest Form, and of course social media shout outs, we are able to share some of the amazing things you made happen this month. Here are just a few of the things you shared with us.

Proclamations

Holy proclamations, Batman! We always love to hear about local Arts & Humanities Month proclamations. It’s one of the many ways that you engage with lawmakers at the state and local level. This year you told us about 15 state and local proclamations that were made nationwide, from Rhode Island to Colorado to the Northern Mariana Islands.

In Morristown, New Jersey, the Morris County Board of Freeholders issued a proclamation “recognizing the importance of culture in society and encouraging citizens to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives, and to begin a lifelong participation in the arts.”

#ShowYourArt2019 Instagram Campaign

You really knocked it out of the park on Instagram this year! Thanks to your engagement with the #ShowYourArt2019 31-day Instagram challenge, we were able to reach more than 1 million people with posts showcasing the arts and humanities. More than 500 individuals and organizations participated in this year’s campaign, making it our most successful one yet! And those are just Instagram numbers—we know a lot of you were also using the #ShowYourArt2019 on Facebook and Twitter as well. There were even 11 of you (at least!) that posted something for every day’s theme.

A big shout out to University of Akron Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration, EraAir Theatre Company, Looking for Lilith Theatre Co, Marathon Center for the Performing Arts (Ohio), Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Maryland State Arts Council, UnityArts Ministry, and many others for being among our most frequent participants.

We also saw great participation from folks outside the arts sector. Among others, our thanks to the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation in Denver and City of Alexandria (VA) Vice Mayor Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker for letting everyone know how important the arts are to your work and your lives.

Creative Conversations

Lions and tigers and Creative Conversations? Oh my! This initiative, spearheaded by Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Council, is a way to engage the arts community and beyond in discussion. This year, nearly 30 of these Creative Conversations took place across the country. Check out my previous NAHM blog to read about some of the engaging topics that were covered.

Op-Eds and News Articles

There are too many of these to count! We love when we get notifications about news stories that you’ve contributed to, or press releases that you’ve sent. The Arts & Cultural Council of Hilton Head (SC), Dance Alive National Ballet, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts all sent out press releases announcing their celebrations. We also saw op-eds in Richmond, Virginia and Salt Lake City, Utah.

But wait, there’s more!

In additional to the main National Arts & Humanities Month initiatives, a ton of other events celebrated the arts and humanities in October.  The Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) in Colorado held its sixth annual celebration of NAHM, which highlighted more than 300 creative events and included proclamations in each of the eight communities they serve; Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) held an arts and humanities grants workshop; Kentucky hosted their Governor’s Awards in the Arts event, spotlighting recipients from across the state; and the Plano (TX) Arts Coalition hosted an event, “State of the Arts: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow,” which featured a keynote, panelists, performances, a reception, and more.

So, what now? National Arts & Humanities Month may be over, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop celebrating the arts and humanities in your local community. Attend a performance, participate in a community meal, talk to a lawmaker about your experiences: It doesn’t matter how you celebrate, just that you get involved!