Arts Intranet

Derrick Ashong - or DNA as he is sometimes known – will give the keynote presentation to the Arts Education Preconference on Thursday, June 24. His presentation will discuss the impact of arts education and the value of the arts in creating social change.

Want to learn more about Derrick?  He spoke with Americans for the Arts staff recently about his arts background and the need for increased arts education in our schools. Take a listen.

I always look forward to Convention, but this is especially interesting because of the host city—Philadelphia. Last year I applied to a several graduate programs in urban planning, urban design, and historic preservation. Among my primary criteria was the opportunity to live in a city that could serve as an interesting urban lab, one that was experiencing a great cultural renaissance and recognized the value of art and culture within their urban infrastructure. It’s no surprise that I spent a good portion of the year highly considering life in Philadelphia.

• Plus 1 for getting early check-in at the hotel after arriving in on the red eye at o' dark thirty.
• Minus 1 for somebody else's dirty sheets in my bed.
• Plus 1 for the extra blanket in the closet that led to the fully clothed nap.
• Minus 1 for sleeping a little longer than expected...oops.
• Plus 1 for the grand entrance to the morning session just as my colleague was describing all the incredible work we do at LA Stage Alliance.
• Minus 1 for us not actually being an arts and business council, or a bva, or a uaf. What is it exactly that we're doing here again?
• Plus 2 for a lady of a certain age getting really excited about their organization having a "myface, or whatever it is that we have, but we've got it now and it's cool. It's great to have interns."
• Plus 1 for ganking ideas from other regions as we consider what our model of an arts and business council might look like in a market as ginormous as ours.
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