Arts Intranet

While a presidential election season is the most intense time of political engagement for most citizens, advocates who dedicate themselves to a particular issue or set of issues know that there is seldom a defined starting or stopping point to our work. This is especially true for the arts, which encompass a wide range of policies in addition to federal funding (for example, improving the visa process for foreign guest artists to perform in the U.S., or protecting the ability of musicians to travel across international borders with instruments that contain protected species material). Happily, speaking up for the arts and our many policy concerns is easier to manage thanks to the work of coalitions such as the ad hoc Cultural Advocacy Group, which my organization—the League of American Orchestras—has been a part of for decades.

The most important reason to join or renew your membership with Americans for the Arts is because we can help connect you to our entire member network—more than 6,000 people who work for themselves or for our nearly 1,500 member organizations, covering the entire spectrum of Americans with an interest in advancing the arts. That’s not all we do, though. Here are seven benefits we offer our members that make us your best bet.

If it’s true, as some say, money is the mother’s milk of politics, then I would argue that data, anecdotes and experience are the meat and potatoes of good policy. And since policymakers are driven to do the right thing and want to meet the expectations and needs of their constituents, they will choose the will of their voters over those of special interests whenever they have the data, anecdotes, and experience to back up those decisions. This is especially important when advocating for the arts. Americans for the Arts’ Research Department has made policymakers’ jobs a bit easier by placing a variety of tools and services literally at our fingertips.

President-Elect Trump has said, “…supporting and advocating for appreciation of the arts is important to an informed and aware society. As President, I would take on that role.” Americans for the Arts hopes for a White House and administration that supports the nonprofit arts community, the local and state arts support infrastructures, as well as independent artists and creative entrepreneurs. We will work hard to advance pro-arts policies and strengthen our efforts to transform communities through the arts. It is more important than ever that we use the arts to help the economy, our communities, families and children, and our nation to seek hope, opportunity, and ultimately to come together.

I have been playing a lot of piano lately—my antidote for when I am feeling low, or my energy source for when I am working through challenges. This election season has brought to light challenges in our country, divides that I have always believed the arts can bridge. And so I find myself sitting at the keyboard and playing tunes by artists I admire like Bob Dylan, or trying out some dark Leonard Cohen pieces on guitar, or writing some of my own poetry in order to help me get from one state of mind to another. It also makes me imagine how to better convey the power of the arts during these difficult times as part of the solution for our country, much like my own art does for me.

When the arts are used to connect the work being done on the edge of science, government, and technology, this is how change begins. This is the sense that the first South by South Lawn (SXSL) inspired in many of those who attended. 

Give The Arts Day is a 24-hour giving campaign to bring together arts supporters from all over the country, who support the arts in their communities every day. Help us by supporting Americans for the Arts on Oct. 6, so that Americans for the Arts can continue to support you every day of the year. 

Whether an educator, architect, doctor, volunteer, or accountant, we know the arts have had some impact on you. We know the arts develop certain skills in people that prove essential. We know that those skills lead to successes in work and life. Now is our time as a field to share these stories of impact with decision makers. 

In a recent ad campaign, Wells Fargo implied that students shouldn’t pursue a career in the arts. Americans for the Arts strongly disagrees with this statement. 

California, known for its creative economy among many other things, offers no teacher credentials in dance or theatre. California Dance Education Association has been hard at work on this issue this year, and a bill restoring these credentials is slated to be decided upon by California Gov. Jerry Brown in early September.

I started doing trainings for arts advocates almost a decade ago. At that time, I gave a lot of thought to what advocates need to know in order to start being advocates. I came up with two messages. First: you already know enough to be an effective advocate. And second: carry a little water for all of us.

This July, I was excited to help deliver the Arts Action Fund’s message to both Republican and Democratic audiences through ARTSSPEAK, the public policy forum series that is a core part of our ArtsVote2016 campaign. ARTSSPEAK discussions were centered around the transformative power of the arts on people’s lives, schools, and communities, with the ultimate goal of electing candidates that support doubling arts funding to $1 per capita for the arts. 

Young(er) arts advocate, do you realize that you are powerful? Do you realize that because you took your stand with grace and strength, your community will be changed?

Getting the word out to elected leaders about the inherent and practical value of the arts is critical. As Americans for the Arts has done for the last three political conventions, we will make the case at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia for better policy and support for the arts and arts education in America. 

From tattoos to political candidates to arts education, here are 15 things we heard from the American public in our most recent public opinion survey.

How does the American public feel about the arts? Do they value artistic activities and arts education? We asked these and other questions in one of the largest public opinion studies about the arts ever conducted.

Brad Erickson is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

In 1988, as then Vice-President H. W. Bush was preparing to run for the Presidency, he found himself fending off complaints from within his own party that while he had a firm grip on the complexity of the many issues facing the nation, he lacked an overarching narrative that would tie his policy positions together in a clear and compelling way. His advisors suggested that he borrow Camp David for some time away to collect and articulate his thoughts. "Oh," the Vice-President responded dismissively, "the vision thing."

There is one thing without which Arts Advocacy Day could not happen—State Arts Advocacy Captains!  Though Americans for the Arts’ State Arts Advocacy Captains are instrumental in fighting for the arts year-round, their work is also integral to the success of Arts Advocacy Day each spring.

State Arts Advocacy Captains are the eyes and ears on the ground in each state nationwide, serving to recruit the best and most dedicated advocates from their state to attend Arts Advocacy Day. During the months leading up to Arts Advocacy Day, captains make sure colleagues, artists, university students, and concerned members of their states know the importance of bringing your voice to Capitol Hill to meet with your Members of Congress directly in the fight for arts and arts education.  

Many bemoan the lack of commitment to the arts, but few take the time to learn some key advocacy tips. Advocacy is work and takes commitment AND it can make all the difference in the world.

• First, you have to tell a story.
• Second, the story must be relevant and real.
• Third, connect your story to the person who can commit the dollars or change a policy.

Leadership is a concept that comes to mind these days in the midst of one of the most contentious primary presidential campaigns we have seen in recent memory in the United States. Is what we see on TV real leadership? For the most part, it is not. Leadership combines informed passion in the mind of a strategist able to maximize limited resources to deliver tangible results, while bringing people together. Real leaders seek advice to make sounded decisions and give credit to those sources. An example of real leadership in state-level arts advocacy in the U.S. is the State Arts Action Network (SAAN).

If you were in Washington, DC a few weeks ago, you might have participated in several events surrounding the National Arts Action Summit, now marking its 29^th consecutive year of arts advocacy days on Capitol Hill.

One of those events might have been the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, delivered by John Maeda, designer, technologist, and catalyst behind the national movement to transform STEM to STEAM. He was introduced by co-chair of the Congressional STEAM Caucus, Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR).

How did this duo come together before a crowd of over 1,200 to talk about STEAM on the national stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts—for a lecture about how STEAM makes STEM taste better?

Earlier this month I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, giving a lecture on arts and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Policy. In lieu of standard hotel accommodations, I was offered the chance to stay in John F. Kennedy's senior year suite in Winthrop House—and of course I jumped at it. Sitting down at Kennedy’s desk—complete with an Underwood portable typewriter—I was profoundly moved. I thought of his inspiring words and they resonated with the event and work of the week to come, Arts Advocacy Day, when citizen advocates take to Capitol Hill to make the case for federal support for the arts and arts education.

I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.

John Donne coined the phrase "no man is an island," emphasizing no one is self-sufficient—each of us relies on one another. As arts agencies, arts educators, and arts advocates gathered in the nation’s Capital a few weeks ago for the Arts in Education Symposium: States of Change 2016, the strength and realization of our inter connectivity couldn't have been more evident. Confronting the new landscape of the Every Student Succeeds Act, will require impactful collaborations at the state level, and deep conversations among advocates for the Arts.

Do you remember Where's Waldo? Let's play for a minute. Can you find all the pieces of technology in this picture from the 2016 States of Change Policy Symposium?

In 2008, when I started attending national arts education events, it was rare to see someone using a piece of technology. There were two of us using Twitter at that time, which made for an uninteresting backchannel. The main technology conversation was about social media and if we could use it for professional reasons or for harnessing student learning in the arts. There were many skeptics who saw educational technology as a flash in the pan.

The arts are on an upward trajectory in many places across the United States. This positive path includes states’ adoption of new arts education standards influenced by the National Core Arts Standards model released in 2014 and the flourishing STEAM movement which has STEM proponents and funders acknowledging the natural—dare we say essential—place the arts have in fostering the skills today’s students need to become tomorrow’s innovators. And, federal funding for the arts is more secure than in recent years.

These were some of the takeaways from the recent State Policy Symposium, States of Change which was produced through a partnership with the Arts Education Partnership, Americans for the Arts, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Education Commission of the States.

I love going to meetings and trying to encapsulate what I’ve learned in major threads or realizations.  After considering the wide-ranging presentations and conversations from the Symposium a few weekends ago, I’ve arrived at five salient points.

1. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents huge opportunities for arts education. There is, however, no guarantee that we will be the beneficiaries of those opportunities. First, the regulation process is ongoing as the Department of Education tries to decipher nearly 400 pages of legislation and convert that into practical guidelines. Second, even when those regulations appear, the place of arts education is not ensured. Instead, two rather important phrases need to be understood.

This is the second of four blog posts on Americans for the Arts’ new public opinion survey.

In December 2015, Congress increased the appropriation to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from $146 million to $148 million. That was certainly good news to arts advocates, but was that per capita increase of less than one cent (to $0.46 per capita in 2016) in line with the public’s will—too little, too much? That same month, Americans for the Arts put the question of the government’s role in arts funding to the American public with the following results:

This is the first of four blog posts on Americans for the Arts’ new public opinion survey.

In December 2015, Congress passed the new Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorization, with a provision that includes the arts in the definition of a “well-rounded education.” Arts advocates certainly found something to celebrate with that, but just where does the public stand on the issue? Later that same week, Americans for the Arts conducted a nationwide public opinion survey on the arts and arts education. Findings showed:

With the 2016 arts advocacy season upon us, I’ve updated the popular “Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts.” Changes this year include #3 with the updated BEA/NEA’s new Arts in the GDP data as well as the addition of the public’s support of the arts as part of a well-rounded education (#2).

These are just 10 of many case-making arrows to include in your arts advocacy quiver, but we know there are many more. What is your #11?

Recently, I was in Orlando to re-present the Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors 2016 Public Leadership in the Arts Award to Mayor Buddy Dyer.  I was joined by over 50 local arts organizations to honor the mayor for making the arts a central part of his administration.  Under Mayor Dyer’s leadership, last year Orlando opened its new $500 million, 333,000 square-foot performing arts center.  Additionally, each year, Mayor Dyer commits more than $1.8 million of the city’s budget to local arts organizations and he has expanded the city’s public art program.   This award is part of a series that Americans for the Arts presents along with our various public sector partner organizations over the year to elected officials at every level of government.