Through March 11, 2019, Americans for the Arts is accepting nominations of community arts leaders for one of seven 2019 Annual Leadership Awards. These awards recognize the achievements of individuals, organizations, or programs committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

Vans and Americans for the Arts envision a country where every child has access to—and takes part in—high quality learning experiences in the arts, both in school and in the community. As such, the two organizations partnered to create the Custom Culture Grant to promote awareness and support arts education in public schools at a time when budget cuts threaten arts education programs across the country.

Americans for the Arts president and CEO Robert L. Lynch issued a statement in response to Elisabeth P. “Betsy” DeVos’s confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education. 

Americans for the Arts wants our members to elect art professionals from the field to serve on one of four network advisory councils: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and Public Art. Voting closes November 16, 2018 at 5:00 pm (ET).

Americans for the Arts reported that more than 800 celebrations were held in communities across the nation for the 8th annual National Arts in Education Week, September 9-15 – a significant uptick compared with 428 in 2017. The celebrations ranged from block parties to city hall meetings to online visibility campaigns. 

Americans for the Arts invites arts professionals from across the country to submit nominations for incoming advisory council members to advise on programs and services in the fields of Arts Education, Emerging Leadership, the Private Sector and Public Art. Nominations close Friday, Oct. 5, 2018.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Art Exhibit Program, which has been in operation since 2004, regularly features a rotating collection of visual art created by both American and international students. On May 4, the program debuted an exhibit called “Total Tolerance.” The exhibit includes various photos, paintings, and poetry by winners of the 2018 YoungArts’ National Arts Competition, a yearly competition for young artists ages 15-18.

Americans for the Arts announced today the recipients of the 2018 Americans for the Arts Leadership Awards. Given annually, these awards recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

The U.S. Department of Education announced a new round of grants for the newly-named “Assistance for Arts Education Development & Dissemination” grant program. In total, about $14 million will be awarded to 20-25 grantees, each receiving about $575,000 per year during their 4 year project cycle. 

Called "Tennessee: State of the Arts," the program is an unprecedented public-private partnership to provide school districts statewide the opportunity to apply for funding to improve or develop their music education programs for the 2018-19 school year. 

Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, was a professional musician, economist, and one-time cabinet minister, but his life’s mission was to democratize and universalize music education.

The Blueprint builds on the 2014 Collective Action for Youth Agenda by prioritizing three strategic areas—Visibility and Impact, Funding, and Field-Building—and identifying specific actions for cross-sector advancement of the field. 

More than 28 states have adopted new arts education standards since 2014. The NCCAS report includes a comprehensive list of states that have revised their arts standards and an up-to-date status of other states that are currently working on standards revision. 

Partnering with Oklahoma A+ Schools, Oklahoma Art Education Association, and the Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education, hundreds of arts and arts education advocates came to promote arts education funding on April 11 within the bigger picture of the Oklahoma teacher walkout.

Americans for the Arts today announced its celebration of National Arts in Education Week. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the nation to celebrate the transformative power of the arts in education. 

Dr. Catterall built his career on the inquiry of creativity and produced pervasive works that fueled the advancement of arts and arts education friendly policies in the United States and around the world. Americans for the Arts wishes to dedicate the upcoming National Arts in Education Week celebration in his honor. 

Americans for the Arts believes in the transformative power of the arts in education and is committed to advancing policies which ensure equitable access to arts education for America’s learners in numerous ways. National Arts in Education Week is supported by Americans for the Arts on behalf of the field of arts education to bring visibility to the cause, unify stakeholders with a shared message, and provide the tools and resources for local leaders to advance arts education in their communities.

Americans for the Arts, a partner of the Vans Custom Culture program, is proud to announce the finalist high schools selected for the eighth Vans Custom Culture competition. The annual contest challenges students to create unique designs of the shoe company's sneakers.

The popular Twitter chat on arts education returns Tuesday, June 13, on the topic of museum education. The series will continue through 2018 on the second Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, April 25, the National Assessment Governing Board and the National Center for Education Statistics releases results of The Nation's Report Card: 2016 Arts. This report will demonstrate national Grade 8 results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, including findings by demographic subgroups and region. The release event will explore what the data show about student skills and how the availability of resources and opportunities in arts education may shape these skills.

Established in 2005, the Caucus’ aim was and continues to be “to bring focus to the arts and humanities and the positive impact they have on our daily lives.”

Parker, South Dakota’s Parker High School has been named as the grand prize winner of the eighth annual Vans Custom Culture art competition. Vans and their Custom Culture program partners, including Americans for the Arts, awarded $50,000 toward the school’s arts education program. 

Vans invites high school art students throughout the country to join in the eighth annual Vans Custom Culture art competition to embrace youth creativity and support arts education. Starting today, high school art teachers can register their classes to compete for the grand prize of $50,000 towards their art program by creating their most artistic and inventive designs using blank Vans shoes as their canvas.

The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis (A&E) and Wells Fargo Advisors recently announced a continued partnership in the areas of arts and culture. Wells Fargo Advisors donated an unrestricted amount of $50,000 to one of the nation’s oldest united arts funds to expand access to creativity, encourage collaboration between diverse cultural genres, and help build capacity among local arts organizations.

With the goal of artistic literacy for all students in Connecticut, the Connecticut Arts Standards set the guidelines for schools, districts, teachers and communities to develop artistically literate citizens. 

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize career and technical education (CTE) programs that serve high school students.

During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education. We celebrate, we advocate, and we bring attention to our cause.

Noah Scalin, artist and co-founder of Another Limited Rebellion, will be the first ever artist-in-residence at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business during the upcoming 2016–2017 academic year.

On Thursday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m., the "Teachers" episode of PBS's "Craft in America" series will be broadcast as part of PBS's Spotlight Education initiative. "Teachers"—the only arts education related broadcast of the initiative—follows artists including Barbara Teller Ornelas, Lynda Teller Pete, Therman Statom, Mark Mitsuda at Punahou School, and Linda Sikora at Alfred University as they pass on the traditons and techniques of their crafts, highlighting the arts as a fundamental component of an American education.

This round of proposed regulations was designed to provide clarity and support to state education agencies as they design accountability systems, report cards, and state plans. However, as is also evident by the sheer number of public comments, there were several concerning provisions in the proposal.