In his State of the City address on Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced plans to create 1,500 affordable living spaces and 500 affordable workspaces for artists across the city, according to the New York Times.
In Nashville, a $200 grant to the Nashville nonprofit the Housing Fund will provide housing assistance for artists live/work spaces. The “Make a Mark Program” is funded by the Kresge and Surdna Foundations and will provide financing to artists and creatives to live permanently in Nashville and Davidson County.
Today, the Obama Administration released its FY 2016 budget request to Congress, which includes a proposed $2 million funding increase for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The request also includes substantial tax reform proposals, which could impact charitable giving.
Recently, there has been a lot of positive news for the addition of the Arts to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) educational discussion. What’s most notable is that the STEAM (STEM plus Arts) movement is not only taking hold in pockets throughout the United states, but widely across the country and even internationally.
Last month, First Lady Michelle Obama was recognized by Matthew Lynch, Ed.D. on The Huffington Post Blog for her positively influencing education in 2014.
This morning, Americans for the Arts' and the United States Conference of Mayors presented our three annual awards for public leadership in the arts. Congratulations to The Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, for the State Arts Leadership award; The Honorable Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston, TX, for the Mayors National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more; and The Honorable Donnalee Lozeau, Mayor of Nashua, NH, for the Local Arts Leadership Award for cities with a population of 100,000 or less.
In 2014, South Carolina ratified legislation for the creation of cultural districts, and it was signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley. The legislation authorizes the S.C. Arts Commission to grant official state designation to cultural districts. The goals of this program are the following:
The recently introduced Ohio House Bill 666 would provide Ohio artists an income tax credit on profits that they make from selling their work within a designated arts and entertainment district. “Movies are a form of art … be it the script, be it the act or the entire production,” Stinziano told The Lantern, referencing a tax credit that’s currently in place to incentivize film productions in Ohio.
Speaking today about the need for reauthorization of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated:
"I believe education cannot and should not be boiled down just to reading and math. I believe the arts and history, foreign languages, financial literacy, physical education, and after school enrichment are as important as advanced math and science classes. Those are essentials, not luxuries."
Oklahoma State Representative Jason Dunnington (House District 88) composed an editorial highlighting Oklahoma Arts Day, which was presented by State Arts Action Network member Oklahomans for the Arts and the Oklahoma Arts Day Committee on May 5.
Discussing the public good that the arts provide to the state, Rep. Dunnington also wrote about the arts districts in his community—Paseo Arts District and the Plaza District. He stated, “These areas provide the finest in quality of life and serve as an economic engine for our community.”
Longtime Arts supporter Stan Rosenberg was sworn in today as the President of the Massachusetts Senate. Americans for the Arts wishes to convey our congratulations to the Senator on this great accomplishment.
He has been a constant supporter of the arts and culture over his decades of service to the people of Massachusetts. One of his greatest legislative accomplishments was the passage of the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund that provides a source of funding to arts organizations for capital projects.
On December 30th, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a final rule that helps help flying musicians and the safety of their instruments. It goes into effect on March 6, 2015.
Around Thanksgiving, there was a flurry of congressional activity to attempt to make several key charitable giving tax provisions permanent and remove them from the cycle of expiration and retroactive reinstatement, including the IRA Charitable Rollover and enhanced deductions for donations of land conservation easements and food inventory. That bipartisan and bicameral work fell apart with a Presidential veto threat, but then on December 11, the U.S.
Congress reached agreement on final funding for most federal agencies and programs for the 2015 fiscal year, which started back in October. The U.S. House passed this mega "cromnibus" by a vote of 219-206 on December 11. The U.S. Senate passed it by a vote of 56-40 on December 13. Included in the agreement is $146 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which continues agency funding at current levels through September 2015. This funding level matches the U.S.
The Innovation Collaborative and its national partners have joined together to create the Innovation Collaborative (IC), a new, national organization networking the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities in education to promote innovation thinking for students of all ages. IC focuses on the dissemination of research and effective practices in the intersections of art and design, science, humanities, and engineering, use of technology, and creativity, cognition, and learning in both Pre-K-12 and informal learning settings.
Ingenuity’s "State of the Arts" progress report shows that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have increased arts instruction, staffing, partnerships, and funding during the second year of implementing the CPS Arts Education Plan. The CPS Arts Education Plan and the effort to expand instruction in CPS is a leading goal of the Chicago Cultural Plan, issued by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
American icon, political activist, comedy genius, national medal of arts honoree (Clinton Admin), and Emmy winner (All in the Family) Norman Lear will deliver the 28th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy on March 23, 2015.
In October, Americans for the Arts and The Conference Board collaborated on two events focused on how the arts can advance business and community goals. On October 6, Bob Lynch hosted forty corporate leaders from the Corporate Contributions Council I at his home in Washington, D.C. for a dinner and discussion on arts education policy. We shared with them recent work in arts education including the new National Core Arts Standards.
Americans for the Arts and the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) will be joined by singer-songwriter and arts education activist Ben Folds to launch the new National Core Arts Standards on Monday, October 20.
"Forty-four disasters worldwide caused at least $1-billion in damage last year," said Bob Ottenhoff, Chief Executive of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. He was speaking at a recent conference about developing guidelines for effective disaster philanthropy. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is working with state regulators to develop guidelines for disaster philanthropy.
Groundbreaking television producer, author and social activist Norman Lear will deliver the 28th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 23, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Produced by Americans for the Arts, the Nancy Hanks Lecture provides an opportunity for public discourse at the highest levels on the importance of the arts and culture to our nation’s well-being.
Three weeks ago, the Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) realized they must act on their $25m shortfall for next year; their solution was to cut 231 teachers targeting specific genres of educators like the fine arts. This angered groups of students and business owners (from creative industries like tattoo parlor owners), who went to the BISD board and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to protest in support of a TEA takeover of BISD which would have a better solution than targeting the fine arts teachers.
Arthur Bloom, founder of MusiCorps, and has been chosen as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2014. He will be honored at “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” airing December 7 on the global networks of CNN.
Today, nearly 50 members of the Charitable Giving Coalition, including Americans for the Arts, sent a letter to U.S. House Budget Chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) applauding his recent, public comments about the charitable tax deduction. On average, for nonprofit arts organizations, about a quarter of revenue comes from individual giving.
Following passage of legislation sponsored by Congressional Arts Caucus and STEAM Caucus member Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) in 2010, now each September, the country celebrates “Arts in Education Week.” This year during Arts in Education Week, the STEAM Caucus joined forces with the newly-formed Maker Caucus to brief members, staff, and interested organizations on 3D printing—and what’s happening at the intersection of art and technology in schools.
WASHINGTON– August 20, 2014 – Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announced today that ten state teams would join a three-year pilot program to strengthen arts education by advancing state policy. Announced at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ legislative summit in Minneapolis, the ten states entering the pilot program are:
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Yesterday, July 24, Americans for the Arts and the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) presented Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann with the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership, which honors a public official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level. Lt. Gov. Ellspermann will receive her award at the NLGA’s Annual Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 24.
WASHINGTON – July 24, 2014 – Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, and the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) will present Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann with the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership, which honors a public official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level. Lt. Gov. Ellspermann will receive her award at the NLGA’s Annual Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 24.
The Athens City Council has approved an income tax rate increase of 0.1 percent, which will span for twenty years and will be put in front of voters during this upcoming November’s ballot. The income tax will benefit Athens’ Arts, Parks, and Recreation Department. If passed, it will go into effect on January 1, 2016.
