Americans for the Arts Now Accepting Nominations for Public Leadership in the Arts Awards

Nominating Your Elected Official Advances and Supports the Arts in Your Community

Monday, February 14, 2022

A dark red, fluted glass bowl with black and beige streaks going horizontally through the exterior center, sitting atop a black marble base

Americans for the Arts is now accepting nominations for the Public Leadership in the Arts Awards. These annual awards honor elected officials for their consistent and outstanding support and promotion of the arts as key to advancing equity, uniting communities, preserving culture, and boosting the economy.


Mr. John W. Haworth

Sustaining and Advancing Indigenous Cultures at the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums

Posted by Mr. John W. Haworth, Nov 19, 2021


Mr. John W. Haworth

Over the last couple of years especially, the major national arts service and membership organizations have given greater attention to engaging diverse communities more effectively. Building meaningful dynamic and collaborative relationships with community-based partners informs programming and audience building work. Working effectively with organizations serving diverse communities has become an ever-higher priority for state, regional, and local arts agencies throughout the country. Addressing cultural equity in tangible and effective ways is critically important for all of us, including how arts organizations recruit staff and identify board candidates. With a heightened awareness in our society about these issues during this time of major social and political change, the work of organizations like the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) takes on even greater significance. Becoming more familiar with the work of ATALM (and likewise with similar organizations serving diverse organizations) gives professionals working in local arts agencies both a better understanding of key issues, as well as connections to colleagues in the Native cultural field, to help them address these crucial matters. 

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Los Angeles County Adopts First Of Its Kind Cultural Policy

Monday, June 29, 2020

Los Angeles County Arts and Culture Logo
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The first of its kind in the nation, the new cultural policy provides direction and guidelines for how Los Angeles County and its departments will ensure that every resident of LA County has meaningful access to arts and culture. In its inaugural year of the newly established Department of Arts and Culture, the adoption of the Cultural Policy is another milestone in the County’s support of the arts. 

“Crank It Up,” by Philadelphia-based puppet theatre ensemble Spiral Q, addresses neighborhood change a.k.a. gentrification in West Philadelphia. The project was created in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy as part of their “Civic Practice” program.

Video: Qatar Arts: Major New Projects Despite Blockade

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

M. F. Husain, Arab Astronomy, 2008, Acrylic on canvas, 195 x 235 cm.
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Ambitious new art and cultural projects are opening in Qatar as the country gears up to welcome a flood of visitors for the FIFA World Cup in 2022.The newly opened national museum, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, is a national project which hosts immersive art to provide a space for the past and the future to meet.

Boston Needs to Invest In A New Generation of Artists

Friday, June 14, 2019

Boston Skyline, Image Credit- Lesley Becker/Globe Staff: Adobe
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Research from The Boston Foundation and Barr Foundation has shown that Boston, MA, needs to further prioritize investment in an arts ecosystem in order to elevate new perspectives, encourage diversity, and make communities more inclusive and vibrant in an era of increasing demographic change. 

Americans for the Arts and I share a common vision: we both see arts as the solution. The value of art in our everyday lives is what brought me to my job as Marketing and PR Coordinator at Silk Road Rising, where I was a patron before I was an employee.

Through August 19-21, 2015 the community of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is welcome to participate in an event along North Cache Street, a major roadway connecting downtown Jackson Hole to the country’s National Parks. The event - which will feature interactive art installations, performances and food vendors- will allow members of the community to interact, test, and provide input on public art prototypes proposed for the roadway.

What can the arts do for a community marginalized by blight in the course of five years?

Restore and refurbish historic buildings; spur the sale of redeveloped properties by public and private developers; revitalize the area with engaging works of public art and dynamic urban green spaces; reinvigorate the transportation system; attract locals and visitors to the area with nationally renowned artists and groundbreaking arts programming; encourage mutually beneficial cross sector collaborations; and finally encourage businesses to relocate to the area.

As a member of the Emerging Leaders Council from 2009 to 2012, I had the opportunity to serve my colleagues while reaping the benefits of building and serving a national network, experimenting with new methods of service including audience and content development, event planning and presenting not to mention the requisite commiseration and merry-making. Those three years were transformative.

For 36 years, Childsplay has remained  at the forefront of arts education in Arizona schools—transforming the academic experience for thousands of Arizona students so much so that students have come to recognize the company, its teachings, and shows as part of their traditional academic experiences.

A Public Art Passion Project Reaches its Halfway Point

Thursday, July 5, 2018

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On February 20, 2017, a 51-year-old man named Thomas Leeper set off to complete a public art-centric passion project: covering every linear mile of Detroit on bike, while also photographing and geo-tagging every piece of public art or graffiti he encountered along the way. Almost a year and a half later, Leeper is about at the halfway point, having biked through 2,200 of the 4,000 linear miles of the Detroit streets.

Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston Expands Beyond Its Walls

Friday, July 20, 2018

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The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston, one of the city’s major museums, recently expanded beyond its main gallery in the South Boston Seaport District. The new Watershed building represents a turning point in Boston’s history as East Boston’s first major arts destination.

Americans for the Arts Announces Inaugural Johnson Fellowship

Johnson Fellowship Awarded to Los Angeles-Based Artist and Designer Tanya Aguiñiga

Thursday, January 18, 2018

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Americans for the Arts announces today the inaugural Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. The new annual fellowship celebrates the legacy and work of the late Robert Leroy “Yankee” Johnson. Americans for the Arts also announces that Los Angeles-based artist and designer Tanya Aguiñiga has been selected as the inaugural fellow. 

Americans for the Arts Celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month

Americans Are Encouraged to Explore the Role of Arts in Their Communities

Monday, October 2, 2017

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Americans for the Arts invites all Americans to celebrate October as National Arts and Humanities Month. The month-long celebration is the country’s largest collective celebration of arts and culture. 

ASC Announces First Cultural Vision Grant Recipients

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

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ASC announced the new grant in August 2015 in response to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community’s interest in arts, science, history, and heritage programming, and a desire to experience more community-focused and innovative cultural programs.

Just. One. Book.

A small town in California asks for help bringing school libraries into the 21st century

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

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In Greenville, Calif.—population 1,200—the local junior/senior high school has not been able to purchase new books since the 1990s. But all that is changing, thanks to an online campaign that's gone viral.

Los Angeles Is Hiring a Sound Artist to Help Make its Streets Safer

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

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At a time when the number of pedestrian traffic deaths is increasing as urban residents are encouraged to walk and bike more, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is committing to creativity and innovation by hiring a sound artist to help fix the issue.

New National Study, Options for Community Arts Training & Support, released by Intermedia Arts

In Conjunction with Americans for the Arts

Monday, May 16, 2016

Intermedia Arts, in conjunction with Americans for the Arts / Animating Democracy commissioned this national study of local arts agencies to assess community arts activity and training opportunities.

St. Louis Muralist Aims to Use Art to Rally Support for Syrian Refugees

Thursday, December 3, 2015

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There is nothing like art to bring people together and heal, even in the face of human tragedy on a massive scale.

With more than 4 million Syrians having fled their country to build new lives, local St. Louis artist and muralist Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, wanted to build awareness about the struggles they are facing. "When we look at images of warfare through a screen, it’s very easy to become immune to those images," she says. "I wanted to take the images from the media, take them away from a screen and put them into a real world setting." 

Neil deGrasse Tyson's 'Ask Me Anything' on the Arts

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

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Earlier this year, Reddit announced that its famous Ask Me Anything (AMA) question and answer with the Reddit community and a famous celebrity would be videotaped for Youtube. In their first video, AMA stars Astrophysicists and television host Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is interviewed on his love of the arts. 

Americans for the Arts Celebrates 30th Anniversary of National Arts & Humanities Month

Americans Are Encouraged to Explore the Role of Arts in Their Communities

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Americans for the Arts invites all Americans to celebrate October as National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM). Towns and communities across the country are hosting special events that capture the spirit that the arts and humanities bring to everyday life. 

New Orleans Museums, Artists, and residents reckon with recovery 10 years later

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

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On the 10th anniversary of one of our country's worst natural disasters, New Orleans makes room to process the events of Hurricane Katrina, celebrate what has been accomplished so far, and highlight the rebuilding that still needs to be done. 

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is one of many cultural institutions hosting a special interactive exhibit for visitors and city residents. The basement walls of the museum are covered with neatly printed cards of stories from survivors. 

Americans for the Arts partners with Cultural Data Project to Release Arts & Economic Prosperity 5

This is the fifth in-depth study on the nation's nonprofit arts & culture industry

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Americans for the Arts and Cultural Data Project (CDP) announced Monday a new collaboration between the two organizations as we begin our fifth national economic impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5.

Americans for the Arts Prepares for 2015 Annual Convention in Chicago!

June 12-14 Convention Will Bring Together National and Local Leaders to Address the Impact of the Arts on Our Nation’s Communities

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Americans for the Arts is pleased to be holding its 2015 Annual Convention in Chicago, a diverse city that embraces artists, creators, and innovators. The largest national gathering of arts leaders and their partners in creative business, education, and government, the convention is expected to draw upwards of 1,000 attendees. 

Boston Mayor Announces Details on Pro-Arts & Culture Initiative

Thursday, April 9, 2015

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Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh is making good on a campaign promise to increase focus on culture and the arts in the city. Walsh will reveal details of an 18-month initiative, spearheaded by new chief of arts and culture Julie Burros, which will bring city officials into the streets to meet with artists and cultural professionals. Through the initiative, called “Boston Creates,” information will be collected and analyzed for the city to then formulate a plan of action to address the issues cultural leaders and artists are facing.

UK Parliament Connects Art and History in Interactive Web App

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

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A new medium of creating art is being developed in the United Kingdom with the support of Parliament. “Democracy Street” is a crowdsourced web app accessible by mobile phone that encourages users to visit places that hold important historical significance to Parliament. Through a collection of maps, users will be able to learn about the street or site of significance, and share a story or a photo. Those involved hope the project will result in an exhibition of original artwork and maps by November 2015.

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