Apply for Scholarships to Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Americans for the Arts is pleased to offer a number of full ride and partial reimbursement scholarships to members interested in attending the 2020 Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference in Washington, D.C. Deadline to apply is February 24, 2020.

Americans for the Arts Celebrates Two Decades of Recognition in the Public Art Field

Monday, February 3, 2020

This year Americans for the Arts will both celebrate the work of the public art field through a review of the over 800 PAN Year in Review projects, and take a moment to pause and reflect on the PAN Year in Review program in order to relaunch a more equitable program in 2021.

The Columbus Foundation Awards Grant to Preserve Aminah Robinson’s Home

Restoration project is part of a greater effort to preserve the home as the future site for artist residencies

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

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A $200,000 grant to the Columbus Museum of Art will oversee the restoration project of the home of Columbus-native artist Aminah Robinson, part of a greater effort to preserve Robinson’s home as the future site for artist residencies.


Amber Cullen

10 Ways to Partner with Community Artists in the New Year

Posted by Amber Cullen, Jan 27, 2020


Amber Cullen

In the small city of Akron, Ohio, a group of artists organize as VIBE Collective. We are “a network of Northeast Ohio artists in the intersection of art, culture, and education, who seek to create spaces for community transformation and healing.” Throughout the organizing of our network, a breadth of knowledge arose from us as ones who have worked alongside institutions in partnership. We’ve often been on the receiving end of challenging experiences with businesses and civic and cultural institutions in all forms and sizes, and from those experiences have been able to curate a list of ways to partner with community artists. Our hope is that you will pass this list along to your organizations, colleagues, and staff. Together, we can build a brighter future through the arts.

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Weekly Web Roundup: Jan. 20-24, 2020

Friday, January 24, 2020

This week: Read insight from an arts lawyer who helps clear up the confusing aspect of copyright law for artists, and get inspired by a non-partisan theatre project run out of the back of a pickup truck. Plus, meet our new Membership Manager and find your next dream job on Job Bank!


Luke Blackadar

Copyright and You!

Posted by Luke Blackadar, Jan 23, 2020


Luke Blackadar

As an arts lawyer, I often advise on a variety of copyright issues. Many artists realize copyright law is crucial to protecting the value of their work, but beyond that, the details of how exactly to use copyright gets lost in the shuffle. I’m hopeful this post will clear up some common areas of confusion! Copyright is an intellectual property right, or an intangible, nonphysical right. Put another way, copyright is separate and distinct from the personal property right to a physical work of art. Fortunately, copyright protection is easy to obtain: As soon as you create a work of art, that work is automatically protected by copyright! The key here is that, for your work to be protected by copyright, it must be “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” In other words, your work must be committed to some tangible, perceivable, reproducible form. This “fixation” is required because copyright protects the expression of an idea, not simply the idea itself.

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Weekly Web Roundup: Jan. 13-17, 2020

Friday, January 17, 2020

This week: We announced our 2020 Johnson Fellowship recipient, opened nominations for our Arts + Business Partnership Awards, discussed the importance of copyright for artists, and explored the connection between the arts and your health. Here's what else you may have missed!

Vans Custom Culture returns for 11th year supporting high school art programs

Registration for the 2020 program is open through Friday, Jan. 31

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

High school art students are invited to participate in the eleventh year of Vans Custom Culture, a program that provides high school artists and students a platform to embrace and showcase their creative abilities and the chance to win a grand prize of $75,000 for their school’s art program.

Texas Composer and Jazz Trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe Awarded National Fellowship to Advance Work in Local Communities

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Hannibal Lokumbe, photo by Mark Winslett
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Americans for the Arts announced today that jazz trumpeter and classical composer Hannibal Lokumbe of Bastrop, Texas, has been awarded the 2020 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities, to which he brings his musical talents and humanist approach to engage individuals and communities toward building a more just and liberated society. The $65,000 award will support him in advancing his community-based work during the fellowship year. He will also engage with Americans for the Arts’ constituents during the fellowship year.


Mr. John R. Killacky

Artist Legislator

Posted by Mr. John R. Killacky, Jan 09, 2020


Mr. John R. Killacky

I believe my artistic practice parallels legislative actions. Moving bills from drafting to committee deliberations onto floor votes in both the House and Senate also is an iterative collaborative process informed by myriad voices: stakeholders, advocates, community members, and other legislators, in addition to the governor. Bills constantly evolve and change. Compromise may be the best that can be achieved, given conflicting input, needs, and resources. In politics, as in art, vexing problems are best tackled from multiple perspectives with stakeholders involved. Resiliency and adaptability are also essential for best outcomes in life, art, and politics.

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Mr. Carl A. Swanson

Getting an answer to the question of value

Posted by Mr. Carl A. Swanson, Dec 12, 2019


Mr. Carl A. Swanson

“How do I know my value?” That was a question posed by an artist in a recent workshop around Artists Statements, and if you stop for a moment, the question is profound. On one hand, there is a practical answer, one that we at Springboard for the Arts have been seeking to help artists answer for years. In our Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists curriculum, there is a whole section on pricing your work. You, as the artist, have to know what your target income is from your creative work, what the costs of your materials and labor are, what your overhead costs are. It takes research, and yes, you’ll have to do some math. But that question of value is even more than knowing how to price your work and where it might fit in to your market and economy. The question of value is inherently one about belonging and identity, and about being seen for the work you do.

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Mr. John T. Paradiso

Arts integration brings added value to development

Posted by Mr. John T. Paradiso, Dec 10, 2019


Mr. John T. Paradiso

When I moved to Brentwood, Maryland in 2004, I had no idea it was an arts district. As it turned out, the Gateway Arts District is a two-mile stretch of US Route 1 starting on the border of Washington, DC into Maryland, running through four municipalities (Mount Rainier, Brentwood, North Brentwood, and Hyattsville). Long before I moved here, a group of folks including local artists, community leaders, and elected officials came together to create a vision for future development along Route 1. They knew that these working-class neighborhoods, although overlooked by developers at that time, would someday be appealing. For years the story has only been, “Artists move into a neighborhood and make it attractive, and then the developers come in and move the artists out.” But because of the high concentration of artists located in these neighborhoods for years, the community put its energy towards cultivating “arts-driven economic development” to attract developers that would embrace the artistic community and keep what was so attractive: the arts itself.

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Alicia Ehni

Supporting immigrant artists and building a network of support

Posted by Alicia Ehni, Nov 20, 2019


Alicia Ehni

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), founded in 1971, empowers artists at critical stages of their creative lives. One of the ways NYFA serves our mission is through our Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program (IAP) that has served more than 460 mentees since 2007. A large part of the success of this program is the fostering of communities and networks that enables participants and consultants to connect and collaborate to create more opportunities for artists to showcase their work and push their practice to new levels. A clear example of this is a recent NYFA/New York Live Arts (NYLA) collaboration initiated by Yanira Castro, a Puerto Rican, Bessie Award-winning artist based in Brooklyn, and Martita Abril, a performer, choreographer, teaching artist, and mentor of the IAP Program. With the goal of reflecting on the multiplicity of their experiences, identities, practices, and politics, these artists also speak to what holds them in common: the experience of displacement and disorientation, and the work of communicating/finding/forming community. 

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Opinion: Why Tech-Savvy Cities Need Public Art

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

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Newsweek recently published an opinion article that looks at the role artists could play if they had access to data and tech infrastructure to make cities more liveable: "A smart city should be designed to solve for not just infrastructure needs, but for what kind of city citizens want to live in."


Ms. Kim Bergeron

National Shop Local Artists Week Continues to Spark Commerce Through the Arts

Posted by Ms. Kim Bergeron, Nov 14, 2019


Ms. Kim Bergeron

What started as a small, local celebration of arts and artists in December 2016, and grew to a statewide Louisiana initiative in 2017, is now entering its second year as National Shop Local Artists Week, an arts advocacy event embraced and promoted by Americans for the Arts. Considering that communities understand the importance of “Shop Local” and “Small Business Week,” creative professionals often are overlooked, other than when organizations need donations of time and talents for fundraisers. National Shop Local Artists Week events are designed to broaden awareness of the importance of supporting creatives, advocating for artists of all genres as small businesses, and recognizing arts organizations as instrumental components of the local culture. Consumers are encouraged to personalize their holiday gifting by purchasing visual arts, works by local authors, music recordings and concert tickets, attending performing arts presentations, and supporting local arts organizations and museums via memberships.

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Melinda Sherwood

Four Tips to Help Arts Professionals Save More

Posted by Melinda Sherwood, Nov 04, 2019


Melinda Sherwood

Content presented by the Institute of Financial Wellness for the Arts (IFWA).

As arts professionals, we value the importance of exploration, play, and experimentation—these are vital to the creative process. At the same time, as professionals, we also know that the key to success for any creative venture depends on taking action—and that requires discipline and a plan. Not unsurprisingly, a large number of artists and arts professionals tend to be more impulsive and less strategic when it comes to managing their finances. Some of this is a long-standing cultural misconception—believing (incorrectly) that artistic endeavors ought to be unencumbered by financial realities—and some of this is circumstantial: a lack of access to educational resources or sound financial advice. At The Institute of Financial Wellness for the Arts, we’ve spent a lot of time understanding the unique financial challenges and constraints that arts professionals face. Here are some of the strategies and tips our financial coaches come back to time and time again. 

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Patricia Nugent

From Passion to Business

Posted by Patricia Nugent, Oct 22, 2019


Patricia Nugent

In the past, we saw art as a passion—not a business. But today, with the popularity of online shopping sites like Etsy and the growing number of community arts and craft shows, more and more artists are creating a thriving business from their art. Couple that with more creative outlets for musicians and actors, and it’s no wonder why dynamic arts communities are scattered throughout the country with growing opportunities for artists to become entrepreneurs. To help support and guide artists in Akron, Ohio, Summit Artspace is helping these highly right-brained individuals with the business side of things. In fact, evolving with the needs of the artists, this nonprofit community art center organization is revamping its strategic plan and mission in 2020 to focus on connecting artists and artist-serving organizations to the community and to the resources they need to thrive professionally, creatively, and financially.

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New Study Could Explain Why There Are Fewer Women in Theater Design Roles

Friday, October 11, 2019

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Drawing on 589 responses from female-identifying designers and production personnel, the study found two key obstacles faced by these groups: gender discrimination and lack of support for working parents.


Patricia Nugent

The Stairway to Dance Innovation

Posted by Patricia Nugent, Oct 09, 2019


Patricia Nugent

Sometimes the inspiration for a sensational idea can be as simple as looking out your window and seeing a city on the rise. For Bobby Wesner, co-founder and artistic director of NEOS Dance Theatre, the city of Akron, Ohio, and its upward trajectory served as seed for his highly imaginative concept: “Akron Ascending, an Identity in Dance.” Preparing site-specific works on iconic staircases throughout downtown Akron to develop an ongoing public conversation between artists, dancers, and space was so out-of-the-box inventive, it earned him a win from the Knight Arts Challenge in September 2019. With a prize of $30,000, Wesner plans to turn his idea into reality by hiring dancers, researching interesting and appropriate staircases, and running social media and advertising campaigns to invite the public.

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Cristyn Johnson

Welcome to National Arts & Humanities Month!

Posted by Cristyn Johnson, Oct 01, 2019


Cristyn Johnson

It’s officially October, which means National Arts and Humanities Month has arrived! We’re excited to have you with us for the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the nation. NAHM is coast-to-coast recognition of the importance of arts and culture in the United States. Launched by Americans for the Arts more than 30 years ago as National Arts Week, this celebration began in honor of the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the tremendous work that they have done in every congressional district across the country. In 1993, the week was reestablished as a month-long celebration, and we want you to get involved! We’ve worked hard to make participating in NAHM easy for you. Read on for ways that you can be involved as an individual, an organization, or a community, including joining in our special NAHM events, and for inspiration from communities across the country that are celebrating. 

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A $15 Million Performing Arts Center Dedicated to Immigrants Is Coming to New York City

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor in the snow.
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Located in the Inwood neighborhood, the Immigrants Research and Performing Arts Center will “deliver state-of-the-art cultural space in Northern Manhattan, providing a permanent home to honor the vibrancy and history of immigrant contributions to our cultural fabric.”

Celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month with Americans for the Arts This October

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

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

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Americans for the Arts today announced its October celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month, a coast-to-coast collective celebration of culture in America. During the month-long celebration, Americans for the Arts encourages people to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives. 


McKenzie L Shelton

Public Art, Gentrification, and Annual Convention: A Photo Essay

Posted by McKenzie L Shelton, Sep 17, 2019


McKenzie L Shelton

When I was awarded a Practicing Artist Scholarship to attend this year’s Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in the Twin Cities, I was eager to find myself surrounded by other fervent promoters of the arts in individual localities from around our nation. I did find impassioned people, but I also found that an inner conflict of mine has deepened: As an artist, I’m not sure that I should be involved in this effort to fund and execute public art. This notion has danced in and out of my mind for the last few years, particularly regarding the role of artists and public art on the negative effects of gentrification and the affordable housing crisis. During the conference, I felt the tension between my excitement about increased federal spending on the arts and my skepticism that those monies will be used on careful, conscientious policymaking that allows for neighborhood improvement without giving in to the seemingly ubiquitous phenomenon of displacement. Rather than answers, I have come away with more questions. How is public art involved, whether inadvertently or directly, in the pushing out of low-income residents, minoritized groups, and even artists themselves? And how are artists implicated in this process?

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Wendy Duke

Inclusion and Accessibility for Performers With Disabilities

Posted by Wendy Duke, Sep 16, 2019


Wendy Duke

Many performing arts groups and venues are working towards inclusion of their whole communities—both on-stage and in the audience. Today we’re beginning to see special performances and additional accommodations for audience members with disabilities. This movement towards inclusion can include toned-down lighting, sound, and special effects to accommodate people with autism. It may involve sign language interpreters and captioning devices to assist deaf audience members, or large type or Braille programs and audio descriptions on headphones for a deeper understanding of what is happening on stage for those with vision challenges. But inclusion doesn’t stop at the audience. It includes the stage, as well.

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Edward Karam

Employees Matter: Why Leading Arts Organizations are Embracing Financial Wellness in the Workplace

Posted by Edward Karam, Aug 26, 2019


Edward Karam

Content presented by the Institute of Financial Wellness for the Arts (IFWA).

If you’re an employee of Veterans United Home Loans, one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” on Fortune magazine’s 2019 list, you might be invited to a crawfish boil or a party “welcoming the seventh employee named Emily to a department.” Hilton, the hotel company, provides massage chairs for workers on break. And many companies routinely offer stock bonuses for innovative ideas. But for arts organizations operating on lean budgets, those employee perks are impractical. Young actors, dancers, musicians, and arts staffers have more pressing needs than crawfish boils, and one of the aims of the Institute of Financial Wellness for the Arts (IFWA), launched in 2018 and expanding nationally this year, is to provide advice on handling money to artists of all stripes.

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Vince Lebon

Putting Art in Every Step: A Conversation with Rollie Nation Founder Vince Lebon

Posted by Vince Lebon, Aug 09, 2019


Vince Lebon

When I envisioned Rollie from the very beginning, I aspired to create a brand that was bigger than me, a brand for the people, and designed alongside other creatives to challenge myself and what is the norm in the industry. This allowed us to create our own unique point of view and USP (unique selling proposition). Being a creative business owner, working with other creatives, felt very natural and empowering to me and the value in doing so was immediate. Our first collaboration came two days after launching the brand; it was with the founder of an award-winning design agency who was simply fascinated by the product and brand story. We collaborated despite not having the funds, with the common understanding to create something we were both proud of; we came runners up for Australian Print ad of the year with our first campaign. The lesson here is that there are other currencies than money.

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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. 


Ms. Yolonda Lavender

pay artists.

Posted by Ms. Yolonda Lavender, Jun 07, 2019


Ms. Yolonda Lavender

THEM: “We can’t pay you, but you’ll get lots of exposure!”

ME: “I can’t eat or pay my bills with exposure!”

If I had a nickel for every time the sentiment of exposure as compensation was offered to me as an artist, I probably would not need to be writing this blog post about the importance of compensation for creatives. Too often artists are asked to provide their services in exchange for nothing or for compensation that is not comparable to the time and effort that is required to create and efficiently develop their artistry. Soul Artistry LLC’s goal is to push a new culture and narrative forward that begins to normalize the practice of artists being compensated for their work. Soul Artistry LLC is the company I started in 2012 when I began to understand the importance of artistry professional development and adopting business practices as an artistic entrepreneur. At the beginning of 2019, Soul Artistry LLC launched the pay artists. campaign. The idea for the campaign was birthed from many conversations and experiences that fellow creatives and I had been having very frequently.

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Mr. Mark Golden

Celebrating Creative Life

Posted by Mr. Mark Golden, May 20, 2019


Mr. Mark Golden

I was recently awarded the Champion of Arts Education Award by the Center for Arts Education in New York City. As the owner of a business that relies on artists, I am deeply committed to supporting arts education initiatives. The arts bring so much joy both to adults and children alike, but this rarely translates to encouragement to follow artistic passions. This raises the question: Why do parents do so much to dissuade their children from pursuing an arts career? We celebrate our children’s work on the refrigerator until something happens that begins to make us shudder with fear. When our child comes to us and says, “I think I want to be an artist,” we try to avoid showing our panic right away—knowing that this might just be a passing notion for the day. Then comes a day, as you begin to plan for your college visits, that your son or daughter says to you, “I want to go to an art school,” or they might couch it with, “Yes, I’d like a school that has an art program … and of course a strong biomedical program.” But, whether your child ends up in an art career or related art career, or does get that biomedical engineering degree, what you’ve supported through their school career is an incredible gift. At Golden Artists Colors, we support arts education because having a creative life is a something that will benefit and last an entire lifetime.

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