Now is the time to preorder study publications detailing results of  the fifth national Arts Economic & Prosperity study, with data from 341 partners across the country to share with stakeholders in your community, including mayors, board members, business and community leaders and other elected officials.

Sure, Broadway and Hollywood employ lots of creative people. But when it comes to artistic and cultural work, not all the action is on the coasts. New data show arts and culture account for a larger share of jobs in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado than they do nationally. For the first time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis has produced statistics spotlighting the economic impact of arts and cultural activities in each state and the District of Columbia.

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.

To kick off National Arts Advocacy Day on Tuesday, March 21, Americans for the Arts sent a message in three frequently read newspapers to legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill about the importance of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Americans for the Arts today announces a schedule of events for its Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy and Arts Advocacy Day, as part of the National Arts Action Summit held March 20-21, 2017. Now in their 30th year, the events are presented by Americans for the Arts with 88 national organizational partners representing arts, culture, business, civic, and education institutions and individuals nationwide. This annual series of events is particularly important with recent news that the Trump Administration’s proposed FY2018 budget shows eliminating funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and other federal cultural agencies.

Americans for the Arts releases a statement about the importance of artists and creative workers being able to acquire and maintain affordable healthcare insurance at a time when Congress is working to “repeal and replace” portions of ACA.

Americans for the Arts releases a statement in response to the executive order signed by President Trump that denies entrance into the U.S. by immigrant and non-immigrant visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Americans for the Arts is pleased to release a new guide, Arts Deployed: An Action Guide for Community Arts & Military Programming, for local arts organizations and artists interested in bringing creative arts programming to military and Veteran communities, their caregivers, and families. Arts Deployed honors the highly effective and robust arts and military programs that exist all across the country and seeks to help close a critical gap, as the demand for these services far exceeds their number. 

The Heritage Foundation formulated a number of arguments against the NEA decades ago. These arguments are listed below with corresponding rebuttals.

Americans for the Arts knows that engaging business employees through volunteerism and the arts is key to fostering a desirable work environment, increasing efficiency and morale, and doing good in the community. We're pleased to announce the release of our fourth workbook in a series dedicated to helping nonprofits start arts-based employee volunteer and engagement programs, focused on Berea College's AIR Institute arts incubator program.

Today's The Hill newspaper carried a disturbing but not unexpected article related to funding for the arts in the incoming administration. The article said that policy advisors to the President are calling for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

From the beginning, the goal of the NAMP program has been to connect, strengthen, and advance our nation’s growing community of arts marketers. The new website provides arts marketers with an improved and dynamic digital space to grow and connect in their community, with four distinct spaces to get smarter, get together, get involved, and get inspired. 

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.

As Congress and the Trump Administration prepare the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2018, Americans for the Arts is working to remind our elected officials about the economic importance of federal funding for the arts, specifically through the National Endowment for the Arts. This morning, ads appeared in the New York Post and The Hill newspapers with the bold headline “The Arts Put America to Work.”

Americans for the Arts and the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) announced today that Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds was awarded the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership at the NLGA’s Annual Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The annual award honors a public official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level.

Mirren joined a panel of witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittees joint hearing June 7 to discuss recently introduced legislation that could provide a new avenue to aid in the recovery of stolen or looted Nazi-era artwork.

Americans for the Arts wants you to elect art professionals from the field to serve on one of four network advisory councils: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and

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. 

Turnaround Arts and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announce a national partnership to support arts-integrated learning in early childhood classrooms across the country. Through in-class services for young children, ongoing training for educators, and resource development for the early childhood community at-large, the two organizations will work together to use the arts as a tool to improve student outcomes and school culture.

On Wednesday, August 12, the Des Moines Register published an op-ed by John Pappajohn titled "The Arts Mean Business in Iowa." The op-ed comes several days ahead of the Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus, held on August 14 and co-hosted with the Iowa Arts Council, Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, BRAVO Greater Des Moines, NAMM, and the United States Conference of Mayors. 

On Friday, August 14, 2015, more than 170 of Iowa’s top arts and culture leaders will gather for the Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the State Historical Building of Iowa, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines. The event is free to attend, and open to media. 

This month, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed SF 510, which directs the Iowa Department of Education to fund at least a 0.5 Fine Arts consultant position. Cut to 0.23 a year ago, the position is restored to its original status. It also means that Iowa Code now mandates this position, and the law directs that the position be funded on an annual basis.

In the first installment of the pARTnership Movement essay series, Americans for the Arts highlighted Des Moines as a key example of a community that has profited from partnering with the arts. The essay examines how local Iowa companies are integrating arts and culture into both the workplace and the greater Des Moines community to attract and retain talented employees, siting examples of organizations such as Kemin Industries and Principal Financial Group, Inc.

On May 23rd and 24th 2015, the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra capped its season with the second iteration of Symphony in Sculpture—a musical tour of the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park—which featured six new movements by Emmy Award-winning composer Steve Heitzeg.

Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced 12 finalist cities in the running to receive up to $1 million each as part of the Public Art Challenge, a new program aimed at supporting temporary public art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity, and enrich the vibrancy of cities. Americans for the Arts president and CEO Robert L. Lynch applauds Bloomberg Philanthropies and comments on the news. 

Register today for the 2015 Annual Convention, taking place June 12–14, 2015 in Chicago!

The conference will take place at the Chicago Sheraton, with more than 40 breakouts, three keynotes, three preconferences, two Workshop Intensives, a dozen ARTventure Tours, and an opening reception at the Museum of Contemporary Art! 

In September, we held a call for nominations for our Network Councils. Now it's time for you, our members, to cast your vote to determine which nominees will be elected to the following four Americans for the Arts' Network Councils.