Weekly Web Roundup: June 8-12, 2020

Friday, June 12, 2020

As the country continues to reckon with the murder of George Floyd, artists are responding and considering how to create lasting change across the sector and in their cities and towns. And as the COVID crisis continues, our newly launched Arts Agency Action Kit provides research and strategies for arts organizations to make the case for preserving their agency.


Ms. Amina Cooper

How Public Art Programs Can Join the Movement Against Police Brutality, White Supremacy, and Anti-Black Racism

Posted by Ms. Amina Cooper, Jun 10, 2020


Ms. Amina Cooper

On May 25, 2020, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin brutally murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black father accused of issuing a counterfeit $20 bill, while other police officers stood by. This tragedy, following many other recent police-involved shootings of unarmed Black men and women that have been broadcasted and protested nationwide, has sparked renewed and global visibility for the Black Lives Matter movement. This most recent wave of protests has prompted a discussion within the public art field: How can public art respond to the Black Lives Matters movement? Should it? What will we do about the public artwork that is being tagged and damaged during these protests? Public art, at its best, is an authentic reflection of our times and values. Public art should reflect the community around it, and represent the hopes, lives, and aspirations of the people in that community. What we can do as public art policy makers and administrators is uplift those voices in our communities that are calling for justice and equal protection for people of color under the law. It is time to talk about the lack of diversity within our public art commissions, artist selection panels, and our public art workforce. We need to address the elitism with which we dictate to communities which artworks are acceptable, and which persons and cultures are worth affirming with monuments and beautiful objects.

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Deborah Briggs

Business Spotlight: Hotel Leverages Arts to Welcome Community and Social Transformation

Posted by Deborah Briggs, Jun 08, 2020


Deborah Briggs

For over 10 years, The Betsy has been celebrated as one of the world’s great art hotels, known for a unique artist in residence program, high profile exhibitions by globally-known artists, creating and nurturing a place for poetry in Miami, and placing classical music and jazz side-by-side in daily performances by the best and brightest players in all genres. We live in challenging times. We need the arts (and artists) more than ever, but at the moment almost 62% of artists are unemployed. Even when they were working, many were in a struggle to survive. This needs to change, and here’s why: To solve the problems of our world—whether one is thinking macro or micro—we need to include individuals who think in new ways. Keeping the status quo just is not going to work when the stakes are so high. So, our challenge is to continue to advocate for the power of the arts. Even as we recognize that although artists “will always find a way” to do their work, we need to support creative enterprise at the highest levels.

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Introducing the Arts Agency Action Kit: Research, Talking Points, and Messaging Tips to Make Your Case

Monday, June 8, 2020

Americans for the Arts logo

The Arts Agency Action Kit is an additional infrastructure of support for arts organizations, providing a comprehensive resource including up-to-date research, key talking points, and advocacy strategies that can be used to make the case for one’s organization and mitigate a situation of financial distress stemming from the COVID-19 crisis.

Registration Open for Virtual Summer Conferences

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Registration is now open for the 2020 Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference! This newly virtual convening, happening June 23-25 from the comfort of your home, is the chance for arts leaders across the country to gather virtually and better understand the current health crisis, how we are responding to it, and how the arts field can move toward recovery. 


Randy Cohen

10 Reasons to Invest in Your Local Arts Agency During a Crisis

Posted by Randy Cohen, May 26, 2020


Randy Cohen

Cities are in trouble. A new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities—The Economy and Cities: What America’s Local Leaders are Seeing—shows that effectively every city, county, and town in America is expecting a budget shortfall this year. “[The] coronavirus will have a staggering impact on municipal employment,” notes the report, with about half expecting layoffs or furloughs. Depending on population size, 50% to 75% of municipalities will cut public services—and more than half expect that to include police. With cities facing their most severe budget headwinds in generations, every sector of government can expect to be scrutinized to gauge impact on the community, including the nation’s 4,500 local arts agencies (LAAs)—arts councils, arts commissions, cultural affairs departments that lead, cultivate, and support an environment in which arts and culture can thrive. They ensure vibrant and accessible arts experiences for all. LAAs are an essential tool for local leaders as they work to rebuild their economy and promote social cohesion in the wake of COVID-19. Here are 10 reasons why investing in LAAs benefits everyone.

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Ms. Jill Robinson

Inspired by Recovery Efforts

Posted by Ms. Jill Robinson, May 22, 2020


Ms. Jill Robinson

Arts and culture chief executives from the around the world are digging in, planning for recovery through the COVID-19 crisis. From what I’ve seen of the efforts of the 75 executives I’ve worked with over the past month as the impact of the crisis on our sector has changed, evolved, and grown in its realities, I’ve been inspired. We’ve talked about the people on our teams, and their creative action to support staff and artists and boards. We’ve talked about communities and programs that are responsive: creating specific, practical support for people at this time. I’m hearing about plans that acknowledge the need for safety while also creatively planning potential operations. Create. Creative. Creating. That is us: Creative is what we do. With this background and collective thinking in mind, I offer these recommendations for your thinking now.

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Ms. Pam Korza

Spotlight on 2020 Johnson Fellowship Nominees: Celebrating How Artists Transform Communities

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, May 19, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

We need to celebrate the important work that artists do every day. They imagine creative courses to solve problems. They create welcoming spaces to exercise cultural and civil rights and to challenge the status quo. They orchestrate rituals of spiritual and emotional healing. They configure single words, movements, marks, sounds to make meaning, purpose, and full-on expressions of beauty that remind us of the most fundamental things we humans share. Especially now, as we strategize to ensure that artists are supported and integrated into COVID-19 recovery and reconstruction, we need ready stories of their unique contributions substantiated with the real impacts of their approaches. Beginning with this post, a new ARTSblog series will celebrate the 11 music artists who were the exemplary nominees for the 2020 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. Vastly different in their artistry—from classical orchestral work and blues, gospel, and American roots traditions to punk rock, improvisational, and genre stretching forms—each artist in their own right is advancing community, civic, and social goals.

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Weekly Web Roundup: May 11-15, 2020

Friday, May 15, 2020

This week, we hosted the latest in our Supporting Individual Artists monthly "coffee chat" series on ArtsU, a project supported in part by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; explored the challenges of fundraising amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and extended two online engagement opportunities.


Domhnaill Hernon

Business Spotlight: Engineer Calls for Fusion of Arts and Technology in Human-Centered Design

Posted by Domhnaill Hernon, May 07, 2020


Domhnaill Hernon

I currently lead the art and technology program at Nokia Bell Labs. We call it Experiments in Art and Technology in honor of the seminal bringing together of engineers and artists in the late 60s and 70s within which Bell Labs played a crucial role. So, in my current role, I am a champion of the arts—especially new media art, art that involves emerging technology, and musical composition and performance. I lead our artistic collaborations and projects and act as a “curator” and “matchmaker” bringing together the very different worlds of art and technology. I believe that the arts could be (should be) more transformational in the way they inform more human-centric design. I believe that the arts should be deeply integrated into all companies but especially technology companies. I believe it is critical that the voice of the artist be heard and taken seriously in the context of business and in understanding the role that technology can play in influencing humanity.

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J. Gibran G. Villalobos

Supervision.

Posted by J. Gibran G. Villalobos, May 01, 2020


J. Gibran G. Villalobos

Times have changed. The alarm has been struck, and it is declared that for the next few months we are living in a state of emergency. The alarm will persist in the background for months as we try to make sense of our world. For many, our lives have become paralyzed as we wait for announcements and instruction on how we are to continue working. Others continue their commutes to their jobs, as the essential laborers and custodians of our world. For now, many of us are remotely reporting via digital platforms, supervising the structures of a disordered world through virtual windows. As a curator of public programs, I am tasked with the delicate observation of people—understanding their needs, anticipating their questions, and often regulating their movement. It is in the nature (and definition) of this work that I care for all individuals through their experience in artistic environments. In the midst of this emergency, I have observed how institutions have immediately taken action to facilitate programs. I admire the resilience of the arts sector—its agility and improvisation are often pulled off with success, disproportional to anemic budgets with robust audiences. Yet, I am also dismayed that the arts, once again, confronts a different crisis, an unprecedented crisis.

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Mr. Andrew A. Valdez

Pre-historic Optimism in the Age of Corona

Posted by Mr. Andrew A. Valdez, Apr 29, 2020


Mr. Andrew A. Valdez

I often ask my students what they want to be when they grow up. I wanted to be a paleontologist. I loved dinosaurs and spent hours in my school’s elementary library reading up on every dinosaur book and watching every documentary I could get my hands on. Had I been a child during this pandemic, my ideal scenario would be curled up in my school library with the internet and a treasure trove of dinosaur books at my disposal. However, that’s not feasible for most of my students. In fact, roughly two-thirds of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District students don’t have access to a computer or similar device at home. One third of our families do not have access to reliable high-speed internet. But what is waiting for them—once the district hands out hotspots and computers—is something I wish I had access to at their age. They will have access to each other, a support network of friends and teachers who are eagerly awaiting them. In particular, one teacher who is so excited for the moment they reconnect because he has collected a handful of dinosaur facts he can’t wait to share with them.

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Local Arts Agency Roundtable

Three arts leaders in conversation

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Roundtable discussion
Category: 

Three leaders of local arts agencies from around the country in conversation around the issues that led to their agency being formed, what they're facing in their communities, and what the future holds.


Nikki Kirk


Ami Scherson

Re-envisioning Internships During COVID-19

Posted by Nikki Kirk, Ami Scherson, Apr 23, 2020


Nikki Kirk


Ami Scherson

Amid this COVID-19 pandemic, many arts organizations—as well as those outside the sector—have been working to determine how to offset financial impacts on their organizations. One type of program that finds its head on the chopping block is the internship program. For organizations that provide arts internships for an hourly wage or a seasonal stipend, the expenditure for an intern or an internship program may appear to be an added burden at a time when we must all make difficult choices. At Americans for the Arts, we too have unfortunately had to cut our own Summer and Fall internship program to save on expenditures.While that decision had to be made for the organization, the Equity in Arts Leadership team has been able to reimagine the organization’s 28-year-old Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) internship. We recognized the stress and collective trauma our country—and our world—is experiencing during this time, and determined it was important for our team to focus our internship restructure on a deliberate, community-centered approach. In deciding to move forward with our internship program, we had to ask ourselves many questions regarding the feasibility of continuing this program this year. 

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Kavita Mahoney

Essential in a Different Way

Posted by Kavita Mahoney, Apr 22, 2020


Kavita Mahoney

This is an unprecedented time in our history—one I’m still processing and reacting to as things change every day. I’m reminded how grateful I am to still have a job I love and basic necessities such as food, electricity, and technology (especially to connect with loved ones). This experience also has taught me several important lessons and reminded me why I chose a career in the arts to begin with: creating is essential to mental health and provides an opportunity for human connection. People are rallying around the arts, donating money, collecting data, creating artwork, hosting live performances, and even collecting shared stories and histories around this experience to add to museum collections. It’s no coincidence that people are using the arts to stay connected to each other. The arts have always had a way of bringing people together, and this has been true even before we hit a global pandemic.

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Ms. Aseelah Shareef

Do those values come in my size?

Posted by Ms. Aseelah Shareef, Apr 21, 2020


Ms. Aseelah Shareef

Whether or not we can name them, we all function from a set of values. From when we’re young they get passed down from our caretakers and life experiences. However, as adults we can be more intentional. We are empowered to think about the person we aspire to be and align our values accordingly. Our core values should not be relegated to a page in a shelved binder or a forgotten annual report. Use them as a tool to navigate your leadership as an arts administrator during this pivotal moment in history. While we create new avenues for arts and culture engagement in this changing landscape, our individual and institutional core values will light our paths towards new solutions and new ways of being as arts practitioners, participants, and leaders.

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Weekly Web Roundup: April 13-17, 2020

Friday, April 17, 2020

This week, we invited you to join a virtual roundtable conversation with three local arts agency leaders, made plans for virtual celebrations of the arts, and opened registration for the online version of our National Arts Action Summit—because even a pandemic can’t cancel the need for the arts! 

‘Office Hours with Nina’ on the CARES Act

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Join Nina Ozlu Tunceli on a drop-in basis on Zoom Monday through Friday between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET to ask questions—whether broad or specific to your situation—about funding opportunities and deadlines related to the $3.2 trillion federal aid package.

Americans for the Arts Hosts Webinar on the CARES Act

Friday, April 10, 2020

On April 8, 2020, Americans for the Arts hosted a webinar titled “How the CARES Act Supports the Arts Sector” to discuss the recent COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress at the end of March. Americans for the Arts Government Affairs staff and valued guest speakers discussed the various pieces of the legislation that pertained to the arts sector.


Ms. Tamaira Sandifer

Raising the Roof: How the Arts Can Lift Up Communities and Rebuild the Economy in the Post COVID-19 Era

Posted by Ms. Tamaira Sandifer, Apr 09, 2020


Ms. Tamaira Sandifer

COVID-19 has heightened the stress levels in lower-income families and put people in extreme survival mode. If you’re not on the top of the socioeconomic ladder, this is a very scary time with lots of uncertainties. Removing vital systems of support like school and community programs throws people into a fear-filled tailspin. We started doing a lot of arts integration work back in 2007 with a couple of different school districts, and we found that because of the shift in budgets teachers began teaching P.E. To support them, we build a hip-hop dance-inspired, web-based learning platform called PassToClass.com. Because of COVID-19, we offered free access to PassToClass.com to all our school partners as a fitness and creative expression resource for distance learning. We need to expand access as much as possible right now. Partnering with creative nonprofits that have tight community ties and boots on the ground means our under-resourced communities get the information and resources they need to stay safe.

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Weekly Web Roundup: March 30-April 3, 2020

Friday, April 3, 2020

This week, we explored the CARES Act stimulus relief package and which parts of the law relate to the arts and culture sector, creative pricing strategies for artists (becoming ever more important in the current economy), and a new resource to help artists and municipal governments partner on community-minded projects. 

COVID-19 Update for Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship

Thursday, April 2, 2020

The application deadline for the 2020 Fellowship cohort has been extended until July 5, 2020, and the full-time job eligibility requirement for the program has been waived in order to expand access to those whose employment has been affected by the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Weekly Web Roundup: March 23-27, 2020

Friday, March 27, 2020

This week, all eyes have been on Capitol Hill as Congress proposed, debated, revised, and voted on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which would provide two trillion dollars in relief funds to the nation. As we all work to adjust to this new reality, we’re pleased to share perspectives and ideas to stay connected and creative while social distancing, practical measures to keep your work moving forward, and our annual “top ten” list of reasons to support the arts.

Federal Economic Stimulus Relief Funds Provide Encouraging Support to the Nation’s Community-Based Arts and Culture Organizations Experiencing $3.6 Billion in Devastating Losses

Friday, March 27, 2020

Americans for the Arts
Category: 

The $2 trillion emergency stimulus package that Congress passed this week includes $300 million in economic relief to support nonprofit cultural organizations, museums, libraries, public broadcasting, and state and local arts and humanities agencies, as well as substantial additional economic relief opportunities for independent contractors like "gig economy" workers such as actors, musicians, and artists and nonprofit organizations and small businesses, including those working in the creative economy.


Randy Cohen

10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2020

Posted by Randy Cohen, Mar 23, 2020


Randy Cohen

The effective arts advocate needs to articulate the value of the arts in as many ways as possible—deploying the right case-making tool in the right situation. Consider these “10 Reasons to Support the Arts” as your Swiss army knife for arts advocacy. Like so many sequestered at home during COVID-19, I write this while mindful of our challenging times, and yet inspired by how the arts still have found a way to permeate our lives. I have watched Yo-Yo Ma concerts online, visited the Smithsonian Museum with a click, and joined my neighbors for daily 6 p.m. outdoor singalongs. Even in this difficult environment, the arts are providing personal experiences and promote social cohesion (see tools #2 and #8 on your army knife!). While I am uncertain what we will look like on the other side of this crisis, tool #1 makes me optimistic that when it is time to stop practicing social distancing, it is the arts that will unify us. 

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Weekly Web Roundup: March 16-20, 2020

Friday, March 20, 2020

How do you sum up a week like the one the country has just been through? We at Americans for the Arts hope you and yours are keeping safe and healthy during the coronavirus outbreak. We are working hard to ensure that the arts and culture sector can weather this storm, together, and with appropriate and necessary financial relief from the federal government. Read on for tools you can use in this critical time for the arts.


Meg H. Stanton

Summa Health Connects Patients to Art and its Healing Powers

Posted by Meg H. Stanton, Mar 19, 2020


Meg H. Stanton

Studies show the healing potential of the arts is powerful. It can change a person’s focus and alter a body’s physiology. Research suggests that it can lower blood pressure, improve stress management, curb anxiety and depression, alleviate pain, enhance memory, improve communication, promote wellness and relaxation, and enhance the production of proteins that accelerates healing and minimizes the danger of infection. Recognizing that a patient’s physical health is fundamentally linked to his or her emotional and spiritual well-being, in 2016 Summa Health committed to integrating the healing arts into its renowned patient care by creating a Healing Arts Leadership Council made up of senior hospital staff, benefactors, and community leaders. This Council is dedicated to bringing the healing powers of art and music into the hospital. As Summa is a community hospital, the Healing Arts Council decided early on that all artwork displayed would feature artists with a connection to Ohio, and predominantly Northeast Ohio. In addition, all art would be original, with the goal of engaging viewers with the pieces, and focusing their attention on the artworks’ unique qualities. 

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Funder? Here are 7 Things You Can Do To Support Your Arts Community

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

During this unprecedented time of crisis in our nation’s cultural, educational, economic and healthy well-being, Americans for the Arts calls on our nation’s public and private sector grantmakers and individual philanthropists in the arts to help respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the infrastructure of our nonprofit cultural organizations and artists.

Americans for the Arts Cancels Annual National Arts Action Summit Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Friday, March 13, 2020

Americans for the Arts
Category: 

Americans for the Arts has announced that in alignment with COVID-19 health recommendations and warnings issued by the Washington, DC, government, it has made the decision to cancel the National Arts Action Summit and postpone the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy, which were set to take place March 30-31 in Washington, DC. The annual advocacy event and lecture were in their 33rd year.

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