From December 2 to 8, 2018, the initiative encourages the creative field to join together in communities across the country to promote the sales of the work of local artists, and to promote to all consumers that art—including tickets to events and organization memberships—makes great holiday gifts.

Today, Americans for the Arts unveiled the Arts + Social Impact Explorer, an interactive online tool that draws together more than 1,000 data points on how the arts impact and integrate into 26 different sectors ranging from education and innovation, to health and wellness, immigration, faith and environment. The tool provides quick top-line research, example projects, core research papers, and lists service and partner organizations doing this work, as well as provides printable PDF fact sheets to share with decisionmakers.

Americans for the Arts today announced that the Community Arts Training Institute (CAT Institute) of St. Louis has been awarded the Robert E. Gard Award. The award recognizes and celebrates exemplary work at the intersection of the arts and community life, and was presented this morning at Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention in Denver.

Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch released a statement following the release of the Trump Administration’s proposed FY2019 budget. 

Americans for the Arts today announced its celebration of National Arts in Education Week. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the nation to celebrate the transformative power of the arts in education. 

Nonprofit arts leaders in Springfield, Missouri have always known that arts and culture play a crucial role in the local economy, but now they have hard data to prove it. Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, a new study by Americans for the Arts, reports that Springfield arts and culture nonprofits generate $26.9 million in economic activity annually.

Bob Satnan, communications director for Sedalia School District 200 contributed this op-ed to Sedalia Democrat.

A new national study by Americans for the Arts finds that the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity in 2015—$63.8 billion in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $102.5 billion in event-related spending by their audiences. This activity supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in government revenue. 

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will share her thoughts on the role of the arts in today's political climate in the June 17 keynote plenary session at Americans for the Arts' Annual Convention.

Americans for the Arts president and CEO Robert L. Lynch issued a statement following the signing of the bipartisan agreement. 

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.

A response to start-up culture around the country and in St. Louis, the competition is open to individuals in the 16-county bi-state region with an idea on how to use the arts to address a community need or challenge.

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.”

The Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis (A&E) and Wells Fargo Advisors recently announced a continued partnership in the areas of arts and culture. Wells Fargo Advisors donated an unrestricted amount of $50,000 to one of the nation’s oldest united arts funds to expand access to creativity, encourage collaboration between diverse cultural genres, and help build capacity among local arts organizations.

On Tuesday, November 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a reception and performance at the White House to honor the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award recipients.

The Senate kicked off action this week on bills funding the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) during its consideration of the annual Interior Appropriations bill.

After Missouri’s annual Capitol Christmas tree decorating ceremony on December 8, Missouri Citizens for the Arts delivered 1,006 letters to Governor Jay Nixon asking for increased budget consideration for the Missouri Arts Council (MAC). The organization's initial goal was to drop off 500 letters but quickly surpassed its target as letters poured in from across the state in support of the arts.