Rena A. Cohen

Adaptation and Reimagination: Engaging Youth in Arts and Social Justice Virtually

Posted by Rena A. Cohen, Jul 30, 2020


Rena A. Cohen

As public health guidelines limited social gatherings and encouraged social distancing, arts education and social justice programs needed to reconsider their traditional in-person activities—creating a collaborative activist mural, for example, or performing an original play—for the safety of their communities. How did they bring together young people in meaningful, socially engaged arts experiences without being together physically? I had the opportunity to speak with representatives from three organizations who have fearlessly navigated the complicated world of re-envisioning onstage performances, keeping students of various ages engaged over Zoom, and creating a sense of community among young people who may have never met in person. In their interviews, each leader explained how their organization has adapted and reimagined programs to engage youth in arts and social justice virtually and offered insight on how your community can do the same.

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Ms. Pam Korza

Spotlight on 2020 Johnson Fellowship Nominees: Music as the Heart of Equitable Neighborhood Development

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, Jul 20, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

This last post in our ARTSblog series featuring nominees for the 2020 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities celebrates Eddy Kwon—musician, educator, program designer, and facilitator of equitable community development. Integrating music as a fundamental component of Price Hill Will, a community development organization in Cincinnati, Kwon’s impacts are many and draw upon their own unique artistry and artistic vision, sustained work in creative youth development, and innovative initiatives in creative citizenship. First, Eddy Kwon is a composer, violinist, jazz musician, and improviser, performing as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and with musicians from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Kwon is equally a community leader who works daily at the intersection of creative youth development, creative citizenship, and equitable community development. 

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Americans for the Arts Mourns the Passing of Representative John Lewis

Sunday, July 19, 2020

“Without the arts, without music, without dance, without drama, without photography, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings.” These were the words the late Representative John Lewis of Georgia shared the many times he addressed crowds of arts advocates of all ages at Americans for the Arts’ annual Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. Americans for the Arts feels deep loss at the passing of Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights hero and a true champion for the arts, and we celebrate the vast contributions he made to our country.

Weekly Web Roundup: July 13-17, 2020

Friday, July 17, 2020

This week: read up on pay equity, community-focused public art, performance art as a catalyst for change, national partnerships that bring about local advocacy, and more. Plus, check out the brand-new Arts Education Action Kit, a free resource that provides tools so that anyone can become an arts education advocate.

NYC’s new Black Lives Matter Mural is More than Art

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Photo: courtesy Justin Garrett Moore
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The process behind the NYC Black Lives Matter (BLM) street mural was just as important as the paint job. While some examples of public art in support of the BLM this summer have been powerful because of their timely reaction to current events, some communities are emphasizing the importance of taking the time to have community input before creating anything and to ensure that those involved with the public art projects are committed to the issue for which the art is seeking to promote.


Mr. Jay H. Dick

National League of Cities Takes Message of Arts, Racial Equity, and Healing to Mayors

Posted by Mr. Jay H. Dick, Jul 15, 2020


Mr. Jay H. Dick

Americans for the Arts partners with a range of associations of elected officials at all levels of government to promote the arts and culture as solutions to cities’ various issues or problems. The National League of Cities (NLC) is one such partner. NLC represents mayors and city council members of approximately 2,000 cities of all sizes in the United States. Recently, the League reached out to Americans for the Arts to write an article on how the arts can help cities through this time of social and civil change and the need for racial equity and healing. We work with NCL and similar organizations to promote arts and culture at the national level in order to get the attention of elected officials, which allows you, the local advocate, to follow up. In other words, the elected official hears our message from their national association (at conferences, through blog posts, and other channels), and then hears it again from their local residents. This two-pronged approach shows the elected official that the arts are indeed a powerful tool and an organized political constituency.

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ArtsPool Services

Pay Equity and the Power of Collective Decision Making

Posted by ArtsPool Services, Jul 14, 2020


ArtsPool Services

Like many organizations, the financial impact of COVID-19 forced us to face tough decisions about salaries and employment. When it became clear that ArtsPool might need to implement pay cuts, our decision-making was aided by the previous investment we made in addressing the inequities of our pay structure. As a result, we were able to have difficult but open conversations as a full team about how to come to an equitable solution that takes into account the needs of the organization, as well as the differing circumstances of each individual. We believe these efforts have positioned us to make better, more equitable decisions as an organization during regular operations as well as during times of crisis. While there is no single model for creating an equitable workplace, we offer our transition story as a conversation starter for other organizations who are interrogating their own staffing structures. 

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Ms. Pam Korza

Spotlight on 2020 Johnson Fellowship Nominees: The Power of Cultural Roots to Ground & Enlighten

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, Jul 14, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

Musical traditions hold a unique power in cultural belonging and identity for the communities and cultures from which they grow. Preservation and performance can be a political act of cultural self-determination, expression, and continuity. The stories, meaning, and sounds embodied by traditional music can gain new power for new audiences and broader communities, when linked to contemporary issues and concerns. The four extraordinary musicians featured in this installment of our blog series celebrating nominees for the 2020 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities draw upon cultural traditions and sometimes stretch and merge them with other forms to embrace a broader holistic view of culture and humanity. These musicians are: Dom Flemons, American roots ambassador; the Reverend John Wilkins, a bearer of blues-influenced gospel of Mississippi hill country; Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, a Black Indian and jazz-rooted genre-blind innovator; and Tiokasin Ghosthorse, master player of the ancient red cedar Lakota flute. 

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Mr. John R. Killacky

Imagining a post-pandemic art world

Posted by Mr. John R. Killacky, Jul 10, 2020


Mr. John R. Killacky

Today, the convergence of COVID-19 closing down public events, along with the explosive outrage with continued police carnage in communities of color, brings us to a similar inflection point as the late 1960s. Once again, a fundamental shift wherein art is stripped of any pretense is emerging. As well, the enormous chasm between aesthetics and inequity must be addressed as systemic racism is dismantled. Perhaps it is a gift that we are currently forced to live in a continuous present, with no past, and no future, just now. Artists and organizations are re-examining their practices. Art can no longer be treated solely as a transactional product, with audience as consumers. What is important now is how culture can be essential in our communities. We are in this liminal moment imagining a post-pandemic art world. The opportunity in this crisis will be lost, if in hindsight we simply rush to put everything back together the way it was.

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Nine Black Artists And Cultural Leaders On Seeing And Being Seen

Thursday, July 2, 2020

my Sherald’s “Precious Jewels by the Sea” (2019).Credit...© Amy Sherald. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth
Category: 

Interviews with nine black artists and cultural leaders, described by The New York Times Style Magazine as being "a voice of this moment," discuss their work and personal experiences about being black, and creating and showcasing their art in America. Amy Sherald, Michael R. Jackson, and others discuss the challenges and opportunities of cultivating black audiences and dismantling historically white institutions through their art. 


Ms. Pam Korza

Spotlight on 2020 Johnson Fellowship Nominees: Creating Space(s) to Activate Artistic and Cultural Movements

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, Jun 30, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

Venus De Mars and Luke Stewart are among the 11 exemplary music artist nominees for Americans for the Arts’ 2020 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities featured in our ongoing ARTSblog series. At different career stages, these artist-activists may be considered by some on the musical fringes. What they hold in common is a steady and deliberate dedication to bringing their communities out of the margins and advancing and improving conditions for them to thrive. As a punk rock singer-songwriter and transgender woman, Venus’ performances, speaking, and compassionate presence have created spaces of affirmation and communion for transgender people and fostered openness and understanding among audiences across the gender spectrum. Luke moves effortlessly between artist communities in jazz, DIY punk rock, and, most of all, improvised music. He uses his improvisation skills to be alert to and advance conditions that will allow musicians across these genres to create, perform, and learn from one another, while expanding appreciation and audiences for their work.

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Dr. Jonathan Katz

Leadership Success in a Crisis Environment: Leadership Roles and Goals

Posted by Dr. Jonathan Katz, Jun 22, 2020


Dr. Jonathan Katz

What should artistic and cultural leaders aspire to exemplify and accomplish in a time of crisis? Some crises are caused by an operational problem that approaches or passes a point where the survival of the enterprise is at risk. Other crises may impact before their cause is readily understood, with such impact or with such complexity that a leader must act before optimal information can be gathered. Let us focus on a third kind of crisis: one caused by a ubiquitous challenge that imperils the value in many kinds of transactions and organizations, threatening or disrupting the general operational environment. The COVID-19 pandemic fits this description. So does racism (about which there are many lessons to be learned by considering for whom this issue has been a crisis their entire lives and for whom this issue is perceived as a crisis more recently—and why). This blog is intended to stimulate dialog about characteristics desirable in leaders during crises, the ways effective crisis managers think, the special needs and opportunities for leadership during crises, and the management principles that prove most valuable during crises. 

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Weekly Web Roundup: June 15-19, 2020

Friday, June 19, 2020

This week: As we pause today to celebrate and reflect on the history of Juneteenth, read the next entry in our ARTSblog series on the incredible musicians who were finalists for this year's Johnson Fellowship. We’re also looking forward to the first-ever virtual Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design conference, including the Nancy Hanks Lecture.

Violinist and Social Justice Advocate to Deliver 2020 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy June 23 at 11:30 AM ET

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Vijay Gupta

The 33rd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy will be presented live as the opening keynote presentation of the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. ET. Americans for the Arts is pleased to welcome as its speaker Vijay Gupta, acclaimed violinist, social justice advocate, 2018 MacArthur Fellow, and Americans for the Arts board member. The lecture is free and attendees can register online. Gupta will be introduced by the Honorable Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

Americans for the Arts Honors Juneteenth

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Americans for the Arts’ offices will be closed this Friday in recognition of Juneteenth, and staff will be using this day to better inform ourselves of the historical significance of Juneteenth and to reflect on the systems of racial injustice that have been set in this country for centuries. We urge you and your organizations to also use this day to learn, reflect, and take action.


Ms. Pam Korza

Spotlight on 2020 Johnson Fellowship Nominees: Women Musicians Elevating Black Culture, History, & Contemporary Music for Change

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, Jun 16, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

In this blog, we feature Courtney Bryan and Ashleigh Gordon, two of the 11 music artists who were the exemplary nominees for the 2020 Johnson Fellowship. As consummate musicians in contemporary genres, each thrives on the stimulation of artistic collaboration with fellow musicians, poets, writers, and dancers, but also drives the collective work that builds strength as socially engaged artists. These artists advance self-representation and advocate for cultural equity in the music field, creating music and curating programs that showcase and elevate Black culture and excellence. Importantly, themes of racial justice serve as sources of inspiration and a reservoir of strength in their ongoing support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Committed to spirit and always to beauty, Bryan’s music responds to the present, confronting contemporary social injustices in her home city of New Orleans and across the globe. In her home community of Boston, Gordon is a musical force whose goal is to foster cultural curiosity about, and celebrate the music of, Black composers.

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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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‘My emotions were so raw’: The people creating art to remember George Floyd

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

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In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, artists have been quick to respond with works that seek to memorialize, to provoke and to heal. Whether through sharing illustrations on Instagram, or creating murals in the streets of Minneapolis, many artists have created tributes to give honor to the lives of those lost to police violence and racial injustice.

Weekly Web Roundup: June 1-5, 2020

Friday, June 5, 2020

It's been an exceptionally difficult week. Americans for the Arts believes Black Lives Matter, and shares in the outrage people across the country are feeling. In programming news, this week we launched two professional development opportunities with a particular focus toward individuals who are traditionally underrepresented in the arts field.


Ms. Pam Korza

Artists as Essential Workers with and within Local Government: Models & 3 New Resources for a Creative Way Forward

Posted by Ms. Pam Korza, May 29, 2020


Ms. Pam Korza

In early April, as the City of Boston became an escalating COVID-19 “hot spot,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office responded with forceful measures on many fronts. In the midst of extreme circumstances, on April 3, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) also announced the fourth cohort of artists-in-residence in its Boston AIR program. The program pairs local artists and staff from City of Boston departments to co-design projects that test new approaches to City policies and processes and that often address the social and political context of that year. In the years ahead, municipal and county government officials face unfathomable challenges in recovery and reconstruction stemming from COVID-19. Programs such as Boston AIR and Los Angeles County's Creative Strategist Artist-in-Residence have demonstrated that artists working in partnership with government are essential workers who bring creative practices and solutions to issues that municipalities face. Local arts councils and commissions often play a big role in conceiving and coordinating these programs in tandem with local government.

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Ms. Tracy A. Stone

How to Combat Gentrification (and Save an Arts Community)

Posted by Ms. Tracy A. Stone, May 27, 2020


Ms. Tracy A. Stone

We all know that the arts can be seen as superfluous, or non-essential, especially in times of crisis or economic hardship. This was certainly the case for the small, working-class community of Elysian Valley (aka Frogtown), a mixed-use neighborhood along the Los Angeles River in the center of the city. In the middle of the last decade, residents of the area (with a mixture of Latino and Asian ancestries) co-existed uneasily with a small group of artists and craftspeople who (sometimes illegally) occupied the former manufacturing buildings lining the river. The relationship between the two groups was non-existent at best, and full of suspicion at worst. In 2006, a small group of artists, architects, and craftspeople came together to create the first Frogtown Artwalk. The event was intended to bring together and to support the creative group of individuals operating “in the shadows” of the area. The initial Artwalk, held in November, was small, underlit, and sparsely attended—nevertheless, an arts community was born.

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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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Ms. Elisheba Johnson

Black Owned Homes as Solutions to Cultural Space

Posted by Ms. Elisheba Johnson, May 08, 2020


Ms. Elisheba Johnson

Cultural space doesn’t just live in traditional retail space. Cultural space is born where culture thrives. While on the surface it seems that four artists created the Black art center Wa Na Wari, it is actually the continuation of the legacy of Frank and Goldyne Green, who were cultural space activists before there were words for this type of work. We don’t always think of our family homes as cultural spaces, but this Green home, and their other five properties, operated in this way. After the passing of Frank Green, artists Inye Wokoma, Jill Freidberg, Rachel Kessler, and I wondered what it would mean to rent it for a year as a cultural center. This social practice project was about the act of reclaiming so much of what has been lost in Seattle’s Central District. Our formerly redlined neighborhood has experienced drastic gentrification and displacement of our Black community. A neighborhood that was at one time 80% African American is now less than 10% Black. Wa Na Wari explores what it means for Black people to reclaim space in gentrified communities. Wa Na Wari is an art house and a community organizing effort. It is a model for how black homeowners can stay in their homes while also convening around black art. 

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Ben Fink


Denise Griffin Johnson

On Cultural Organizing and Performing Our Future

Posted by Ben Fink, Denise Griffin Johnson, Apr 21, 2020


Ben Fink


Denise Griffin Johnson

“We own what we make.” That’s the watchword of a national grassroots-to-grassroots coalition called Performing Our Future, which we both help lead. It unites communities across the country who have spent generations resisting economic exploitation—who historically have not owned what they make—and who have long been set against each other along racial, political, regional, and rural-urban lines. How have these communities come together? Through the work of cultural organizing. Cultural organizing is not the same as conventional community organizing or activism. Conventional community organizing and activism typically work from deficits: identify what’s missing in our communities, find and mobilize the people who agree with you, call out the inequity and injustice, and fight the bad guys. In the coalfields of East Kentucky and the inner city of West Baltimore, where we work, this usually means “organizing around” problems like unemployment, drugs, or disenfranchisement. Sometimes a meeting might start with a poem, or a protest might include beautiful puppets. But that’s still not cultural organizing. Cultural organizing is more than activism-plus-art.

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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. 

New Resource Guides Partnerships between Municipalities and Artists

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, and A Blade of Grass have published the Municipal-Artist Partnership (MAP) Guide, a free, online, practical resource to help artists and city and county administrators build partnerships that benefit their communities. The MAP Guide responds to growing interest in engaging artists’ creative thinking and skills in municipal government work toward achieving internal and community goals.


Mr. Clayton W. Lord


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Why You Need to Be in Washington, D.C. this June!

Posted by Mr. Clayton W. Lord, Ms. Patricia Walsh, Mar 02, 2020


Mr. Clayton W. Lord


Ms. Patricia Walsh

In 2020, the convergence of Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention with the refreshed and expanded Public Art & Civic Design Conference will spark a new level of conversation and thinking. The new shifts in format and structure that we’re setting up this year will make for an even more interactive and energizing conference, with over 50 sessions, more than 1,000 professionals from across a variety of sectors, and more opportunities to learn and network with colleagues from all 50 states and around the world. These two annual events—happening June 26-28 in Washington, D.C.—are the best place to come together with the full spectrum of people who are working to center the arts in equitable community development and creative placemaking. We are excited about holding these meetings in Washington, D.C. because the city and surrounding communities are about much more than national politics. It is a great place to engage in really deep and meaningful conversations about how we all work to make our communities the best they can be.

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Weekly Web Roundup: Feb. 10-14, 2020

Friday, February 14, 2020

This week saw the release of the Trump administration's FY21 budget with its repeated proposal to eliminate our nation's cultural agencies, a look at at 2020 trends we think will impact the arts, and big wins in arts funding at the state level. Read on for the news of the week!

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