Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed to raise the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs budget from $9.8 million to $11 million—an increase of 12.2%. This will mark the largest funding increase Cultural Affairs has received since the Recession. With the proposed funding increase, the department’s staff will rise from 41 to 49. Some of the positions include two new regional managers, 3 new arts instructors, and three new employees for the public art division.

In Missouri, Rep. Kathy Swan (R-Cape Girardeau) is championing House Bill 803 (HB 803) to breathe new life into the state’s film tax credit program, which ended in 2013.

This January, Americans for the Arts and the United States Conference of Mayors presented The Honorable Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston, TX with the Mayors National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more, during the United States Conference of Mayors Arts Breakfast in Washington, DC.

The Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA), led by Americans for the Arts Board member and Private Sector Council member, Deborah Jordy, recognized companies and individuals at its annual Business for the Arts Awards luncheon on Wednesday, March 11^th. A total of five awards were presented from CBCA, and over 750 individuals attended the event at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Americans for the Arts today announced Transforming America’s Communities Through the Arts, a comprehensive, three-year initiative to increase understanding of the value of the arts and investment in the arts. 

On Sunday, July 12, 2015, Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo), presented the 2015 Public Leadership in the Arts Award for County Arts Leadership to Riverside County, California. The award was presented at NACo's annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Americans for the Arts and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) today presented the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership to the four founding chairs of the Pennsylvania Legislative Arts & Culture Caucus—Sen. Patrick Browne (R-16, representing part of Lehigh County), Sen. Jay Costa (D-43 representing part of Allegheny County), Rep. Tim Briggs (D-149, representing part of Montgomery County), and Rep. Stan Saylor (R-94, representing part of York County). The annual award was presented at the NCSL Fall Forum in Washington, DC, and honors public officials who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level. 

On April 28, New York City joined the ranks of Chicago, Houston, and Denver when the city council passed its first, fully comprehensive cultural plan on a vote of 49 to 0. The bill was introduced and championed by city council members Jimmy Van Bramer (Queens) and Stephen Levin (Brooklyn).

In early March 2015, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker proposed in his state budget to eliminate the state's film tax credit program. With the elimination of the film tax credit program, the governor would divert the funds to double the state's Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families with three or more children.

In his State of the City address on Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced plans to create 1,500 affordable living spaces and 500 affordable workspaces for artists across the city, according to the New York Times.

Today, USA Today launched an exciting contest that highlights cultural districts. They are asking the public to vote for their favorite art and cultural districts based on a set of hand-picked districts and neighborhoods within the U.S. You have until Monday, March 2 at Noon, ET to vote for your favorite cultural district on the USA Today website below!

This morning, Americans for the Arts' and the United States Conference of Mayors presented our three annual awards for public leadership in the arts. Congratulations to The Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, for the State Arts Leadership award; The Honorable Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston, TX, for the Mayors National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more; and The Honorable Donnalee Lozeau, Mayor of Nashua, NH, for the Local Arts Leadership Award for cities with a population of 100,000 or less.

Oklahoma State Representative Jason Dunnington (House District 88) composed an editorial highlighting Oklahoma Arts Day, which was presented by State Arts Action Network member Oklahomans for the Arts and the Oklahoma Arts Day Committee on May 5.

Discussing the public good that the arts provide to the state, Rep. Dunnington also wrote about the arts districts in his community—Paseo Arts District and the Plaza District. He stated, “These areas provide the finest in quality of life and serve as an economic engine for our community.”

Longtime Arts supporter Stan Rosenberg was sworn in today as the President of the Massachusetts Senate.  Americans for the Arts wishes to convey our congratulations to the Senator on this great accomplishment.

He has been a constant supporter of the arts and culture over his decades of service to the people of Massachusetts. One of his greatest legislative accomplishments was the passage of the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund that provides a source of funding to arts organizations for capital projects.   

Americans for the Arts has just released its 2015-2017 strategic plan with a key focus on building recognition for the transformative power of the arts in all of our lives and communities in new ways.

Americans for the Arts is pleased to share an article that was published in National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)’s Fall 2014 issue of "State Legislatures.” In collaboration with Americans for the Arts staff, NSCL featured an article on Arts in Education with a special call-out box for Americans for the Arts. Please click here to read the full article, “Art Smart,” by Sarah Shelton.

October is the month to #ShowYourArt, meet up for Creative Conversations, and celebrate the role the arts and humanities have in shaping and improving our communities - it's National Arts and Humanities Month (NAHM)! 

WASHINGTON– August 20, 2014 – Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announced today that ten state teams would join a three-year pilot program to strengthen arts education by advancing state policy. Announced at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ legislative summit in Minneapolis, the ten states entering the pilot program are:

WASHINGTON – July 24, 2014 – Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, and the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) will present Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann with the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership, which honors a public official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level. Lt. Gov. Ellspermann will receive her award at the NLGA’s Annual Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 24.

The Athens City Council has approved an income tax rate increase of 0.1 percent, which will span for twenty years and will be put in front of voters during this upcoming November’s ballot. The income tax will benefit Athens’ Arts, Parks, and Recreation Department. If passed, it will go into effect on January 1, 2016.

Asthmatic Kitty Records, a tiny record label co-owned by alternative artist Sufjans Stevens, is putting Indianapolis on the arts map. 

The KPCC, a Southern California public radio station, released an analysis that found 87 percent of Los Angeles Unified elementary schools will not provide comprehensive arts instruction in the upcoming school year. Only 70 out of the school district’s 500 schools will provide classes in dance, visual arts, music and theater.  Under the California education code, school districts must teach all children all four art forms every year from first to sixth grade, yet there is no penalty system in place if districts fail to comply.

Last week, the Lincoln Center announced a new, alternative initiative to educate and certify arts educators in three years who will be placed in up to 120 New York inner city schools. The Lincoln Center is partnering with CUNY’s Hunter College School of Education, the New York City Department of Education, and the United Federation of Teachers to launch the “Lincoln Center Scholars Alternative Certification Program.” 

Last Tuesday, ArtBar by Catalyst Club in Albuquerque, New Mexico, shocked arts supporters by announcing it was officially closing. ArtBar is a nonprofit club, with 2,000 members, that generates grant funds through the sale of alcohol. Back on June 11, ArtBar received a citation after it sent a press release about an event to a local paper. The event advertisement had information regarding a cover charge, which the regulation and licensing department said violated the conditions of having a club license from New Mexico.

In Youngstown, Ohio, the Power of Arts held a town hall meeting for arts supporters regarding new initiatives to raise more arts funding. Their most recent lobbying effort is to change a provision in the Ohio Revised Code which would allow counties with populations under 1.2 million to fund arts and cultural districts with a cigarette tax.

Last Monday, the San Diego City Council approved $100,000 in extra funding to the troubled San Diego Opera. Due to the opera company’s structural instability and its board’s recommendation to shut down for financial reasons, the city council voted to slash city funding from $383,322 to $160,000.  In the aftermath, over half of the San Diego Opera’s board left and its leadership resigned. Since then, under the guidance of a new board and interim executive director, the company is appearing more stable and successfully raised $2 million through a crowdfunding campaign.

On July 11, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law the final state budget of $36.5 billion, including the appropriation of $12 million to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). Before signing the Massachusetts budget, Governor Patrick announced on July 7 at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield that he would allocate $15 million to the state’s Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF).

Americans for the Arts announced today that ten state teams would join a three-year pilot program to strengthen arts education by advancing state policy. Announced at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ legislative summit in Minneapolis, the ten states entering the pilot program are:

On June 18, Philadelphia City Council announced that it would not decrease the Philadelphia Cultural Fund's budget. In his 2016 proposed budget, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced he would decrease the Cultural Fund's budget to $1.8 million - a cut of 40 percent. The City Council has now approved an amended city budget that will keep the Philadelphia Cultural Fund's budget at $3.14 million.