Americans for the Arts announced today the recipients of the 2018 Americans for the Arts Leadership Awards. Given annually, these awards recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

Americans for the Arts today announced that artist Jeff Koons will deliver the 2018 David Rockefeller Lecture on Arts and Business, a signature program of the Business Committee for the Arts. The lecture will address Koons’ arts and business collaborations, and how they have benefited his own artistic endeavors and the strategic goals of the businesses. 

The Scholastic Corporation and partners host the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards to elevate youth artists working through challenging current events, politics, identity, and emotions.

Americans for the Arts today announced 26 new and re-elected advisory council members for each of their four networks: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and Public Art Network. These individuals will advise Americans for the Arts’ staff on developing programs and services that will build a deeper connection to the field and the network membership. 

New York City’s own, artist and business owner Craig Costello—also known as KR—founded Krink, a company that surfaced in the 1990s as a response to the lack of appropriate tools and ink for graffiti artists.

The latest report showed that arts funding increased from the corporate community between 2014 and 2016. The results align with Americans for the Arts and the Conference Board’s survey of Business Contributions to the Arts released in June. Both corporate giving surveys demonstrate that businesses are recognizing the role the arts play in advancing corporate goals, including increasing employee engagement and creativity.

A new research study published by Americans for the Arts uses statistical data to quantify the scope and economic importance of the arts across America. Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts in 2017 demonstrates that nationally, 673,656 businesses are involved in the creation or distribution of the arts, and they employ 3.48 million people. This represents 4.01 percent of all U.S. businesses and 2.04 percent of all U.S. employees. 

Americans for the Arts today announced this year’s BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America honorees. Presented every year by Americans for the Arts’ Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), 10 U.S. companies, one partnership, and one individual will be honored for their exceptional commitment to the arts. The awards will be presented at a black-tie gala at the Central Park Boathouse on October 11, 2017. 

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. 

Small businesses often commission street artists to create stunning murals on the side of their buildings or gates. Can partnerships like these have broader effects for a neighborhood?

Business Contributions to the Arts: 2017 Edition, published by The Conference Board and Americans for the Arts, looks at trends in support for the arts from small, midsize, and large US businesses. 

Allied Arts, a United Arts Fund in Oklahoma City, has won a national philanthropic tournament, Brackets for Good. The only Oklahoma-based nonprofit to compete, Allied Arts out-fundraised 63 nonprofit organizations nationwide during the five-week competition and raised $248,232 in the sixth and final round of head-to-head competition and received a $100,000 grand prize from the title sponsor, AT&T. 

Christin Crampton Day brings 30 years of professional experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, as well as a strong background in communications, fundraising, management, and strategic planning, to her new role as Executive Director of CBCA.

Americans for the Arts is proud to announce the complete pARTnership Movement essay series, featuring case studies that profile successful business-arts relationships and illustrate eight reasons businesses partner with the arts.

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 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.

Americans for the Arts is proud to announce the final installment in The pARTnership Movement essay series: "Contribute to the Economy & Quality of Life." The newest essay features case studies from Arts Brookfield and the Houston Arts Alliance. 

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.”

Throughout the summer of 2017, the Americans for the Arts Private Sector Initiatives department solicited responses to the FY2016 United Arts Fund Campaign Survey. In FY 2016, the 37 participating UAFs reported aggregate campaign revenue of $85.5 million during their campaigns that ended during 2016. These findings suggest that the united arts fundraising sector is continuing its recovery from the Great Recession. 

The Arts & Business Council of New York dedicated its annual speaker series to exploring the intersection of arts and technology by showcasing companies that have developed and utilized new technologies to tap into the creative economy—transforming how the arts are accessed, produced, and funded.

Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce that Mark Golden, CEO of Golden Artist Colors, has joined the Business Committee for the Arts Executive Board.

Target supports art museums in New York City by inviting the public to close their wallets and open their hearts and minds to the arts.

Fifty years ago, at the Conference Board’s 50th anniversary conference, David Rockefeller—former Chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation—gave a speech titled “Culture and the Corporation”. The speech called for the creation of the Business Committee for the Arts to promote partnership between the arts and business communities.

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) recently released its 2016 Economic Activity Study, which measures the economic impact of the arts on metro Denver, which includes seven counties in the greater Denver area.

Noah Scalin, artist and co-founder of Another Limited Rebellion, will be the first ever artist-in-residence at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business during the upcoming 2016–2017 academic year.

This fall, consumers can support public arts nationwide as they enjoy KRIS, one of America’s most popular Italian Pinot Grigios. KRIS and Americans for the Arts are partnering again for the seventh consecutive year. Over the past six years, the “Art of Education” program awarded over $350,000 in grants to schools in the United States to improve academic achievement through quality arts education. Now called the “Art of Giving,” this year’s campaign has broadened its purview to focus on public art.

Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR)–a program that provides artists, businesses, and communities the tools, resources, and support to learn, connect, and succeed–was recently acquired by Berea College in Kentucky. Founded by Beth Flowers in Denver, Colorado, AIR (now known as the AIR Institute) is now part of the College Crafts Program at Berea and will be directed by Flowers.

Americans for the Arts is proud to announce the seventh installment in The pARTnership Movement essay series, "Embrace Diversity and Team Building," featuring case studies from Travelers in Minneapolis and ShoreTel in Sunnyvale, CA.

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading non-profit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, today announced that Robert Buchsbaum, Chief Executive Officer of Blick Art Materials, will receive the 2016 BCA Leadership Award. Presented by the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, the annual award recognizes individuals for their extraordinary vision, leadership, and commitment to supporting the arts and for encouraging other businesses to follow their lead.