Recently, the hit TV show, GLEE, aired its season finale. After six seasons of entertaining audiences through the teenage lives of young performers, the show came to a close with a touching tribute to the impact that the arts in public schools can have on students.

GLEE was a musical comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 2009-2015.  Touching on themes of social justices, sexuality, race, relationships, and teamwork, the characters and themes resonated with young arts learners.

In February, USA Today asked 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. and the results are in.

The winners in the 'Best Art District' contest category for USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice are as follows:

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.

The original artists of Berlin’s famed Kreuzberg murals have decided to remove their work by painting over the two pieces with black paint. Conceived several years ago by a small team of artists, the murals were painted by Italian street artist BLU and French artist JR. The first murals depicted two figures showing East and West Berlin gang signs attempting to unmask each other, and the other showed a man shackled by gold watches on his wrists.

Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced 12 finalist cities in the running to receive up to $1 million each as part of the Public Art Challenge, a new program aimed at supporting temporary public art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity, and enrich the vibrancy of cities. Americans for the Arts president and CEO Robert L. Lynch applauds Bloomberg Philanthropies and comments on the news. 

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.

Station North, one of three Baltimore Arts and Entertainment Districts, has been working to assist the community after last week's protests. Located in the heart of Baltimore and spanning the neighborhoods of Charles North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, Station North is a diverse collection of artist live-work spaces, galleries, rowhomes, and businesses.

ArtsWave, one of the longest running United Arts Funds (UAF) in the country, recently announced that it exceeded its 2015 campaign goal of $12.2 million to support arts organizations across Cincinnati and the region. A particular success of the campaign is the number of people in the region who support it–most contributions to the annual campaign are individual gifts in amounts less than $150. In 2015, ArtsWave added more than 7,660 new donors to the campaign.

President Obama made a special televised appearance during the Grammy Awards on February 8. The pre-recorded message was played during the ceremony and called upon artists everywhere to join the fight against sexual abuse and domestic violence.

“Artists have a unique power to change minds and attitudes, to get us thinking and talking about what matters,” said Obama. “All of us in our own lives have the power to set an example.”

Two of the foremost banjoists in the world, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, have announced plans to donate profits from merchandise sales at an upcoming concert to the Confluence Project in Eau Clair, WI. The show will take place at the State Theatre in Eau Clair on February 27. 

Susane “Suzy” Josephson Finesilver, Americans for the Arts National Patron, passed away February 1, 2015. She was a longtime supporter of the arts both nationally and locally in her home city and state of San Antonio, Texas, where she was born in 1916 and lived her entire life. 

Rick Allen, musician and visual artist, is scheduled to meet with wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on March 20, prior to March 21st appearances at the Bethesda and McLean Wentworth Galleries for the local debut of his latest collection, "Rick Allen: Angels and Icons."

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.

In Nashville, a $200 grant to the Nashville nonprofit the Housing Fund will provide housing assistance for artists live/work spaces. The “Make a Mark Program” is funded by the Kresge and Surdna Foundations and will provide financing to artists and creatives to live permanently in Nashville and Davidson County. 

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!

On behalf of our veteran community, Got Your Six united notables from film, military, medical, political, and television communities in an event held at the National Geographic Grosvenor Auditorium in DC on January 30.

Recently, there has been a lot of positive news for the addition of the Arts to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) educational discussion.  What’s most notable is that the STEAM (STEM plus Arts) movement is not only taking hold in pockets throughout the United states, but widely across the country and even internationally.

Last month, First Lady Michelle Obama was recognized by Matthew Lynch, Ed.D. on The Huffington Post Blog for her positively influencing education in 2014. 

The International Art Materials Association (NAMTA) recently released their third edition of the Artists and Art Materials Study in 2015. This survey covers both the United States and Canadian arts markets and includes the results of authoritative surveys of more than 6,000 active artists and specialty art materials retailers. It serves as a summary of market size and trends.

Ceramic artist Paul Cummins commemorates the centenary of the outbreak of the first world war there with 888,246 ceramic red poppies gradually planted until November 11. More than 5 million people have visited the 4-month long art installation at the Tower of London which represents the 888,246 British or colonial lives lost during the First World War. The art installation was created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins and set designer Tom Piper, and titled after a quote from the will of an unknown solider: “The blood-swept lands and seas of red, where angels fear to tread.”

Artist Mary Ellen Carroll unveiled her work Public Utility 2.0 as part of “Prospect.3: Notes for Now,” an international art biennial taking place in New Orleans until January 25^th. The project “aspires to nothing less than a reshaping of the policies and technology we use for wireless communication” by exploring the use of empty bandwidth dubbed by the Federal Communications Commission as Super Wi-Fi.

In 2014, South Carolina ratified legislation for the creation of cultural districts, and it was signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley. The legislation authorizes the S.C. Arts Commission to grant official state designation to cultural districts. The goals of this program are the following:

The recently introduced Ohio House Bill 666 would provide Ohio artists an income tax credit on profits that they make from selling their work within a designated arts and entertainment district. “Movies are a form of art … be it the script, be it the act or the entire production,” Stinziano told The Lantern, referencing a tax credit that’s currently in place to incentivize film productions in Ohio.

Property Management Insider recently ranked downtown Indianapolis 8th in the nation’s busiest submarkets. The article features the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a  $63 million world-class urban bike and pedestrian path that connects the city’s 6 cultural districts. The trail delivers users to every significant arts, cultural, heritage, sports, and an entertainment venue downtown.

Speaking today about the need for reauthorization of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated:

"I believe education cannot and should not be boiled down just to reading and math. I believe the arts and history, foreign languages, financial literacy, physical education, and after school enrichment are as important as advanced math and science classes. Those are essentials, not luxuries."

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) with the National Endowment for the Arts released a report today measuring the arts and culture sector’s contributions to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), for the second year in a row. This year’s report finds the arts and culture sector representing 4.32 percent of the GDP – a higher percentage than transportation and construction – at $698.7 billion! These numbers are the result of the BEA refining and improving their methodology to create this new baseline that will be updated annually.

Last year, American Theatre Wing and Carnegie Mellon University announced the creation of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Nominations are now open for the inaugural recognition.

Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto, Carnegie Mellon University alumna, made the announcement during the TONY® Awards broadcast on June 8, 2014. The award is the first new Tony since 2009.