As the 2020 election gets closer and many voters are already voting by mail or in-person, arts organizations around the country are doing their part to help voters make their vote count. This election is crucial to electing leaders at each level of government who will ensure that funding for the arts is protected and accessible for all. In this month’s Member Briefing, Americans for the Arts members Sheila Smith, executive director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Nate McGaha, executive director of Arts North Carolina, discussed using the arts to Get Out the Vote. They shared their experiences conducting voter outreach in their communities including their candidate forums, messaging about important voting deadlines, and partnership with other local, and national organizations including ArtsVote. If you missed the briefing live, a recording of the event is available now on ArtsU. Member Briefings are our quarterly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. 

This July, I was excited to help deliver the Arts Action Fund’s message to both Republican and Democratic audiences through ARTSSPEAK, the public policy forum series that is a core part of our ArtsVote2016 campaign. ARTSSPEAK discussions were centered around the transformative power of the arts on people’s lives, schools, and communities, with the ultimate goal of electing candidates that support doubling arts funding to $1 per capita for the arts. 

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley responded earlier this month, when asked at the Arts Education Partnership forum how education policy advocates should navigate the partisanship sparked by the presidential election cycle: “For crying out loud, think positively!”

So, with a view to heeding Secretary Riley’s excellent and wise advice, here are reasons to be optimistic about progress in advancing arts education policy.

Narric Rome, Vice President of Government Affairs and Arts Education at Americans for the Arts, has been keeping us apprised on the reauthorization of ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and how the arts and arts education are being seen within the context of this legislation. Next week, Americans for the Arts will host a blog salon here during National Arts in Education Week, and continue the conversation around the ESEA.

This is the first time in more than a decade that there has been debate and discussion about this bill on the House and Senate floors.  That’s a good sign!  We have an opportunity to raise the profile of arts education and why standards and testing need to have a significant arts component.

Ask an outsider what they know about Iowa, and they may say one of three things, CORN ... HOGS ... and FARMLAND. Yes, Iowa is known for its agricultural bounty.

But visit the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago, and you’ll undoubtedly run into “American Gothic,” a painting universally recognized as a cultural icon — created by Grant Wood, an Iowan.

The explosion in the numbers of artists and arts activities in the 1940s and 1950s left a legacy that continues today, and what may come as a surprise is that in Iowa, the arts serve as an economic driver that attracts companies, creates jobs and grows local and state revenue. Without a doubt, the arts mean business in Iowa.

Although the timing of congressional votes keep getting kicked around, it remains a crucial time in Washington for arts education.

Anything’s possible^*, but what’s most likely is a U.S. Senate floor vote and amendment consideration this week—as well as a long-delayed House floor vote—on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization.