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For Immediate Release

Celebrates National Arts & Humanities Month

Washington DC, October 1, 2003—Americans for the Arts joins hundreds of arts organizations and communities nationwide to recognize October as National Arts & Humanities Month, an annual collective celebration of the arts and culture in America.  In connection with the month, Americans for the Arts has developed ten tips for parents and teachers on how to keep the arts in their children’s lives. 

Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, stated, “Commemorating October as National Arts & Humanities Month is not only a way to showcase all that the arts have to offer but to emphasize the benefits and importance of the arts in the community and especially in children’s lives.”

Following are ten tips for parents on how to keep the arts in children’s lives:

AT HOME

• Share your interest in the arts. Listen to music, go to live performances and art exhibits, experience theater, dance, and literary events together with your children.  Professional theaters, libraries, symphony orchestras, and museums often have programs for children at reduced ticket prices.
• Keep a journal of your trips—whether it is a vacation or a trip to the zoo or a walk in the park.  Collect memorabilia like tickets, flowers, shells, or pictures.  Write a description of the event and paste the mementos in a notebook or journal. 
• Keep a variety of art materials available and encourage your children to use them—crayons, colored paper, newsprint, paints, colored pencils, and pastels.
• Choose a popular work of art and re-create it.  For instance, look at Van Gogh’s Starry Night—talk about it and think about how Starry Night would sound?  How would it look as a dance? Could it be a Halloween costume?

AT SCHOOL

• Learn about the arts education programs offered at your child’s school.  Are all art forms taught: music, visual arts, dance, drama, poetry, film, etc.?  Is there an arts credit requirement? Are there achievement standards for the arts in your schools?  Is there a budget to support the arts in your schools as well as appropriate space and equipment?
• Invite your local arts council and community-based arts organizations to speak at your school and meet with PTA leaders and teachers.  Testify at your board of education meetings about the need for standards-based arts education for all children.
• Volunteer to work on an arts project in your child’s school or help organize an arts day.

IN THE COMMUNITY

• Involve your children in community arts events.  Look for Shakespeare festivals, music, or the visual and performing arts. Attend your local high school’s theater productions.  Introduce your children to the arts through art camps, classes, and music lessons.
• Encourage your local arts council and cultural institutions to celebrate October as National Arts and Humanities Month.  Encourage your local newspapers, TV and radio stations to promote arts education by running public service ads supporting the arts. 
• Attend the budget night in your town, city, or county.  These leaders decide how your local dollars are spent.  Tell your leaders that public funding for the arts is key to keeping them available to every child.  Take your children with you.

National Arts & Humanities Month originally grew out of National Arts Week, which was started in 1985 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Americans for the Arts.  It has now become the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the nation.  National Arts & Humanities Month is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, Americans for the Arts has a 40-year record of service. It is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. For more information, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

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