Americans for the Arts

Summer is all about finding that delicious summer book to read. The other night, I was at Kramerbooks, one of the best bookstores in DC. Their selection makes you feel erudite and ignorant at the same time. I thought I would send along some of my favorite books. I confess I am a divergent reader as this list demonstrates. And it is in no particular order. So if you are looking to pick up something new and interesting, noodle around in some of these ditties.

We are really excited to be heading to Seattle for the 2009 Annual Convention. Although Americans for the Arts hosts the convention, it is really YOUR convention. You are the presenters, participants, and consumers of this event. You are the ones who make it successful. We just set the stage for you to connect, listen, and learn from one another. 

We are currently accepting proposals to present. DEADLINE: AUGUST 1.

Below are some suggestions for what separates a good proposal from a weak proposal.

There are moments where you sense things so intensely they have a texture and vibration all their own. One experiences joy and humility in the same breath and it brings a lump to your throat even though you are smiling broadly. I had many grateful moments like these over the course of Convention. To me, our Convention is a graduation experience of sorts (true confessions from a former high school teacher). It happens in June. It’s a culmination of a year’s worth of work. And, when it happens, you forget all the hard times in between and fall back in love with your work all over again. If we did a yearbook, this text would be on my senior page.

Through the joys of technology, I have been stuck in a virtual world unable to post my entries—so on the final day, here is my first post.

I started getting unstuck with the Animating Democracy Workshop looking at best practices of civic engagement—and we moved. We re-framed ideas, asked creative questions, and literally spoke from our positions in the room. We brainstormed projects and examined how to bring dialogue, action, and participation through artistic and civic engagement into the same space, and what we can do once we are in that space.  

Other highlights thus far:

• An overview of the Arts Policy Roundtable on Arts and Workforce development—how Americans for the Arts is engaging with K-12 education and business to examine the idea of creativity as a critical skill
• A.B. Spellman and Claudine Brown discuss authentically connecting  programs and communities
• Rob "Biko" Baker share his experiences engaging youth through hip-hop
• Morning meeting on the multiple ways we work arts and higher education
• How to measure and talk about the impact of the arts as a tool for social change
  Read More

Next Tues, April 13, is National Arts Advocacy Day, when more than 500 arts advocates will be going to Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. to talk to their government officials about the power of the arts and the need for arts education and arts funding. If you can't join us in D.C. on April 13, please take the time to create a tweet that day featuring the hashtag #arts on your Twitter accounts and tell you friends to do the same.

by Anna Sebourn

As a second year graduate student in Arts Management getting ready to move from academia to a career, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the difficulty of the transition. Sure, I’ve taken a graduate level Arts Marketing class and had a marketing internship . . .but what kind of marketing jobs should I apply for? Am I considered entry-level or mid-level? And sure, I know how to market an arts event fairly well, but how well can I market MYSELF to employers?

I know I’m not alone in this. Several of my friends and I have been discussing this very topic at length anytime we peruse job listings or talk about our plans after graduation. We’re just not sure which jobs we’re qualified for and how to stand out among the sea of other applicants.

On the other hand, I have numerous friends on the opposite side of the spectrum. They have several years of work experience under their belt, but trying to transfer into the arts field from the ‘outside’ is tough. Some have already broken into the field, but have questions about advancing and sustaining their careers and staying current on best practices.

American Express and cause-related website TakePart.com have chosen to feature Americans for the Arts as one of only 10 Arts & Culture organizations in their new social media Members Project campaign. The participation of Americans for the Arts means added visibility and exposure for our organization and its work in arts advocacy and other critical programs, but also a chance to win a $200,000 award from American Express. TakePart.com is a go-to site for volunteering and donating in a variety of topics and causes and is the social action network of Participant Media, the social change-oriented media company behind An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc.

The Americans for the Arts page of the Member Project can be found here, with links to registering for TakePart.com and for voting in the campaign which runs through May 24, 2010. If you have a Facebook account, you can easily register from this page through Facebook Connect.

written by Ron Evans

At the recent NAMP Conference in Providence, a lot of focus was put onto Twitter, and what use it could be to connect with patrons and have them join in on the conversation. Those of you who use Twitter already know how quickly life flies by tweet by tweet (if you're new to the idea of Twitter, read up on an excellent article on what Twitter is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter). A few days ago, a female blogger who goes by the name "Broadway Girl NYC" wrote a post called "The BroadwayGirlNYC Dating Service: Let Love Shine on Broadway." Her blog and her original post can be found here and her twitter page is: http://twitter.com/broadwaygirlnyc

On a whim, she designed a contest of sorts -- she challenged her single Twitter followers to write a tweet and add the hashtag "#SingleOnBway" (a hashtag is a way for Twitter people using the same term in their post to find other people who want to talk about the same topic) as a way for single folks to find each other and potentially make a connection via public messages on Twitter. If there was a spark, they were told to send a tweet back to BroadwayGirlNYC, and she would choose two winners to give two free tickets to MCC Theater's "The Pride" for a "blind date."

The response has been amazing.

Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill.  We can now confirm that the package DOES include $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants.  We are also happy to report that the exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been successfully removed.  Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday - President's Day.

A United Voice
This is an important victory for all of you as arts advocates.  More than 85,000 letters were sent to Congress, thousands of calls were made, and hundreds of op-eds, letters to the editor, news stories, and blog entries were generated in print and online media about the role of the arts in the economy.  Artists, business leaders, mayors, governors, and a full range of national, state, and local arts groups all united together on this advocacy issue.  This outcome marks a stunning turnaround of events and exemplifies the power of grassroots arts advocacy. 

MEMBERSHIPS
Did you ever wonder why you received something in the mail marked as Arts Action Fund when you are already a member of Americans for the Arts? Or receive a renewal notice from Americans for the Arts when you thought you had already renewed? The membership team is here to explain the difference between the two memberships.