Americans for the Arts

For the last four years, The California Alliance for Arts Education has been pursuing its Title I Initiative, an effort to clarify confusion around the appropriate use of Title I funds for arts education programs, and to provide tools to school leaders on the ground for planning and implementation. For us, the initiative is not just about finding ways to provide more access to arts education—it’s about providing a high quality education, full stop, for every student. That high quality education must and should include the arts.

I've been asked to write something about the Americans for the Arts statement on Cultural Equity. First, thanks for asking. I believe statements like this are important to set a tone—to set a standard by which we create a core set of values necessary to create a society that honors and respects the differences we all possess. I will also say that these are my thoughts; I've learned that I can only speak for myself and much of what I want to say is food for thought, something to consider.

I am a member of a historically underrepresented group. I am disabled. I say that with pride in my identity, something that I was not always able to say. I also have to say that I sometimes get a bit frustrated by the dialogues that seem to be continuing but not always moving at the speed I'd like to see it move at and especially for not always including members of my 'peeps' in the discussion.

Like most urbanized parts of the U.S., Boston’s demographics have changed dramatically in the last 30 years and so has tone of conversation. Anyone who attended this year’s Americans for the Arts conference could see and feel the change. 

I think it’s important that we’re working within Americans for the Arts to be better, more connected. For me, that process has been a lot about identifying all of my privileges, and understanding that there’s always something more I can do.

An amazing collaboration in the state of Maine occurred when the Maine Arts Commission enlisted Noel Paul Stookey (the famed singer-songwriter) of Peter, Paul, and Mary to champion the statewide arts education census. The year-long effort achieved a stunning 95% response rate—making it the highest voluntary response rate on record nationally for a survey of this type. Responding principals noted that an important outcome of the census would be to advocate for assessment polices for arts education in order to gather Maine-centric, rather than national, data points that demonstrate the impact of arts education on student performance.

Aesthetics and their interpretation are defined by institutionalized notions of excellence, and when artistic work speaks to social justice or traditional practices, its creative aspects are often considered lacking the value assigned by entrenched evaluation standards and practices. The Aesthetic Perspectives framework takes the conversation of evaluation to the next phase as it broadens the frame and brings forth a holistic approach to include and honor alternative attributes to define excellence in arts for change.