Americans for the Arts has announced the recipients of the 2015 Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Awards. Presented each year, these awards recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations committed to enriching community through the arts. 

Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh is making good on a campaign promise to increase focus on culture and the arts in the city. Walsh will reveal details of an 18-month initiative, spearheaded by new chief of arts and culture Julie Burros, which will bring city officials into the streets to meet with artists and cultural professionals. Through the initiative, called “Boston Creates,” information will be collected and analyzed for the city to then formulate a plan of action to address the issues cultural leaders and artists are facing.

You already know Annual Convention will bring together more than 1,000 arts professionals with 150 speakers and 45 sessions, but there's a whole lot more to look forward to this year. Here’s a list of top ten things to see and do while in Chicago at the 2015 Annual Convention!

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, honors 31 outstanding public arts projects created in 2014 through the Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review program, the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art. The works were chosen from more than 300 entries across the country and recognized today at the 2015 Annual Convention in Chicago. 

This year, Americans for the Arts is honoring Ann Marie Miller with the Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award. Since 2007, the Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award has honored an individual whose arts advocacy efforts have dramatically affected the political landscape at the state level.

This year, Americans for the Arts is honoring Jeff Hawthorne with the Michael Newton Award. For the past 25 years, the Michael Newton Award has recognized exemplary leadership skills and extraordinary dedication to supporting the arts through a united arts fund, which is a combined effort to raise money on behalf of multiple arts institutions in the community, or through unique and powerful partnerships with the private sector.

This year, Americans for the Arts is honoring Eric Booth with the Arts Education Award. Presented each year since 2007, the Arts Education Award honors the best in arts education program design, execution, and organizational leadership.

This year, Americans for the Arts is honoring the Association for Public Art (aPA) with the Public Art Network Award. Given annually since 2003, the award honors innovative contributions to, and exemplary commitment and leadership in, public art.

Learn about how art helps transform communities AND get the opportunity to write for Americans for the Arts’ ARTSBlog this Summer!

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. 

WASHINGTON—June 4, 2014—Nashville, Tennessee will celebrate Arts Leadership Weekend June 13-15 as the 2014 Annual Convention for Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit for advancing the arts and arts education, welcomes more than 1,000 arts professionals, community leaders, and supporters of the arts to the city.

Ben Folds, musician and arts education activist, will speak Friday, June 13 at 11:30 a.m. with Americans for the Arts' CEO and President, Bob Lynch, at our 2014 Annual Convention. He will share with attendees his personal history and transformation into an artist-acitvist, which has allowed him to witness the power of arts education in transforming the lives of young students.

This opening keynote session will also include Bob Lynch's State of the Arts speech, the Leadership Awards Lunch, and a welcome from Nashville mayor Karl Dean. 

American for the Arts CEO and President Robert L. Lynch wrote an article in The Tennessean on May 31 highlighting the recent Periscope: Arts Entrepreneur Training in Nashville as well as the economic impact of arts-related businesses, specifically in Tennessee. Lynch writes that Nashville is a perfect of example of how arts nonprofits, for-profit organizations, and the local government can work together to create a rich environment and a strong economy.

Americans for the Arts Annual Convention kicked off unofficially on June 12^th with the preconferences and their related field trips. The Public Art Preconference included a tour of repurposed artist studios and enclaves in Nashville, Tennessee. The tour, “Reclamation as Transition - From Factories to Churches: Creating Artist Spaces and Places,” illustrated ways cities can engage the creative class for a more vibrant community.

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announced the recipients of the 2014 Americans for the Arts Annual Local Arts Leadership Awards.