Vans invites high school art students throughout the country to join in the eighth annual Vans Custom Culture art competition to embrace youth creativity and support arts education. Starting today, high school art teachers can register their classes to compete for the grand prize of $50,000 towards their art program by creating their most artistic and inventive designs using blank Vans shoes as their canvas.

Americans for the Arts and the City of Austin Economic Development Department will co-host the annual National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Austin, Texas, November 11-14, 2016. More than 650 arts marketing professionals from around the country will gather to explore the changing landscape of arts marketing and audience engagement.

Americans for the Arts announces new and re-elected advisory council members for each of their four networks: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and Public Art Network. These individuals will advise Americans for the Arts’ staff on developing programs and services that will build a deeper connection to the field and the network membership. 

This holiday season, Henri Bendel is partnering with Americans for the Arts and New York based artist James Goldcrown to spread the love. Henri Bendel will donate 10% of proceeds to Americans for the Arts during a special event on Tuesday, Nov. 15 in its flagship New York store.

Americans for the Arts honored seven exceptional individuals at its National Arts Awards black tie gala Oct. 17 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. The annual awards recognize artists and arts leaders who exhibit exemplary national leadership and whose work demonstrates extraordinary achievement.

With the goal of artistic literacy for all students in Connecticut, the Connecticut Arts Standards set the guidelines for schools, districts, teachers and communities to develop artistically literate citizens. 

Through the power of the internet, two music powerhouses provide a platform for young musicians around the world to share their work with other young performers and receive advice from professional musical mentors.

Members of Americans for the Arts enjoy a 30% discount on Visme, a visual content tool for designers and non-designers alike. Try the robust platform free as part of their Visualize Me contest, open now through Oct. 5.

KRIS Wines is partnering with Americans for the Arts on a new campaign recognizing the importance of public art in American communities, and will award a total of $25,000 in prizes to artists through the #KRISArtofGiving campaign.

This fall, consumers can support public arts nationwide as they enjoy KRIS, one of America’s most popular Italian Pinot Grigios. KRIS and Americans for the Arts are partnering again for the seventh consecutive year. Over the past six years, the “Art of Education” program awarded over $350,000 in grants to schools in the United States to improve academic achievement through quality arts education. Now called the “Art of Giving,” this year’s campaign has broadened its purview to focus on public art.

The NABE Foundation, a partner of Americans for the Arts and the charitable arm of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) is awarding its eighth annual Americans for the Arts scholarship to encourage the integration of the arts into the economic education process.

Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce the newly elected leadership of its four National Advisory Councils. These individuals were nominated by their peers to advise Americans for the Arts staff on programs and services for the fields of Arts Education, Emerging Leadership, Public Art, and the Private Sector. Each will serve three year terms beginning January 1, 2016 and will join an existing slate of advisory council members, national leaders, who use their field expertise to connect the national work of Americans for the Arts to the local level.

In a speedy few weeks, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in landslide votes: 85-12 in the U.S. Senate and 359-64 in the U.S. House of Representatives.