Americans for the Arts

Danielle Brazell

I run a local arts advocacy organization in a small fishing village on the west coast that’s home to 10 million people, 88 cities, and 81 school districts in a geography that spans thousands of square miles.

Yes, my little fishing village (aka Los Angeles) is massive!

Our advocacy approach has been high-tech/high-touch advocacy approach and is focused on three critical issue areas:

•    Arts Education
•    Cultural Economy
•    Civic Engagement

Within this context, I constantly ask the question: How can we connect more people to advocate for the arts in their community? I think the answer lies somewhere between community organizing and community development.

Ron Jones

Institutions of higher education and the communities in which they reside must be collaborators, and they must mutually seek beneficial ways to partner.

Nowhere is this more critical than the arts. Put another way, the arts in higher education must be part of and inseparably linked to, and woven into, the fabric of the community in which they exist.

Most everyone will agree with the above. The mayor of virtually every city in this country has probably been quoted as saying something like, “The arts are our heart and soul and must be part of our future.”

I would imagine that at national and regional workshops on “How to be a Two-Term Mayor,” there is an emphasis on how to speak embracingly of the arts, how to create an environment where the arts are central to the vibrancy of a city, and how to energize and focus artists so neighborhoods can be transformed.

Harlan Brownlee

Once again, Kansas has distinguished itself as a “trendsetter."

Yes, those are the words of Kansas Governor Brownback when he refers to his action to eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission and put in place a private foundation to fund the arts in Kansas.

Sorry to break the news governor, but those of us who live and breathe the arts on a daily basis, those of us who are in the trenches and have witnessed firsthand the economic and community building benefits of the arts, particularly in rural Kansas, think your approach is misguided.

Both the Kansas House and Senate understood why your plan was not in the best interest of Kansas citizens. In fact, both unilaterally approved funding for the arts and a Republican-led effort in the Senate overrode your executive order to eliminate the Kansas Arts Commission.

Margy Waller

We’ve all been reading about suggestions for policies to address federal budget issues – including possible big changes to the tax deductibility of contributions to nonprofits. Scary, right? Opportunity, maybe!

Setting aside for a moment the structural and legal issues regarding tax status, nonprofit arts and culture organizations are struggling on the fundraising playing field. Plus, arts organizations are challenged by public perception about the role of arts and charities in community.

We know that when people think about the arts, they’re likely to think first of entertainment. That’s cool – when we are looking for consumers and trying to sell tickets or memberships.

But, when we’re seeking contributions for day-to-day operations - this perception makes our work a lot harder. 

Paul Miller

Per Helena Fruscio’s post from earlier this week (The Creative Economy: Not-Sole-For-Profits-Proprietors) in which she says, "Our power is in numbers and in speaking with one voice" – I wholeheartedly agree!

In 2008, I was in Washington, DC, on a team that consisted of a dancer, a lawyer, a museum executive director (and myself as clown/circus producer) representing the state of Illinois for Arts Advocacy Day. After a day of lobbyist training, I had the chance to sit with three Republican congressmen. Congressman (now Senator) Kirk started the conversation like this - "There are 300 million people in the United States and 110 million taxpayers but we have 8 million still unemployed (as of 3/2008)." 

Helena Fruscio

We can all see the business models changing – for-profits with a social mission, nonprofits with a business models that include historically “for-profit” ventures, and sole proprietors, small business owners, and entrepreneurs devising new plans, products, and businesses at a breakneck speed.

In Berkshire County, a rural community with a population of about 120,000 in western Massachusetts, we have started a movement that encompasses and supports the needs of this swiftly changing business dynamic.

It starts with the acknowledgment of the new businesses dynamic and then working to shift the focus on the core and driving values of the emerging field: Creativity.