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. 

Station North, one of three Baltimore Arts and Entertainment Districts, has been working to assist the community after last week's protests. Located in the heart of Baltimore and spanning the neighborhoods of Charles North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, Station North is a diverse collection of artist live-work spaces, galleries, rowhomes, and businesses.

Two of the foremost banjoists in the world, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, have announced plans to donate profits from merchandise sales at an upcoming concert to the Confluence Project in Eau Clair, WI. The show will take place at the State Theatre in Eau Clair on February 27. 

In his State of the City address on Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced plans to create 1,500 affordable living spaces and 500 affordable workspaces for artists across the city, according to the New York Times.

In Nashville, a $200 grant to the Nashville nonprofit the Housing Fund will provide housing assistance for artists live/work spaces. The “Make a Mark Program” is funded by the Kresge and Surdna Foundations and will provide financing to artists and creatives to live permanently in Nashville and Davidson County. 

Today, USA Today launched an exciting contest that highlights cultural districts. They are asking the public to vote for their favorite art and cultural districts based on a set of hand-picked districts and neighborhoods within the U.S. You have until Monday, March 2 at Noon, ET to vote for your favorite cultural district on the USA Today website below!

In 2014, South Carolina ratified legislation for the creation of cultural districts, and it was signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley. The legislation authorizes the S.C. Arts Commission to grant official state designation to cultural districts. The goals of this program are the following:

The recently introduced Ohio House Bill 666 would provide Ohio artists an income tax credit on profits that they make from selling their work within a designated arts and entertainment district. “Movies are a form of art … be it the script, be it the act or the entire production,” Stinziano told The Lantern, referencing a tax credit that’s currently in place to incentivize film productions in Ohio.

Property Management Insider recently ranked downtown Indianapolis 8th in the nation’s busiest submarkets. The article features the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a  $63 million world-class urban bike and pedestrian path that connects the city’s 6 cultural districts. The trail delivers users to every significant arts, cultural, heritage, sports, and an entertainment venue downtown.

Frommer’s popular travel guide recently selected Asheville, NC as the number one destination in the country to visit in 2015.

“We’re picking [Asheville] this year because the sketchy riverside area has been totally redone thanks to the New Belgium Brewery, which has poured millions of dollars into this area, making new parks, artists collectives, farmers markets, bike paths,” says Frommer. “It’s just a great place to go. It has the most breweries per capita, so it’s always a party.”

Americans for the Arts has launched the National Cultural District Exchange this week - a new web-based resource, produced in part with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, that includes a host of tools and resources specific to cultural districts. Cultural districts play an important role in helping to strengthen local economies, create an enhanced sense of place, and deepen local cultural capacity.

It's that time again: Americans for the Arts is seeking at least 200 partners to make this Arts and Economic Prosperity Study larger and more comprehensive than ever before--and we invite YOU to be a part of it!

In Youngstown, Ohio, the Power of Arts held a town hall meeting for arts supporters regarding new initiatives to raise more arts funding. Their most recent lobbying effort is to change a provision in the Ohio Revised Code which would allow counties with populations under 1.2 million to fund arts and cultural districts with a cigarette tax.

President Obama visited Chicago last week to designate the Pullman neighborhood as a national monument. This designation will help to protect the remains of the Pullman Palace Car Company’s factory in Chicago, and preserve other buildings that were once part of the quintessential planned company town.

Our President and CEO, Bob Lynch, will be in Columbus, Ohio this week to participate in a series of events, site visits, and meetings hosted by the Cultural Arts Center (CAC) and Greater Columbus Arts Council.

What role do the arts play in the founding of our country and the winning of our independence? Americans for the Arts' CEO and President, Robert Lynch, answers this question today in the Huffington Post, in honor of Independence Day.

Enghien-les-Bains (France) and Sapporo (Japan) have been designated UNESCO Cities of Media Arts, and Paducah, Kentucky (United States of America) is the most recent City of Crafts and Folk Arts.