On June 1, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced his “Shared Prosperity for the Arts Package,” which will provide $7 million to city arts programs over the next two years.
Today, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) will expand its successful Turnaround Arts initiative into five additional school districts, as the program continues to successfully help turn around low-performing schools, narrow the achievement gap, and increase student engagement through the arts.
On Thursday, June 4th, Americans for the Arts is participating in Do More 24. Powered by United Way of the National Capital Area, Do More 24 is a local movement that brings together nonprofit organizations, companies, and people committed to making a difference in our community. Make a gift to Americans for the Arts on June 4th and together, let’s do more for the arts.
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.
Governor Jerry Brown has increased the California Arts Council‘s state appropriation with an additional $5 million from his original $1.1 million proposal. While the California Arts Council received a $5 million boost in 2014, the governor specified that it was a one-time only increase. Yet, this year’s raise in the governor’s budget revisions has been designated as permanent.
The NABE Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), and Americans for the Arts have awarded Xiangyu “Lucy” Wang the seventh annual NABE Foundation/Americans for the Arts Scholarship Award. Wang will receive the $5,000 scholarship to further the integration of the arts into the study and application of economics in her undergraduate career and professional development.
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.
ArtsWave, one of the longest running United Arts Funds (UAF) in the country, recently announced that it exceeded its 2015 campaign goal of $12.2 million to support arts organizations across Cincinnati and the region. A particular success of the campaign is the number of people in the region who support it–most contributions to the annual campaign are individual gifts in amounts less than $150. In 2015, ArtsWave added more than 7,660 new donors to the campaign.
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.
Animating Democracy creates a series of brief papers and podcast interviews featuring funders who support arts and culture as a creative strategy to achieve community building and development goals, civic engagement, or social justice goals.
In honor of the NEA’s 50th anniversary in 2015 and the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016, a new grant initiative created in partnership by the NEA and the National Park Service celebrates the intersections between the two organizations.
Oklahoma State Representative Jason Dunnington (House District 88) composed an editorial highlighting Oklahoma Arts Day, which was presented by State Arts Action Network member Oklahomans for the Arts and the Oklahoma Arts Day Committee on May 5.
Discussing the public good that the arts provide to the state, Rep. Dunnington also wrote about the arts districts in his community—Paseo Arts District and the Plaza District. He stated, “These areas provide the finest in quality of life and serve as an economic engine for our community.”
Vickie Benson, Program Director at the McKnight Foundation reflects on how the foundation has and continues to suppport artist-centric creative placemaking through Minnesota as early as the 1980's.
This fall, the National Endowment for the Arts is giving a total of $950,000 to Washington DC based organizations, one of them being Americans for the Arts to support our Community Visions initiative, a publication that will serve as a policy guide for local arts agencies. This forward-looking blueprint for local arts development in the 21st century will acknowledge the full spectrum of the current community cultural ecosystem, bring leading-edge practice to the fore, and highlight values that underpin effective local arts leadership.
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 seventh annual Americans for the Arts scholarship to encourage the integration of the arts into the economic education process.
