Americans for the Arts wants you to elect art professionals from the field to serve on one of four network advisory councils: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and
Americans for the Arts invites all Americans to celebrate October as National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM). Towns and communities across the country are hosting special events that capture the spirit that the arts and humanities bring to everyday life.
Turnaround Arts and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announce a national partnership to support arts-integrated learning in early childhood classrooms across the country. Through in-class services for young children, ongoing training for educators, and resource development for the early childhood community at-large, the two organizations will work together to use the arts as a tool to improve student outcomes and school culture.
On Wednesday, August 12, the Des Moines Register published an op-ed by John Pappajohn titled "The Arts Mean Business in Iowa." The op-ed comes several days ahead of the Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus, held on August 14 and co-hosted with the Iowa Arts Council, Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, BRAVO Greater Des Moines, NAMM, and the United States Conference of Mayors.
On Friday, August 14, 2015, more than 170 of Iowa’s top arts and culture leaders will gather for the Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the State Historical Building of Iowa, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines. The event is free to attend, and open to media.
This month, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed SF 510, which directs the Iowa Department of Education to fund at least a 0.5 Fine Arts consultant position. Cut to 0.23 a year ago, the position is restored to its original status. It also means that Iowa Code now mandates this position, and the law directs that the position be funded on an annual basis.
In the first installment of the pARTnership Movement essay series, Americans for the Arts highlighted Des Moines as a key example of a community that has profited from partnering with the arts. The essay examines how local Iowa companies are integrating arts and culture into both the workplace and the greater Des Moines community to attract and retain talented employees, siting examples of organizations such as Kemin Industries and Principal Financial Group, Inc.
To celebrate and thank our more than 550 advocates who are on the Hill today, and to recognize the invaluable support of our friends in Congress, Americans for the Arts placed full page ads running today in The Hill, Politico, and Roll Call. The ad highlights the more than 200 members of the Congressional Arts Caucus, the Senate Cultural Caucus, and the Congressional STEAM Caucus for their support of the arts and arts education in America. View the ad.
Americans for the Arts is gearing up for the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy and Arts Advocacy Day—part of the National Arts Action Summit—held on March 23-24. Now in their 28th year, the events are presented by Americans for the Arts and co-sponsored by more than 85 national organizations representing hundreds of thousands of arts, culture, business, civic, and education institutions and individuals nationwide.
On May 23rd and 24th 2015, the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra capped its season with the second iteration of Symphony in Sculpture—a musical tour of the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park—which featured six new movements by Emmy Award-winning composer Steve Heitzeg.
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.
Register today for the 2015 Annual Convention, taking place June 12–14, 2015 in Chicago!
The conference will take place at the Chicago Sheraton, with more than 40 breakouts, three keynotes, three preconferences, two Workshop Intensives, a dozen ARTventure Tours, and an opening reception at the Museum of Contemporary Art!
In September, we held a call for nominations for our Network Councils. Now it's time for you, our members, to cast your vote to determine which nominees will be elected to the following four Americans for the Arts' Network Councils.
The greatest month of the year is upon us - National Arts & Humanities Month!
Another “Freedom Rock” was unveiled in Wapello County, Iowa, painted by muralist Ray "Bubba" Sorenson II in a partnership between the Ottumwa Area Arts Council and local Vietnam Veterans groups. The 11.5 ton boulder has been transformed into a Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the town of Ottumwa and will lead the way for a planned Freedom Trail, linking the town's veteran tributes to one another.
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!
