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!

Consumers spend nearly $150 billion annually on entertainment and the arts. How does this breakdown to spending on the arts in your individual community?

Since 1997, Americans for the Arts has partnered annually with The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), the official nonpartisan organization of the 1,139 US cities with populations of 30,000 or more, to honor elected officials and artists for their outstanding public leadership in the advancement of the arts. Recipients were honored on Friday, Janurary 24 at The United States Conference of Mayors’ 82nd annual winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, in partnership with The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) presented Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol with the 2014 Public Leadership in the Arts Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of less than100,000.  The award was presented today at the USCM Winter meeting in Washington, DC.

With 2013 ending, we at Americans for the Arts find ourselves grateful for so many great arts achievements this year. There are so many partners doing amazing work in towns, cities, and states across the country--and in reflecting on this work, we wanted to especially thank the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and its staff for serving as the national lynchpin for the whole US arts field.

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, in conjunction with The United States Conference of Mayors, will present the 2013 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA).

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, today announced those companies selected by the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, as The BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America for 2013. In addition, Michael B. McCallister, chairman of the Board of Humana Inc. (Louisville, KY) will receive the 2013 BCA Leadership Award, and Northwestern Mutual (Milwaukee, WI) will be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. The BCA 10 Awards, BCA Leadership Award and BCA Hall of Fame will be presented by Americans for the Arts on October 2, 2013, at a black-tie gala at the Central Park Boathouse in New York City.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee began marking up a draft education reauthorization bill co-authored by HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY).

Americans for the Arts, in conjunction with 87 national organizations, hosted the 2013 National Arts Advocacy Day.  More than 500 arts advocates from across the country held meetings with congressional offices in support of the arts. Acclaimed musician and arts educator Yo-Yo Ma delivered the 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the Kennedy Center. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) was given the 2013 Congressional Arts Leadership Award. See highlights from the events here.

Education leaders in Congress have begun another attempt to reauthorize the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, now years past its authorized timeframe. In the Senate, education committee chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ranking member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have both introduced separate pieces of legislation that pursue divergent solutions to approaching Title I funding for disadvantaged students, teacher evaluation, student assessment and

As a part of the College, Career, and Citizenship Readiness Coalition, Americans for the Arts has signed onto a letter to Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Alexander (R-TN) in support of the language in the Strengthening America’s Schools Act (S.1094), which supports a well-rounded education.