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.

Since spring 2006, The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation have been partnering with U.S. state arts agencies to support Poetry Out Loud, “a contest that encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.” Participating students recite a poem of their choice, using materials that schools receive by partnering with their state arts agency.

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 Companies Supporting the Arts in America for 2012. The annual awards recognize ten U.S. companies for their exceptional commitment to the arts through grants, local partnerships, volunteer programs, matching gifts, sponsorships and board membership.

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, today announced that Ernst & Young Global Chairman and CEO James S. Turley is the 2012 recipient of the BCA Leadership Award. The award was established in 1993 by the Business Committee for the Arts, now a division of Americans for the Arts, to recognize individuals whose vision, commitment and leadership champion the arts.

"A measure that proposed to eventually eliminate all funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council won't advance this year, the bill's author said.

Rep. Josh Cockroft said House Bill 1895 has been assigned to the House of Representatives Rules Committee, where it is unlikely to get a hearing this year."

"A bill filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives proposes all funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC) be eliminated.

The legislation, written by state Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Tecumseh, would reduce state government funding to the OAC each fiscal year by 25 percent, eventually ending the appropriation in 2017."

Dear friends and colleagues,

As we continue to hear more news about the devastating tornado that passed through the town of Moore on the outskirts of Oklahoma City yesterday, we at Americans for the Arts send our thoughts and prayers to the artists, administrators, and all those affected.  When natural disasters strike, there is no way to fully comprehend or process the pain they inflict.