Last month, Beaumont, TX students took to the state capitol in Austin to fight for their right to quality arts education.  Throughout June, the Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) in Texas has been under some unique pressure to fix a budget problem. 

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

The exhbition "This Land Is Your Land" will be on display starting at the end of May in NorthPark Center in Dallas, TX. Ivan Navarro, a native born Chilean artist, created a series of water tower artworks that intergrate neon and text. The artworks, formarly on display in Madison Square Park in New York City, are situtated within a shopping plaza. Visitors can walk underneath them to see the text installed within the water towers, which reference a vital structure used to support the city.

Marete Wester, Senior Director of Arts Policy at Americans for the Arts, took part in the Global Alliance for Arts & Health’s conference in Houston, April 9-12. The Global Alliance, a long-time partner with Americans for the Arts, celebrated the 25^th Anniversary of its founding with more than 300 of its worldwide members including professionals, students and organizations in the arts, humanities and medicine.

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.

Representatives Frankel (D-FL), Lynch (D-MA), O’Rourke (D-TX), and Titus (D-NV) have all recently joined the Congressional Arts Caucus, which is currently co-chaired by Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Leonard Lance (R-NJ). The caucus now has 163 members.

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.

Now that it's back-to-school time and upcoming National Arts Education Week is right around the corner (September 14 - 18), WorldWideLearn's May article on the 15 most inspiring cities for young arts professionals and arts students piques our interest yet again.

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announced today that it is presenting the 2012 Michael Newton Award to Scott Provancher, president of the Arts & Science Council. Given annually since 1991, the Michael Newton Award recognizes 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.

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.

"Longview Museum of Fine Arts (LMFA) is bringing art education back into Pine Tree schools.

Through a partnership between the museum and district, representatives from LMFA go to the intermediate and primary schools on a regular basis to provide arts education."

Join our first ever Local Arts Agency Blog Salon December 5-9 on ARTSblog as leaders in the field tackle questions about emerging trends, surviving the economic downturn, local collaboration, model programs, and more.

The following guest bloggers are generating and leading the discussion:

Brunswick Acres Elementary School in Kendall Park, NJ was very dedicated to winning the third annual "€œArt of Education"€ contest sponsored by KRIS Wine and Americans for the Arts.