How do you sum up a week like the one the country has just been through? We at Americans for the Arts hope you and yours are keeping safe and healthy during the coronavirus outbreak. We are working hard to ensure that the arts and culture sector can weather this storm, together, and with appropriate and necessary financial relief from the federal government. Read on for tools you can use in this critical time for the arts.

During this unprecedented time of crisis in our nation’s cultural, educational, economic and healthy well-being, Americans for the Arts calls on our nation’s public and private sector grantmakers and individual philanthropists in the arts to help respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the infrastructure of our nonprofit cultural organizations and artists.

This week, the world's focus turns squarely to the evolving Coronavirus pandemic—and so does ours. Regrettably, this has meant cancelling our upcoming National Arts Action Summit and postponing the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy. We've also created a new Resource and Response Center for the arts & culture field, including a short survey asking you to tell us the economic impact the crisis is having on your organization.

Americans for the Arts has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 National Arts Action Summit, which was to take place March 30-31 in Washington, D.C., and to postpone the related Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy. The cancellation of the Summit comes out of an abundance of caution and to align with COVID-19 health recommendations and warnings issued by the Washington, D.C., government against mass gatherings in the city until March 31.  

“Cultural Equity in the Public Art Field” is the first in a series of resources to be launched this year that aims to help public art administrators and other local arts practitioners to move the needle forward in understanding what cultural inequities exist in programs and processes and how to address them. 

This week: Like much of the country, we're keeping an eye on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), monitoring responses and preparations, and have gathered information to assist the field. We also announced applications for this year's Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship, and released a new resource examining cultural equity in the public art field.

Americans for the Arts announces applications for the second year of the Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship for emerging and mid-career arts, culture, and heritage leaders of color across arts disciplines in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities. Apply by April 3, 2020.

This week, ArtsU is buzzing with webinars on the state of public art in America, artist-municipal partnerships, and ways your marketing & development teams can coexist and collaborate better. Plus, we announced a new chair for our annual National Arts Awards gala and a new series of Leadership Forums designed for arts leaders seeking intellectually demanding, creative, and open-ended learning.

The Forum programs are a professional development opportunity that includes peer exchange, leadership skill development, and artmaking for leaders in four unique demographics. The deadline to apply for this year's programs is April 24, 2020. 

This week, we look ahead at education policy trends for 2020—and how the arts intersect with them all! Plus, explore with us the role of State Arts Agencies and our State Arts Action Network in increased cultural funding at the state level. Catch up on all the week's news and analysis in the Weekly Web Roundup.

This week saw the release of the Trump administration's FY21 budget with its repeated proposal to eliminate our nation's cultural agencies, a look at at 2020 trends we think will impact the arts, and big wins in arts funding at the state level. Read on for the news of the week!

Americans for the Arts is accepting nominations of arts leaders for the 2020 Annual Leadership Awards, recognizing the achievements of individuals, organizations, or programs committed to enriching their communities through the arts. Nominations close March 11, 2020. 

This week: As we looked back on last year's arts advocacy successes, including increased federal funding for the arts and new support for creative arts therapies for military personnel and arts programs for at-risk youth, President and CEO Robert L. Lynch and Artist Committee member Ben Folds once again took the case for the arts to Capitol Hill. 

Americans for the Arts is pleased to offer a number of full ride and partial reimbursement scholarships to members interested in attending the 2020 Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference in Washington, D.C. Deadline to apply is February 24, 2020.

This year Americans for the Arts will both celebrate the work of the public art field through a review of the over 800 PAN Year in Review projects, and take a moment to pause and reflect on the PAN Year in Review program in order to relaunch a more equitable program in 2021.

This week, ARTSblog featured practical advice from folks who have been there on how arts organizations must work to increase earned revenue without sacrificing the mission and can seek out partnerships with community artists where you live. Plus, registration is open for the 2020 Annual Convention—and we're announcing a new Public Art & Civic Design Conference happening concurrently with Convention!