As a tip of the hat to the 2012 Nancy Hanks Lecture lecture during which Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author Maureen Dowd introduced keynote speaker Alec Baldwin, this year the Emmy Award®-winning actor and arts advocate will provide introductory remarks for Maureen Dowd - our lecturer at Americans for the Arts' 27th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy on March 24, 2014 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 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.

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) announced on Wednesday that Bob Lynch is the 2014 recipient of The Sidney R. Yates Award for Outstanding Advocacy on Behalf of the Performing Arts. The award honors an individual, or an organization, for a particular advocacy effort or for a sustained advocacy campaign at the national, state or local level that has had a significant impact on the performing arts. Past recipients of the award include:

•     Philip Horn (2013)

•     Ben Cameron (2012)

On December 2, 2013, Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs Director Michael Spring was honored for his 30 years of service, credited with transforming Miami's cultural scene along Biscayne Boulevard and throughout the many neighborhoods and communities in South Florida. Michael Spring has served as a Board Member at Americans for the Arts for over 10 years, and Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs is one of our professional member organizations.

Americans for the Arts' Vice President of Research, Randy Cohen, joined the National Endowment for the Art's Sunil Iyengar for C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal”  on Friday, November 29 to talk about federal arts funding.
 

Give towards advancing the arts in America this holiday season - without spending a dime! Americans for the Arts is honored to be one of the featured nonprofits on The Giving Library, an online video archive that connects donors to nonprofits. In this season of Thanksgiving and holiday merriment, The Giving Library is kicking off a $100,000.00 "Share to Give" campaign on #GivingTuesday, the national day of giving, which falls this year on December 3rd.

During the opening keynote of this year’s National Arts Marketing Project Conference, Americans for the Arts and Destination Marketing Association International announced the recipients of the 2013 Arts Destination Marketing Award. This year’s winners are Bloomington, IN and Memphis, TN.

Nolen V. Bivens, Brigadier General, US Army (Ret.), Americans for the Arts Board Member and Chairman of the National Leadership Advisory Council of the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military, was honored on Veterans Day in his hometown of Chesterfield, VA. He was presented the keys to the town, and was guest speaker for the event. He credited his mother with his success in life, saying she taught him the words he has tried to live by: ‘Stand up to speak. Speak up to be heard. And sit down to be loved.’

Have you been following the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military, and want to learn more about how the arts can help heal our veterans and active duty military members? Maybe you've read our White Paper: Arts, Health, and Well Being Across the Military Continuum - a product of this initiative - but have questions.

Americans for the Arts is partnering again with Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), a professional organization representing destination marketing organizations and convention and visitor bureaus worldwide.

Our CEO and President, Robert Lynch, is in Chile this week to speak about arts and the economy to the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce, the Minister of Culture, and other various entrepreneurs at a luncheon on Wednesday. Prior to his visit, he penned this opinion editorial for the Chilean business publication Pulso, which was published this morning. Posted here in English, but link to article in Spanish below: 

From September 18-21, over 50 select top level decision makers and thought leaders from the fields of business, government, the social sector, education, and the arts gathered together at two events held at the Sundance Institute: Americans for the Arts’ 2013 National Arts Policy Roundtable (NAPR) and our Executive Leadership Forum (ELF). 

Americans for the Arts is proud to announce that President and CEO Robert L. Lynch has been elected to Independent Sector’s Board of Directors.

In partnership with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Americans for the Arts launched The National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military in January 2012. This Initiative advances the arts in health, healing, and healthcare for military service members, veterans, their families, and their caregivers.

October is National Arts and Humanities Month (NAHM) in America. NAHM is a coast-to-coast collective recognition of the importance of culture and the arts in America. It is designed to encourage all Americans to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives, and to begin a lifelong habit of active participation in the arts and humanities.

President of the American Express Foundation and Americans for the Arts' board member Tim McClimon (pictured) accepts his Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50 award. Bob Lynch, Americans for the Arts' President and CEO, also received the honor. Presented at the 16th annual Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50 Gala this September, the award celebrates executives who are moving and shaping the nonprofit world and paving a sustainable future for the sector.