In response to Kansas Arts Commission Chairwoman Linda Browning Weis' wish that the National Endowment for the Arts will continue to provide the new, privately funded Kansas Arts Foundation with matching federal dollars, Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, issued the following statement:
Renowned singer-songwriter Josh Groban today announced the creation of his new Find Your Light Foundation. Dedicated to enriching the lives of young people through arts, education and cultural awareness, the foundation is launching its first partnership with Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. Through this partnership, Find Your Light and Americans for the Arts will be working together to help ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience a quality arts education.
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Interior Subcommittee approved a measure that sets next year's initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) at $135 million.
That amount is a $20 million reduction as compared with this fiscal year's budget, and it would be the deepest cut to the agency in 16 years.
To make matters worse, the 13 percent cut for both the NEA and National Endowment for the Humanities is much more severe than the 7 percent cut to the overall Interior Appropriations bill.
As NASA completes its historical space shuttle program, Americans for the Arts could not be more pleased to hear that the arts will be used as a vehicle to celebrate the impact of this important contribution to our society.
On Tuesday, the full House Appropriations Committee passed their initial FY2012 Interior Department funding bill by a vote of 28-18.
This legislation contains a $20 million cut for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), passed last week by the Subcommittee, from FY2011's $155 million level.
The NEA was not mentioned specifically during the debate which largely centered around changes to the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory authority as that agency's funding is being cut most dramatically and controversially in this bill.
As early as next Monday, the full U.S. House of Representatives will vote on FY 2012 funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee took the first step in the budget process and passed the Interior Appropriations bill, which proposes to fund the NEA at $135 million for FY 2012. If enacted, this $20 million cut would be the deepest to the NEA in 16 years.
On July 19, President and CEO, Rorbet L. Lynch attended an events surrounding the White House initiative called Champions for Change: Winning the Future Across America. The program, coordinated by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the White House Office of Public Engagement pays tribute to the many Americans doing extraordinary things to innovate, educate, and build their communities for a stronger and brighter America.
The Walberg amendment to H.R. 2584, the House Interior Appropriations bill that would have cut an additional $10.6 million from the National Endowment for the Arts failed 240-181 earlier today. All 185 Democrats present voted against the amendment and 55 Republicans joined them.
Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell received a national award in recognition of his support for the arts.
Treadwell was given the 2011 Lieutenant Governors Arts Leadership Award during the National Lieutenant Governors Association conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico this week. The award was presented by Americans for the Arts, which honors outstanding leadership by public officials who demonstrate their commitment to advancing the arts, and their understanding of the benefits to economies, culture, job creation, and the preservation of heritage.
Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts, and the National Conference of State Legislatures today announced Kansas State Senator Roger Reitz as the recipient of the 2011 Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership, which honors a public official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the state level. Senator Reitz will receive his award today at the today at the National Conference of State Legislatures Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
On July 22, Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert Lynch spoke as part of the Chautauqua Institution's lecture series, discussing the arts and arts education in a speech titled "America at a Cultural Crossroads." You can view a portion of the speech below and the full speech at FORA.tv:
Americans for the Arts has announced the 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 2011. In addition, Christopher Forbes, vice chairman of Forbes, Inc. will receive the 2011 BCA Leadership Award, and Kohler Co. will be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. The BCA 10 Awards, BCA Leadership Award and BCA Hall of Fame Award will be presented by Americans for the Arts on October 5, 2011, at a black-tie gala at the Central Park Boathouse in New York City.
Since Americans for the Arts started the Creative Conversations program in 2004, in response to the feedback and initiative of the Emerging Leaders Council, the program has grown to serve over 50 communities and about 2,000 individuals each year.
"On September 11, 2001, the Animating Democracy team was on a conference call with New York-based colleagues when a faint newscast on one of their TVs emitted something about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.
What started out as a call to fine tune preparations for a national convening of Animating Democracy grantees slated to be held two days later morphed inevitably into cancellation plans, then into disbelief and mourning with the rest of the country.
In recognition of the second annual celebration of National Arts in Education Week, join Americans for the Arts in a lively discussion about arts education all week (September 12-16) on ARTSblog.
The topic for this blog salon is "Career Development for Students and the Role of Arts Education."
The National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) is hosting a Blog Salon, October 3-7, 2011.
As a lead up to the NAMP Conference, Winning Audiences, ARTSblog will be the place for a discussion on the broad landscape of arts marketing and audience engagement.
