Randy Cohen

There is an old quote attributed to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich:

Depending on where you live, the past several months might have inundated you with campaign ads (Virginia), or left you wondering – what election?   Off year elections are like that, with some people hardly even noticing there was an election.  While not as dramatic as even year elections, there were a fair amount of changes that should positively impact the arts overall.

Although written unevenly and built into a money-making machine by FOX and it’s production company over the past two years, Glee is at it’s heart a love letter to the power of music, and more general, arts education.

Last week the New Jersey Emerging Arts Leaders (NJEAL) hosted its third Creative Conversation, “Upwardly Mobile: Successful Relationships with Mentors and Supervisors in the Arts.”

Last week we launched a new regular series on ARTSblog that spotlights the staff here at Americans for the Arts. While Kristen Engebretsen happened to give an excellent podcast interview, not everyone has those opportunities; but, it got me thinking about coming up with a fun/interesting way for you to learn about the people behind the organization.

“The Garden State” is a schema that conjures certain images: the beautiful Jersey shore, Atlantic City, traffic on I-95, traffic on the Parkway, traffic on I-287…the Jersey Devil.

Wouldn’t it be great if Jersey could rejuvenate “The Garden State” motto to conjure a thriving ecology where industry, culture, and community exist in support of each other, like vines twining to reach the sun?

Fourth of July celebrations started early for several states this week, as arts advocates scored major victories in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South Carolina.

September is the beginning of a new academic year for students, parents, and teachers – and also when we announce our new season of arts education initiatives and competitions!