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These 5 Tips Will Help You Become a Championed Arts Advocate
In the arts, it seems as though we always have something on our advocacy schedule. We’re advocating for funding. We’re advocating for support. We’re advocating to be included in education and strategic plans. Sometimes we’re even just advocating to exist. And because of our interconnectedness, we’re seldom just advocating for our own cause. We have to advocate for each other, too. We have to advocate for the field as a whole. And we have to advocate at every level of the system. With all of this advocating, sometimes it can be difficult to get our other work done. Some lucky arts organizations have the fortune of a staff member whose sole job is to work on advocacy efforts. But this just isn’t feasible for many, especially in rural states like South Dakota where arts professionals are overworked and underpaid.
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Nexus of Artist Innovation + Health + Exponential Technology
Crowd-sourced genomic data, 3D printed hearts, robotic surgeries, dramatic shifts in medical education and population health–the future of how we think about, define and create health is exponentially changing–which is why we are pioneering new roles for artists in this ever-changing industry and societal landscape.
At Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine conference, co-founder Peter Diamandis said, “You are the CEO of your own health.” But, when there is systemic racism in clinical trials, inequality in access to care, and discrepancies between how medical practitioners define health and how different communities do, new approaches must come forth which empower both people and systems to fully realize a culture of health.
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“Waiving” Goodbye to No Child Left Behind
Over the last few years, Americans for the Arts has been covering each attempt by Congress to reauthorize the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, most recently recognized as No Child Left Behind.
We are pleased to say that this might be the final in a series of blog posts capturing the legislative efforts over the past few years. We began covering legislative developments in 2011, 2013 and then the 2015 actions (January, February, July, and September) that led to this final bill.
Wait, This Year Was Fast…Too Fast?
It’s true. Bringing Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), a former governor, together with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a former preschool teacher, has led to legislative advancement usually unseen and unheard of: unanimous Senate committee approval; an 81-17 Senate vote; nearly unanimous (38-1) Conference Committee approval, and now expected final passage in both houses and a presidential signature! Wow.
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The season of Thanksgiving in Arts Education
It's the season of thanksgiving, and we have so much to be thankful for in a world that may, at times, seem less than hospitable.
This week, we celebrated Giving Tuesday – a reminder that while the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday retail efforts are all important to the economy, the nonprofit world deserves equal consideration in terms of financial support for the good these organizations do in our communities.
Where would we be as a nation without our arts education nonprofit organizations? Where would we be without art and music and dance and drama and poetry and theatre?
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Strength in Numbers
How does a hardworking artist become an economically thriving one? In today’s art world, talent alone is rarely enough. Without sufficient financial support, most artists will struggle to get ahead—or even stay afloat—but direct funding for the arts is getting increasingly harder to come by. In 2014, individual artists received less than 5% of the grant dollars awarded by nonprofits or state arts agencies for arts-related work [Sources: The Foundation Center; National Assembly of State Arts Agencies]. What’s more, the vast majority of support that individual artists receive from non-governmental institutions is filtered through fiscal sponsors, a step that not only creates an additional obstacle for artists, but also cuts into the total dollar amount that they receive.
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Tribute to Grace Lee Boggs
Last month, our country lost one of its great thinkers and activists for a just and equitable society. We join friends and colleagues in Detroit and across the nation in mourning the loss of Grace Lee Boggs who passed away on October 5. She was and will live on as an unrelenting exemplar of what it means to live a life of humanity and activism in striving for social justice.
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Transforming Lives Through Music – Even Among Seniors!
“The Academy has strongly shaped my present life and my plans. I am retiring next week and I will immediately become a full-time violin major at college.” BSO Academy Violinist, 65 years old
A senior myself, I am acutely aware of the importance of music in helping me to stay sharp, to be successful in my full-time job as Vice President of Education and Community Engagement at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and to physically handle the demands of work and family. That is why I am passionate about the BSO Academy, a suite of educational programs enabling older amateur musicians to play side-by-side with the pros.
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It’s Not About What Happens in Ten Years: It’s About Right Now
It is past time to put the arts into action for every child in this country. If we are serious about equipping our kids with the tools they need to be successful in the future, let’s prove it by systematically and completely addressing the inequities that exist in our schools right now.
I recently participated in the New Community Visions Initiative in Oklahoma City. I came away from that event filled with hope and inspiration after a day of working side by side with many intelligent and empowering people: educators, government officials, private industry leaders, cultural organization heads, and foundation leaders. We looked at how we see the arts and culture playing a strong role in building a healthier, more vibrant, and more equitable community over the next ten to fifteen years.
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“C is for...” Creative Messaging Through the Arts
If I ask what “C is for,” many of you reading this would probably respond by recalling the lyrics of Cookie Monster’s famous song. Throughout history, from the cave wall to the Facebook wall, art has forged connections by communicating specific ideas and emotions in a relatable, memorable way. The idea that art can be used not only to entertain, but also to communicate important messages, has been demonstrated effectively by educational children’s television shows. Numerous studies over the years have shown that children who watched Sesame Street programming outperformed their peers in English, math, and science, and had more positive attitudes toward school.
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Utilizing Your Community as a Classroom
Arts educators and advocates are a resourceful bunch. Despite enormous odds over many years against making arts education a priority, more school districts and policy makers are working to find ways to sustain investments in arts teachers, supplies, curriculum design, and professional development. We have a long way to go, but we’re certainly seeing progress; arts education is a part of the educational dialogue in new and vibrant ways. When it comes to arts education policy and priorities, however, we must not forget that learning cannot and should not remain solely within the confines of the four walls of the school classroom. One solution is the often overlooked strategy for fostering students’ personal and academic growth: the good old-fashioned field trip.
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Capture data, captivate new audiences
This fall, TRG Arts is releasing a video series on the 6 metrics that arts leaders should be tracking and managing. View all the videos in this series here>>
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