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It’s All About our Base
Like most urbanized parts of the U.S., Boston’s demographics have changed dramatically in the last 30 years and so has tone of conversation. Anyone who attended this year’s Americans for the Arts conference could see and feel the change.
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95816
Emerging Heap
I don’t know what others tasted at the 2016 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, but for four days, the crisp flavor of inspiration sat on my tongue. I felt like a freshman attending the first day of classes at her top choice school.
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Reflection and Revolution: AFTACON 2016 State of the Arts Address
“All the arts, all the people” has been our steadfast declaration about equitable access to the transformative power of the arts. It is an aspirational phrase—and one we all must strive to meet.
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#OrlandoUnited
It was with conflicting emotions that I flew to Boston last Thursday to accept AFTA’s 2016 Michael Newton Award in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy in Orlando at the Pulse night club, the cornerstone of the LGBTQ community. Three reasons propelled me to move forward from a state of shock and pervasive, deep, emotional pain.
95811
Paper Investments
We rightfully spend much time and attention on both arts education and celebrating the work of established artists, but the period in between also requires care and nourishment. By investing in and supporting the work of emerging artists and writers, they create communities, locally and on a larger scale, that provide support to a bigger group of writers.
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Building Creative Communities Through the Arts and…
In 2015, Americans for the Arts launched a two-year program to explore the role the arts can play in partnership with other sectors to create healthy, vibrant, and equitable communities. The New Community Visions Initiative seeks to work with our institutional systems to find points of intersection to address arts impact in our communities.
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AFTACON Keynote Speech: Remarks by Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee and prominent political strategist, gave a keynote speech at our 2016 Annual Convention on the volatile politics we’re living with, and the vital role of the arts and arts education.
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AFTACON Opening Plenary: “On How the Arts can Fuel Revolution” by Diane Paulus
Diane Paulus, artistic director of American Repertory Theatre, gave a rousing speech at our 2016 Annual Convention pondering the state of our country and celebrating the role of the artist and the arts in this fragile moment.
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What Impact Do You Want To Have On The World?
Art and artists have historically provided social commentary and a critical lense our society needs, something the arts and culture sector could also contribute.
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96385
The Humble Step
The pursuit of cultural equity is a journey of mountains and valleys, someone once told me. It is a series of hard climbs, brief moments of celebration, if you’re lucky, and then the progression begins again. It is the type of work we do against our comfort, because it is necessary.
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95794
An Unintended Sanctuary
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, I danced the night away with four of my dearest friends at a gay club in Miami. This wasn’t abnormal for us. This was just the first time we had, as a group, been together in many years and it also coincidentally fell on one of our birthdays. If anything, our reunion fueled our movement, made us sing louder to the music. Never did it cross my mind that a place we chose for celebration could turn into a place of destruction. For us that night, it didn’t—but four hours north of us in Orlando at Pulse Nightclub, that was entirely the case.
