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STE[A]Mrolled
"I used language because I wanted to offer content that people - not necessarily art people - could understand." - Jenny Holzer
Some years ago I took a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. And ignorantly (and perhaps, arrogantly), I assumed my knowledge of the Spanish language would suffice for me to be able to communicate with the Lisbonites. I soon grew frustrated at my inability to communicate with the locals and when asked to describe my experience with Portuguese, I later said it was like trying to speak Spanish using French.
Language is important.
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Arts Marketing Lessons From My Church
What can a church show us about marketing . . . How about a slew of audience development activities that could serve as a model for arts organizations?
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The ticket sales blame game, and Fight Club
There are two groups standing on opposites sides of the parking lot. Bruised and battered, knuckles taped up, and ready to go at it again. If it’s your first time, you almost always have to fight. This is the fight club that sometimes happens between the artistic and Marketing departments after a production fails to sell well.
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Thank You for Being a Part of Innovations in State Arts Advocacy Blog Salon
Thank you for joining us for ArtsBlog’s first blog salon focused exclusively on innovative initiatives and programs in state arts advocacy. I hope that you enjoyed reading the stories and advice shared by state arts advocacy leaders from across the country during this blog salon.
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Serving Communities: Stewarding Public Investment in the Arts
In October 2015, Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA) hosted its fourth annual capacity building conference called ArtsLAB. This year’s theme was “Community Engagement; Roles and Responsibilities of Publicly Funded Arts Organizations.” Why did we choose this topic? Simple: The Baltimore Uprising of April 2015.
Our offices are in Baltimore City. On the day after the Uprising, the Baltimore City School System was closed. As a city resident, I considered this an egregious error if not a complete failure of the system to our youth. As I arrived at work and opened up our social media accounts, something so basic and so truly amazing happened. One after another, nonprofit arts organizations across the city started promoting arts activities, free lunches, free concerts and plays for Baltimore City School Students.
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Volunteer Advocacy Leadership: Guarding the Backside
My wife was a corporate litigator at a major firm and she’s got some fun stories from that experience. Her direct supervisor, an esteemed senior partner, regularly advised her to “guard the backside” in litigation they brought on behalf of clients.
For anyone unfamiliar with the game of basketball, guarding the backside refers to a situation where Team A is dribbling the ball down the court near to one sideline in an effort to reach the basket and score on Team B. Team B may be entirely focused on where the ball is coming from but Team A may suddenly pass the ball to the other sideline and then attack the backside, or weak side, of the defense. This experienced litigator recognized that part of competently preparing for litigation was: don’t forget to guard the backside.
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So How Do You DO The Creative Economy, Anyway? (Hint: It’s A Process)
There are many ways to advocate for access to creative opportunities and investment in the arts as integral to economic, educational and civic success.
Some of the most important partners in this effort, in these changing and exciting times, are local governments and the economic development sector. Local officials, economic development professionals, and civic leaders are concerned with economic vitality, education for the 21st century, healthy, vibrant communities, and engaged residents. Those are arts issues in every way. As Wisconsin’s community cultural development organization, Arts Wisconsin is strategically and proactively involved in civic policy, planning and programming, working at the intersection of the creative workforce, industries and communities. Our partners now include statewide civic organizations including the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin Rural Partners, Wisconsin Economic Development Association, Wisconsin Main Street Program, and the Wisconsin Downtown Action Council. We all care about our state’s future.
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The Arts & Health Steering New Advances in State Public Policy
“Art is a constant agent of transformation and is indeed the soul’s drive to health.”
Cathy Malchiodi, Ph.D., Art Therapist
You know the old adage, “If you have your health, you have everything.” In seeking health, whether it’s your own, a loved one’s, or in a community, the arts can be a powerful, even transformational component. A growing body of research and expanding practice confirm this belief. As such, arts and healthcare is becoming more recognized as a compelling platform for creating public value and policy.
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Hello Chamber…it’s the Arts Calling
Building partnerships is one of the most effective advocacy strategies we can employ. The right partners expand our reach and diversify our voice. Even more importantly, I believe we can supercharge our advocacy campaigns by engaging non-traditional partners.
Assembling a coalition that includes the art museum down the street, the arts education advocates around the corner, and the jazz group next door, is an important first step. But, have you ever tried reaching out to your local chamber of commerce?
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Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus: Candidates, Corn Dogs, and Collaboration!
The idea for the Iowa Arts Advocacy Caucus was born at the Americans for the Arts Action Fund event at Advocacy Day 2015 when Nina Ozlu Tunceli mentioned that Americans for the Arts would be actively participating in the New Hampshire primary and both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in 2016. I was attending this event with Helen Duranleau-Brennan of the Iowa Thespians, and we both looked at each other and had the same idea—Americans for the Arts needed to be in Iowa before the Iowa Caucuses! We talked to Nina, and she thought it was a great idea. Planning started as soon as I got back to Iowa.
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Take Arts Advocacy on the Road
“I pledge to you that the Mayor, the City Council and indeed the City of Fergus Falls will invest more in the arts.”
-Mayor Hal Leland, Fergus Falls, MN
This is just one of the astonishing things said by public officials as we traveled around the state doing the Creative Minnesota Road Show. Drawing together city council and county board members, mayors, and regional and local economic development staff along with arts advocates of every description, the 91 presentations of our 29 economic impact studies of the arts were held in every corner of Minnesota in 2015. I put 7,000 miles on my car. I could now do these presentations in my sleep. But I have to tell you that it was really fun to run from place to place being the bearer of good news.
