State & Local News
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Chicago Public Schools plans to name an arts liaison in every school by March, fulfilling one of the benchmarks of the CPS Arts Education Plan. Schools will designate a current staff person to carry "the mantle of responsibility to coordinate and communicate everything related to the arts." The arts liaison will allow schools to access resources and arts partnerships and new strategic plans for the arts. Students, parents, teachers, principals and community leaders gathered over a three-month period to give their input on how to remedy gaps in Chicago's arts education and draft strategic plans. The arts liaison was the most popular recommendation. CPS will fund the plan through a combination of public and private sources. CPS will release its full arts plan in March. The arts will be added to the CPS school scorecards in the fall
Florida state legislators Rep. Charles McBurney and Sen. Nancy Detert have filed legislation proposing that the state count participation in arts education as a piece of public schools' state grades. The Republican legislators recently won leadership awards from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. As Florida school districts have slashed their budgets in recent years, art and music courses often have been considered as potential targets for elimination as extras or luxuries. Grading in the arts is not an unprecedented subject for the state- a few years back, Florida music teachers actually pushed for a standardized music test to generate more funding and attention to their subject.
ArtServe Michigan’s first Creative State Michigan report was released in 2012 and inspired increased support from Michigan lawmakers. Just released, this year’s Creative State Michigan report estimates that arts and culture organizations pumped more than $550 million in direct expenditures into the economy—a significant chunk. Additionally, “These organizations brought in a little over $2 billion in tourism revenue,” says Mike Latvis director of public policy for ArtServe Michigan. “That represents 16 percent of the state’s total tourism revenue. It’s actually more than those visitors coming to play golf, go boating and sailing, hunting and fishing, or hiking and biking, combined.” To view the report, click here.
Utah arts organizations and students converged at the state capitol Tuesday to thank legislators for their support of the arts and to remind them of the importance of arts funding, including programs for Utah’s schools. During the past six years, annual funding for arts in education has been between $2.5 million and just more than $3 million, dropping during the recession and reaching the $3 million threshold again last year. Those representing the arts went to the Capitol to lobby for more funding in 2013. "We're particularly struck by the loss of arts education in our public schools, and it's an important issue for us,” said Margaret Hunter of the Utah Arts Council. “Our constituents have told us it's their number one concern.
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The first-ever autism-friendly performance of the Broadway hit “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” will take off this spring. The Broadway shows have been slightly altered to make those with autism more comfortable, including cutting jarring sounds and strobe lights. Quiet areas with beanbag chairs and coloring books, staffed by autism experts, also will be created inside the theater for those who might feel overwhelmed. The Theatre Development Fund, a nonprofit for the performing arts, has consulted an advisory panel of experts in the field of autism, and has also made itself available to consult with other theaters attempting their own autism-friendly performances. It also publishes downloadable guides telling children with autism what to expect during the show, including the plot, what ushers do and what to do during a curtain call.
As of late, the musicians in the Minnesota Orchestra have been performing each concert as though it's their last—maybe because they feel it might be. A bitter lockout began in October, with a labor dispute complicated by the orchestra's dwindling endowment. The Minnesota Orchestra is far from alone: Symphonies in Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Chicago have all experienced strikes and/or lockouts over the past two years, and those in many smaller cities, including Miami, Honolulu, and Albuquerque, have folded altogether. A weak economy, compounding the longstanding challenge of a dwindling audience, has brought about a massive identity crisis in the classical music world. Orchestras have high overhead costs, and they simply aren't as popular as they once were. "We see them going, one after another, either into a wall, or to war," says classical music writer Norman Lebrecht
The Congressional STEAM Caucus was approved last month with Representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon acting as Chair and Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois as Co-Chair. STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math and the caucus aims to change the vocabulary of education to recognize the benefits of both the arts and sciences and how these intersections will benefit our country’s future generations. Caucus members will work to increase awareness of the importance of STEAM education and explore new strategies to advocate for STEAM programs. The Congressional Arts Caucus is a bipartisan organization for Members of Congress who support the arts through federal initiatives, but the introduction of the STEAM Caucus will cast a larger net of awareness for improving arts education. The Congressional Arts Caucus as well as the STEAM Caucus will simultaneously serve the arts community by illustrating that art can be a part of their policy solutions.
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Wondering how branding can help your fundraising? Based on Sarah Durham's book "Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications", this session will show how effective brandraising will help you spend less time reinventing and more time reinforcing the right messages so your prospects are more likely to understand what you do and why you do it. Sarah will show how an effective brand can make it easier to create compelling fundraising campaigns that do more with less.
Attend this webinar and take away the following:
§ How to build a solid communications foundation to benefit your organizations future fundraising campaigns
§ How to use positioning and personality to help keep all your work on track
§ How to speak with a unified organizational voice across all channels, in all tools
Webinars hosted by Americans for the Arts
New Responses to Old Complaints: Addressing Changing Customer Expectations Using New and Old TechnologiesFebruary 12, 2013 at 3:00 PM EST
Remember the days when all your ticket buyers called you when they wanted tickets? Remember when you had to pick up the phone to call them when you wanted something? Many subscribers and ticket buyers still respond to this traditional model but many of your website visitors and those aware of your organization's presence on social media have different expectations. Some of them buy and some of them don't. Learn from some real-life customer service challenges and nightmares and how you can use some new (and some old) technologies to holistically respond to these differing expectations.
Presented by: Joseph Yoshitomi, Marketing Director, Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, CA
The Evolution of Local Arts Grantmaking Series Are you an organization or agency that makes grants? Then join us for this series that showcases arts funders who are refreshing, modifying or changing grantmaking policies and strategies to support the full cultural ecosystem of their cities, towns and regions. Learn how LAAs are shaping grant programs to stimulate and support arts creation and participation in response to shifting demographics and cultural landscapes.
§ The Evolution of Local Arts Grantmaking: Technology, Systems, and Capturing Data.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 3:00 PM EST
§ The Evolution of Local Arts Grantmaking : Leveraging Investments in Creativity – What’s Next?
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 3 PM EDT
Business Speak: Can We Talk? SeriesWith the launch of The pARTnership Movement in 2012 we explored mutually beneficial ways of partnering with business to further both arts and business goals. With this series we will provide detailed instructions for the methods and models to create successful partnerships.
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Nominate Your Favorite Business with Outstanding Arts Partnerships Today!The BCA 10 recognizes businesses of all sizes for their exceptional involvement with the arts that enrich the workplace, education, and the community. Know of a business with exemplary support of the arts in your local community? Work for one? Nominate them now for The BCA 10: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America! Past winners include a leading animal health care company who began a vocal scholarship competition, a bank who sponsored a photo contest and commissioned artwork for their local branches, and an architectural firm who provided pro-bono design services within their community. Winning businesses will be honored at the BCA 10 Gala in New York City on October 3, 2013. Nominations for the BCA 10: Best Companies Supporting Arts in America close Friday, February 15. For more information visit the website or contact Patrick O’Herron at poherron@artsusa.org.
This year, arts leaders from across the country will gather in Pittsburgh, PA from June 14-16 to find ways to improve the story of how the arts build better lives, communities, and workplaces. A series of exciting speakers and arts innovators will discuss why the arts are the best kept secret when it comes to building healthy, diverse, and engaged communities. Our Annual Convention also provides an opportunity for peer groups interested arts education, cultural diversity, emerging leaders, public art, fundraising, and more to meet each year to connect and share their work.
In addition, three preconferences offer attendees a chance to dig deeper:
Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day April 8–9, 2013
The 2012 election has made a dramatic impact on Congress with more than 80 new members of Congress taking office in early January. The 113th Congress will renew the focus on reducing the federal deficit through program cuts and revenue raisers that could detrimentally impact nonprofit arts organizations. It is imperative that arts advocates work together to help educate members of Congress about the role the arts play in spurring economic growth and job creation. Register Now!
The Americans for the Arts 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall Washington, DC, April 8, 2013, 6:30 PM
Grammy Award®-winning musician Yo-Yo Ma will deliver the Americans for the Arts 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy. Receive two free tickets to the lecture with your Arts Advocacy Day registration or reserve your general admission single ticket online today.
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Funding Guidelines Available for Fiscal Year 2014 Grants Art Works is the NEA's largest funding category, supporting the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The deadlines for Art Works applications are March 7 and August 8, 2013.
The Challenge America Fast-Track category offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations -- those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. These grants feature an expedited review process with approximately six months from application to notification. The deadline for Challenge America Fast-Track is May 23, 2013.
For guidelines and application materials visit the NEA website.
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Last year, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley de-funded the South Carolina Arts Commission when she vetoed its funding in the budget. The Commission was closed for days until the legislature was able to overturn the veto. During that time the South Carolina Arts Alliance led the effort to reinstate Commission funding. This year the Alliance is back in the action. In her executive budget proposal this year, Governor Haley has suggested the Commission be rolled into the operations of the State Museum.
The South Carolina Arts Alliance was in the state capitol of Columbia last week for Arts Advocacy Day, talking to legislators about the important role of the arts in the state. Advocates attended meetings with their representatives and the legislators enjoyed the Arts Advocacy Day Legislative Appreciation Luncheon. Student advocates made a huge impression on legislators- South Carolina high school and college students attended arts advocacy day events, as well as a local elementary school choir that performed. To learn more about the South Carolina Arts Advocacy Day, and to view pictures, visit the South Carolina Arts Alliance Facebook page.
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