Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.


Dr. Silagh White

Video Podcasting: Marketing Students Supporting the Arts at Lehigh

Posted by Dr. Silagh White, Jul 20, 2010 0 comments


Dr. Silagh White

I wanted to explore video production to help inform a wide audience about the arts at Lehigh University.

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Is a Liberal Arts Education Bad for Business?

Posted by , Jul 14, 2010 3 comments



First of all, my answer to the question is a definite “NO,” and while I do think my history degree and music background may be part of the reason I didn’t go into business, I do think arts education is vital for producing a creative and competitive workforce.  But today, I read an article on TheAtlantic.com entitled “Liberal Arts and the Bottom Line” where, apparently, following such disasters as the mortgage-backed securities blunder on Wall Street and the recent and ongoing BP oil spill, some business experts are suggesting that (gasp!) there are other things that need to be taken into account (employee quality of life, environmental impact, community health, etc.) other than the bottom line and that a business education should reflect that.  Their proposed solution: including more liberal arts in the curriculum of business students.  That’s right, business experts are suggesting that business curricula include the arts because it will lead to a more well-rounded, and, if you can believe it, more ethical business executive.   From the article:

"On one level, these changes are an effort to assuage society's concerns about bloodthirsty and uncaring business executives bringing down economies or risking the destruction of an entire coastline in the name of profit. But on another level, they reflect a growing belief that the kind of complex, critical thinking and ability to look at problems in larger contexts and from multiple points of view that a liberal arts education instills (at least in theory) actually leads to better decision-making skills in business executives."

Sounds reasonable (and slightly encouraging) to me.  But the author goes on to tell what she calls a “cautionary tale” about creating a more well-rounded business exec.  In 1952, Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania offered a 10-month immersion course in the Humanities and Liberal Arts for up-and-coming Bell managers where these managers read the classics, listened to symphonies, toured art museums, and the like.  The result: 

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Tim Mikulski

U.S. Education Official Responds to Arts Education Concerns

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Jul 08, 2010 1 comment


Tim Mikulski

Last month’s Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit in Baltimore, MD, was a rousing success on many fronts. Despite economic challenges, a thousand attendees joined us for several days of networking, collaborating, and learning.

In honor of the organization’s 50th anniversary year, this year’s annual convention featured visionary panel sessions, providing the field with an opportunity to listen to, and engage with, leaders in their respective fields to discuss the future. The arts education visionary panel was moderated by Chris Tebben, executive director of Grantmakers for Education, and featured Eric Booth (teaching artist/consultant), Jillian Darwish (vice president of organizational learning and innovation at KnowledgeWorks Foundation), Carrie Fitzsimmons (international director for strategy at ArtScience Labs), and James Shelton (assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education).

The discussion on the current outlook and future of arts education was lively and engaging, but it was Mr. Shelton who sparked concern from many in the audience. Among his remarks, Mr. Shelton described the collection of research supporting arts education as, “loose” and, in another instance, he appeared to suggest that future arts education policy efforts should be more focused on out-of-school activities.

As hosts of the panel, we quickly found out that news of his remarks were spreading around the country as attendees shared the comments with their colleagues, who then shared them with others, etc.

After returning to D.C., Americans for the Arts Director of Federal Affairs Narric Rome sent a letter to Mr. Shelton, providing him the opportunity to publicly clarify what he meant, and reassure the arts education community that the department’s effort to strengthen arts education through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and elsewhere, remained a priority.

Mr. Shelton responded with a detailed letter clarifying those comments and reiterating the Department of Education’s support for arts education.

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Jamie Boese

It boils down to changing people's lives one person at a time . . .

Posted by Jamie Boese, Jul 08, 2010 0 comments


Jamie Boese

created by the New York Neo-Futurists

No Flash? Watch here on iPhone or iPad.

When I first started working with the New York Neo-Futurists, our artists-in-residence for the 2010 Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit, I had no idea what to expect from their culminating performance on Sunday, June 27. I was familiar with the structure of their work from seeing “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” a couple of times, and knew about ordering of the “menu” of short plays. I even anticipated some on-stage chaos. But It was the content I was worried about.

The Neos were tasked with synthesizing thousands of voices, opinions and ideas bounced around over the course of three days in Baltimore into 10 short plays crammed into a 20 minute window. And I wanted at least some of the plays to be a meaningful reflection on the future of the arts (in line with the conference theme). That was a big challenge to place on anyone’s shoulders, even six young, hilarious theatre gurus who create small plays to perform at random order on a weekly basis.

It all had me a little nervous.

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