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.


Ms. Deb Vaughn

Maintaining the Post-Conference Euphoria

Posted by Ms. Deb Vaughn, Mar 15, 2011 0 comments


Ms. Deb Vaughn

Deb Vaughn

Deb Vaughn

One of the big pieces of my job as a state arts education coordinator is to, well, coordinate.

And it’s one thing to bring people together face-to-face (although there are certainly challenges: travel expenses, coordinating schedules, finding an agreeable geographic location, how much food to order from the caterer, etc.).

But it’s another thing entirely to connect people when they can’t meet face to face.

Three years ago, the Oregon Arts Commission started convening a yearly Arts Education Congress. The first gathering took place right after the 2008 general election, when the spirit of grassroots political action was high.

We invited people from all sides of the arts education Venn diagram to serve as voluntary delegates at this event, looking forward to dialogue with people who dipped their toes in the arts education pool from all different angles.

Read More

Merryl Goldberg

You’re the Arts Department Chair and You Box?!

Posted by Merryl Goldberg, Mar 15, 2011 11 comments


Merryl Goldberg

Merryl Boxing

Merryl Goldberg

Yup, I’m the Chair of all the Visual and Performing Arts at California State University San Marcos, and I go to a boxing gym three to four times a week.

I say this as if it was a confession, and when I do say this out loud, I get the most curious looks. I would be last person on earth you would imagine as a boxer.

First off, I’m pretty tiny – almost 5’1” (!).

And, I’m over 50, not the profile one imagines for a boxer:  Ms. teeny tiny almost-senior-citizen, artsy administrator wearing wraps, gloves, and beating the heck out of an innocent bag.  But, I love it - both the surprise of identifying as one who boxes, and the actual act of boxing.

Alright, this is how it happened.  

Read More

Ms. Kathi R. Levin

The “Well-Rounded” Education

Posted by Ms. Kathi R. Levin, Mar 15, 2011 3 comments


Ms. Kathi R. Levin

Kathi Levin

Kathi R. Levin

After years of having the arts included as a core subject in federal policy, the arts education community is faced with adapting to a new approach to positioning the arts in the curriculum.

Federal policy has not abandoned the arts as a core subject – at least not yet.

But the arts are now clustered within the concept of having a “well-rounded” education (or the well-rounded curriculum).

For U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, a “well-rounded” education or curriculum means that in addition to math, science, and language arts – we need to make sure that students have the arts, foreign language, history and civics, financial literacy, and environmental education.

Recently, Duncan issued guidance to governors in the form of a letter and several white papers to explain how the states can adapt to the economic realities of shrinking budgets without cutting various aspects of education.

Read More

Tim Mikulski

Speaking Up (or Protesting Quietly) for Arts Education

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Mar 14, 2011 0 comments


Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

I'm always talking about the importance of arts and arts education advocacy since my background is in the political world, but I know that it can be intimidating to talk to a local board of education member, local legislator, or state representative - let alone a U.S. Senator or Congressperson.

While we try to make the latter easier thanks to a day-long training session before National Arts Advocacy Day and offer other advocacy resources such as our current Testify on Behalf of Arts Education campaign, those methods aren't universal solutions.

For this reason, I often collect stories about local efforts to fight for arts education (and the arts in general) in case anyone ever wants other advocacy alternatives.

It just so happens that last week, there were three different types of advocacy efforts going on in three areas of the country - Reading, PA; Melrose, MA; and, San Diego, CA.

Read More

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - blogs