Leader Spotlights

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.

Leader Spotlights

Critically important to the mission and goals of Americans for the Arts, these individuals help advance the arts through their leadership.

Jim Clark

I’ve always felt it was my responsibility to provide an environment in which an artist can encounter a public or an audience in the most favorable way. I work to make sure I can present things that reflect the desire and integrity of the artist in a way that is understood by the public, that isn’t alien. In that sense, I am a bridge between an artist and a community.

Ron Whitehead

Ron Whitehead is an artist, veteran of the Gulf War, and presently teaches photography and art at Ossining High School in New York state. As an artist, his complex images, rendered in layered photography, speak to the duality of military service and the return to civilian life. Ron’s black & white photograph “Art of Healing” was a categorical winner at the 2015 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival.

Maria Bell

Growing up in Southern California, I was lucky enough to be exposed to the arts in my public high school.  That experience opened up a whole new world to me where all the arts, but particularly visual art, would change my life.  It would lead me to major in art history in college and follow that up with a commitment to arts education in philanthropy.  I have served on nonprofit arts boards large and small, from PS Arts to MOCA in an effort that others could have similar eye opening experiences with the arts.

Flora Maria Garcia

"The partnerships between business and the arts are essential–our sector provides the creative capital and business provides the capital investment that makes the project a go. I don’t think I’ve ever initiated a major new program without the support of the business sector. The arts are the entrepreneurs of creativity–unlike any other sector, the arts create programs that touch almost every aspect of community life in substantive, meaningful, long lasting ways. Businesses are often looking for creative, impactful programs in which to invest.

Suku Radia

Serving on many nonprofit boards has helped me realize that for a community to be successful, it has to come together efficiently and effectively. As the city of Des Moines embarked on a commitment to the arts, I discovered that supporting the arts in addition to human and social services could strengthen the community ties that are so important to Bankers Trust Company, Iowa’s largest community bank.

Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD)

During National Arts and Humanities Month, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) photographed “Dignity,” a 50-foot sculpture of a Native American woman created by Sturgis artist Dale Lamphere. The sculpture is on the banks of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota.

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