Americans for the Arts

A Busy Summer for the Arts Action Fund

Posted by Americans for the Arts, Sep 20, 2012 0 comments


Americans for the Arts

The Americans for the Arts Action Fund, in partnership with NAMM: National Association of Music Merchants, The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs), and The United States Conference of Mayors partnered together to sponsor programs at both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention with the help of the respective local arts agencies in Tampa and Charlotte (Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the Arts & Science Council).

It all began with two events in Tampa for the Republican National Convention.

The first was ArtsSPEAK, a policy forum on the future of the arts and arts education. The second was ArtsJAM, an intimate concert performance featuring national recording artists celebrating the arts.

To kick things off, Arts Action Fund President Bob Lynch welcomed RNC delegates to ArtsSPEAK in Tampa:

Later, he was joined by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who moderated the panel of elected officials, advocates and arts leaders. Featured speakers included: Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert; Mesa (AZ) Mayor Scott Smith; Hillsborough County School Board Member Doretha Edgecomb; Tampa Bay Times Marketing Director Kerry O'Reilly; and Jazz Musician/Former New York Yankee Bernie Williams.

You can listen to the full event via SoundCloud:

After the event, a few panelists took the time to speak to staff about the importance of the arts and arts education, including Huckabee and Herbert:

Attendee U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) also took the time to share his thoughts:

Stay tuned to ARTSblog for more info from the ArtsSPEAK and ArtsJAM events from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte soon!

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