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.


Marisa Catalina Casey

It's 2:05 P.M., Do You Know Where Your Neo Futurists Are?

Posted by Marisa Catalina Casey, Jun 30, 2010 0 comments


Marisa Catalina Casey

At 2:05pm on Sunday, June 27th the New York Neo Futurists were preparing to take the stage to perform 10 new plays to celebrate the culmination of the 50th Anniversary Summit. That’s right—a total of 10 brand new original short plays based on dozens of interviews with attendees and the group’s experience as the Artists in Residency at the 2010 Summit. I was fortunate to not only be interviewed by the New York Neo-Futurists (henceforth the Neos) but also to participate in their “re-charging movement-based activities” during the Networking Break on Saturday.

I jumped at the opportunity to interact with this group of dynamic performers by scheduling an interview. I know of the Chicago Neo Futurists from an episode in 2003 of the radio program This American Life, which adapted the idea of performing 30 plays in 60 minutes from the Neos’ show, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (Although the radio broadcast only included 20 acts in 60 minutes.)

The Neo Futurists opened at the Stage Left Theater in Chicago on December 2, 1988. Written and performed by the eight-person ensemble, the Neos were first conceived and directed by Greg Allen. The New York version debuted in 1995 but after two years took a hiatus. Resurrected in their current form in 2004, the New York Neos and are now going strong performing Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind at the Kraine Theater (85 East Fourth Street).

Drawing from their namesake, the Italian Futurists, the Neos come from a rich tradition of performance artist history ranging from the Dadaists and Happenings in 1960s to low-tech participatory theatre in the 1980s. Eschewing the ideas of conventional theatre performances: character, setting, plot, and the separation of audience and performer, the Neos thrive on audience interaction. Attendee interviews were just one way that the Neos facilitated this in Baltimore.

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Michael R. Gagliardo

New and innovative thinking

Posted by Michael R. Gagliardo, Jun 28, 2010 1 comment


Michael R. Gagliardo

I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative thinking when it comes to funding the arts, and especially when it comes to my home discipline of music, specifically string and orchestral music.  After all, as our Green Paper states, part of our vision is to “protect these programs from economic uncertainty.”  But this one caught even me off guard!

FORD CREEK, IN, June 24, 2010 – Officials and board members with the Culver County School System have devised a way to save the system’s threatened strings program without cutting services to students.  “After a great deal of discussion, we have come up with solutions that we feel will allow us to continue to offer the strings program in our schools, and at the same time will address the current economic concerns of the system,” stated Culver County Superintendent of Schools Paul LaCosta.

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Michael R. Gagliardo

Beyond Liking It

Posted by Michael R. Gagliardo, Jun 27, 2010 0 comments


Michael R. Gagliardo

We are all advocates of the arts.  If you are in the profession in any way – educator, administrator, creator, or all of the above – you are, by nature, an arts advocate.  And all of us agree that one of the key points in arts advocacy is making arts education a priority.  But did you know that it’s not just a priority, but according to the federal government, it’s a part of the core curriculum?

In the session “Beyond Liking It: Prioritizing Arts Education,” Laurie Lock and Lynn Tuttle talked about the things that can do as arts education advocates to ensure the future of arts programs in our school, whether we are addressing continuing funding in difficult times or trying to establish funding for new programs.  Some thoughts from the session:

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