Profile

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.

Betsey Sanpere

As a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a BFA in Painting & Design, Betsey Sanpere has used her interest in the arts throughout her working life. After attending NYU’s Graduate School of Education where she focused on Creative Arts, Betsey taught studio and commercial art to grades 1-12. Formerly a Public Information Officer and Cultural/Community Outreach Coordinator at BWI Airport, Betsey was a member of the Earth Tech/AECOM team for Nantucket Memorial Airport’s renovation and expansion. In addition, she was Deputy Project Manager at CitiArts, Inc. for the Arts/Archives Master Plan for MWAA, administrator of Washington Dulles International and Reagan National Airports.

Betsey curated the Governor of Maryland’s Art Collection and 19 exhibits at the Maryland State House; she also curated exhibits at Barnstable Airport, Nantucket Airport and BWI. As a published author in trade journals, such as Passenger Terminal World and Railway Terminal World, Betsey concentrated on public art in transport venues. Moreover, her writing was included on the Sharp Heels and APEX Media blogs as well as in a feature article in the New York Times.

Betsey created and maintains the only Facebook page that showcases arts in the airport throughout the world: www.facebook.com/artsintheairport; she tweets as @ArtsinAirports. Betsey, principal of Creative Airport Solutions, collaborates with public art specialists Jennifer Murphy of CitiArts, Inc. and Elsa Cameron of Community-Arts; Betsey also focuses on youth aviation education with the implementation of innovative programs. She may be contacted at [email protected].