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.

Harrison H. Haney

Harrison H. Haney is a professional puppeteer who just recently returned to his roots in New Jersey to lead the revival of the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival. Harrison is a Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from the internationally recognized Puppet Arts program at the University of Connecticut where he also earned his second BFA in Acting. Harrison has designed and crafted puppets that have made appearances in numerous stage productions such as The Puppetmaster of Łódź, Disney’s Lion King Jr., and Edgar (I Am Nothing). He has traveled across the United States touring with the Granpa Cratchet Puppet Company performing over 25 puppet characters in over 4,500 performances. Harrison has committed to his promise to pay forward the gifts his mentors gave him by sharing the art of puppetry with young artists and performers in hopes to inspire their lives as puppetry greatly did his.