Blog Posts for advocate

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.


Randy Cohen

Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2014

Posted by Randy Cohen, Mar 20, 2014 11 comments


Randy Cohen

There is an old quote attributed to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich:

“If any man will draw up his case, and put his name at the foot of the first page, I will give him an immediate reply. Where he compels me to turn over the sheet, he must wait my leisure.”

This was the charge given to me by a business leader who needed to make a compelling case for government and corporate arts funding:

“Keep it to one page, please,” was his request. “I can get anyone to read one page.”

With the 2014 arts advocacy season upon us, the following is my updated “Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts.”

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Mr. Jeff M. Poulin

Arts Education: Ten Things to Remember from 2014

Posted by Mr. Jeff M. Poulin, Jan 09, 2015 2 comments


Mr. Jeff M. Poulin

I can now affirmatively say that I have been at Americans for the Arts for over a year! Woohoo! …And what a year it has been.

Each month the Arts Education Advisory Council of Americans for the Arts has a monthly call. In December, we sat on the call reflecting on the previous year and what we had all accomplished personally, collectively, and throughout the field. In my role as the Arts Education Program Coordinator, I am privileged to see a lot of things that happen on a national scale across the country, and the council often provides insight into the impacts of these trends or brings my attention to something that is up-and-coming before it has actually made a splash.

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Ms. Ann Marie Miller

It All Started With a Teacher

Posted by Ms. Ann Marie Miller, Jun 02, 2015 1 comment


Ms. Ann Marie Miller

At times I have been asked, “How did you find your career path in the arts?” Actually, it’s more often phrased, “How’d you get in this business?” I have held a number of wonderful posts, both public and private, and am currently Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for ArtPride New Jersey, the state arts advocacy organization. My story is evolutionary, organic, and having tilled these fields for over 30 years, long. In this age of sound bites I’ll boil it down to this—“teachers and inspiring leaders.” For me and so many others, it all started with an art teacher.

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Nancy Konitzer


Lynn Tuttle

Title I and the Arts – how does reauthorization impact this relationship?

Posted by Nancy Konitzer, Lynn Tuttle, Sep 16, 2015 1 comment


Nancy Konitzer


Lynn Tuttle

Can Title I funds be used to support arts education?

Yes - Title I funds have had the ability to support supplemental arts education programs in our nation’s public schools since the current bill (No Child Left Behind) became law in 2002. The arts are listed as a core academic subject in Title IX of the law, and Title I supports this by requesting schools to create research-based Title I programs linked to quality standards in core academic subjects. 

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Ms. Elisabeth Dorman

State Legislative Session 2015—Arts Education Policy and Funding Advancing at the State Level

Posted by Ms. Elisabeth Dorman, Dec 17, 2015 0 comments


Ms. Elisabeth Dorman

As the leading organization for advancing the arts and arts education in the nation, Americans for the Arts' Federal Affairs team keeps its finger on the legislative pulse line of Capitol Hill and champions arts and arts education friendly legislation such as the newly passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)*. 

Americans for the Arts is also passionate about empowering positive arts and arts education policy at the state and local levels, where there is much less political gridlock and thus more opportunity for positive change to occur. Our State and Local Government Affairs team connects individuals to their respective State Arts Action Network (SAAN) members, tracks arts and arts education legislation at the state and local levels to study trends, and enables members to lead grassroots action on state and local issues through our e-advocacy tool, Voter Voice. 

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Mr. Robert Lynch

The Passion of Arts Advocates Driving Change: Kennedy, U.S. Lawmakers, and You

Posted by Mr. Robert Lynch, Mar 30, 2016 0 comments


Mr. Robert Lynch

Earlier this month I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, giving a lecture on arts and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Policy. In lieu of standard hotel accommodations, I was offered the chance to stay in John F. Kennedy's senior year suite in Winthrop House—and of course I jumped at it. Sitting down at Kennedy’s desk—complete with an Underwood portable typewriter—I was profoundly moved. I thought of his inspiring words and they resonated with the event and work of the week to come, Arts Advocacy Day, when citizen advocates take to Capitol Hill to make the case for federal support for the arts and arts education.

I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.

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