Blog Posts for Florida

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.

2018 PAN Year in Review Trends and Themes: Nature and Systems

Posted by Mr. Lucas Cowan, Mr. Kipp Kobayashi, Ms. Mandy Vink, May 13, 2019 0 comments

Annually, the Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review recognizes outstanding public art projects that represent the most compelling work for the year from across the country and beyond. The projects are selected and presented by a jury of three professionals who represent different aspects of the public art field, including artists, administrators, and other public art allies. New this year, the PAN Advisory Council curated the selected 49 selected projects for 2018 under five unique themes to broaden the exposure of the selected works on ARTSblog and social media, and to provide context to the works through national trends and themes that are impacting the field today.

At the forefront of the current dialogue across the nation and around the globe are questions concerning how we negotiate with the world around us to address the growing concerns of resource allocation, preservation, and climate change. The pursuit and development of the policies, systems, and infrastructure needed to provide long term sustainable solutions to these issues reaches across multiple fields from the political to the scientific and serves as inspiration to many of the 2018 PAN Year in Review projects. Though the materials, execution, and duration are all unique, these projects are unified by the role of the artist(s) in translating the collective experiences and stories of our essential ecosystems and habitats into personal narratives of site.

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Galvanizing Artists to Engage the Military and their Loved Ones in their Communities

Posted by Heather Spooner, MA, ATR-BC, Jenny Baxley Lee, MA, BC-DMT, May 02, 2019 0 comments

As creative arts therapists working within the VA, we have one of the most rewarding jobs imaginable. The veterans we work with inspire us every day and we work within a system that values our contributions. It is an exciting time to do this work, as the arts and creative arts therapies are receiving increased recognition by both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, thanks largely to programs such as the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military: Americans for the Arts and Creative Forces: The NEA Military Healing Arts Network. This year, the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine is partnering with the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs on an open-access online resource for veterans and community artists who wish to engage in community arts interactions with active service members, veterans, and their loved ones. We hope this project increases arts access in support of our service members, deepens their connection to their local communities, and enhances the overall wellbeing of all involved.

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