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.

"The story of the arts and the communities of America is a love story spooled out over the entire history of the nation. It has all of the hallmarks of a Shakespearean play, as yet unresolved as a comedy or a tragedy, unknown in nature for the fact that it is chronically lacking in the moment when all the threads tie together. That part is still being written, and like all of history, it’s impossible to actually see how far from the satisfactory end we are.

Like many love stories that have gone on for some time, the story of the arts and the communities of America is one of resounding, repeating familiarity—of getting close, of being pushed away, of coming to the rescue, of healing the heart and then being pushed aside when health has returned, of taking each other for granted, of walking away, of coming back. Both the art makers and the community builders have approached each other with short memories, learning each others’ quirks and specialties anew every time—each moment a little different and yet somehow the same—a recurring dream, naïve reunion worthy of the best Elizabethan prose." [p.1]

First essay in the book Arts & America: Arts, Culture, and the Future of America’s Communities featuring an introduction by Americans for the Arts CEO Robert L. Lynch. The full book can be purchased in Americans for the Arts online store.

Book (essay from)
Lord, Clayton
Arts & America: Arts, Culture, and the Future of America’s Communities
50
June, 2015
File Title: 
Arts & America: 1780–2015
Publisher Reference: 
Americans for the Arts
Research Abstract
Is this an Americans for the Arts Publications: 
Yes
Description: 
Essay by Clayton Lord, Introduction by Robert L. Lynch, Edited by Clayton Lord Americans for the Arts June 2, 2015
Image Thumbnail of Pub Cover: 
June 2, 2015