Blog Posts for Community Engagement

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.


Ms. Vicki Scuri

International Sculpture Day: “Aurora Bright Dawn” Connecting Community to Place

Posted by Ms. Vicki Scuri, Apr 16, 2019 0 comments


Ms. Vicki Scuri

International Sculpture Day (IS Day), on April 27, is a worldwide event celebrating the many ways sculpture and public art impact and improve people’s lives. IS Day, first initiated by the International Sculpture Center (ISC) in 2015, occurs on the last Saturday of April. On this day, artists and groups interested in the arts host events including workshops, studio tours, gallery openings, performances, project dedications, and more, all celebrating how sculpture, in its many forms, improves lives. The definition of sculpture is expanding to include both traditional forms and works including performance, video, installation art, public art, and more. IS Day is a great way to engage with sculpture and its power in communities. As a Board Member of ISC and a Public Artist, I am participating in IS Day by dedicating Aurora Bright Dawn. This public artwork combines space, color, and form on an aging pedestrian bridge, promoting community connectivity and safe crossing.

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Randy Cohen

A Fresh Way to Learn About Local Arts Agencies

Posted by Randy Cohen, Apr 11, 2019 0 comments


Randy Cohen

I conducted my first survey of local arts agencies in 1991. It was all paper in those days. We didn’t even ask for fax numbers because too few had one! Over the years we have fielded dozens of local arts agency (LAA) surveys—some were short and easy to fill out and provided useful information, but lacked adequate depth; others were comprehensive and extremely informative, but were too long and hard for respondents to complete. While the paper surveys became online surveys and technology has made distribution more expansive, what remains as pressing as ever is the need for reliable, relevant, and easily accessible information about the LAAs—research that provides early alerts about new trends, drives discourse about how the industry is evolving, and simply allows LAAs to see how they compare to their peers. In 2018, Americans for the Arts implemented a new annual survey to accomplish just this—The Profile of Local Arts Agencies. There are multiple ways you can put the Profile findings to work for you! 

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Cristyn Johnson

Audience Engagement is NOT Community Engagement

Posted by Cristyn Johnson, Mar 29, 2019 1 comment


Cristyn Johnson

Why is it important that we get these terms right? As we work to communicate the value of the work that we do, it’s important to paint an accurate and authentic picture. It is only once we acknowledge the work we are currently doing that we are able to grow.

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Mr. Clayton W. Lord

Why It’s Crucial to Center Equity in LAA Investment Strategies

Posted by Mr. Clayton W. Lord, Mar 27, 2019 0 comments


Mr. Clayton W. Lord

What does it mean to center equity in your investment strategy? And why is that important? Cultural equity is critical to the arts and culture sector’s long-term viability, as well as to the ability of the arts to contribute to healthy, vibrant, equitable communities for all. If the field is not investing in the artistic and cultural traditions of every aspect of their community, then we are not fulfilling our purpose. Each year the United States’ 4,500 local arts agencies collectively invest an estimated $2.8 billion in their local arts and culture ecosystems, including an estimated $600 million in direct investment in artists and arts and culture organizations through grants, contracts, and loans. This makes LAAs, collectively, the largest distributor of publicly-derived funds to arts and culture in the United States. It is therefore crucial that LAAs employ a strong lens of equity to consider the full scope of their investments—including both direct financial investments like grants, and indirect financial investments like staff salaries and rent.

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