arts advocacy day april 8 - 9, 2013

The 26th annual Arts Advocacy Day brought together a broad cross section of America's cultural and civic organizations, along with more than 500 grassroots advocates from 40 states across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts. View highlights from Arts Advocacy Day 2013 below.

Yo-Yo Ma delivered the 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, a leading national forum for arts policy, intended to stimulate discussion of policy and social issues affecting the arts. Ma's lecture was titled "Art for Life's Sake: A Roadmap from One Citizen Musician" and focused on how the arts are core to education, healing, and better collaboration in society.

View the complete Nancy Hanks Lecture (1:26:23)

Joining Yo-Yo Ma for the performance portions of the lecture were: bagpiper and pianist Cristina Pato, jooker Lil' Buck, MusiCorps wounded warriors: Specialist Nathan Kalwicki, Lance Corporal Josh Cawthorn, Sergeant Rex Tharp, Corporal Marcus Dandrea, Lance Corporal Tim Donley, teaching artist Greg Loman and founder Arthur Bloom.

Victoria Reggie Kennedy	Lil' Buck
MusiCorps	Yo-Yo Ma

Google+ Hangout

Yo-Yo Ma, Matt Sorum, and Bob Lynch led a live Google Hangout focused on arts education the morning of the Congressional Arts Kick Off. Streaming from the Americans for the Arts YouTube channel, the Hangout featured speakers from across the globe including Damian Woetzel, Lisa Phillips, Gigi Antoni, Jason Vieaux, and Nathan Cole. Questions were gathered from Arts Advocacy Day participants and others watching live through Twitter and by email.

View the Google+ Hangout with Yo-Yo Ma and Matt Sorum (37:36)

Additional videos can be found on our YouTube Channel.

The Congressional Arts Kick-Off marks the official start of the Arts Advocacy Day events on Capitol Hill. At this event, the Congressional Arts Leadership Award was presented to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). The award, which recognizes distinguished service on behalf of the arts, is part of a series of Public Leadership in the Arts Awards given annually by Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors.

Featured Kick-off Participant Speeches

Yo-Yo Ma, Cristina Pato, Matt Sorum, and Lil' Buck	Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)	Stuart Carlson

More kick-off speakers can be viewed on our AAD 2013 YouTube Channel.

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)	Cristina Pato
Lil' Buck	Matt Sorum

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A roundup of notable news mentions of Arts Advocacy Day 2013.