policy and advocacy
Americans for the Arts Organizes Hearing on Arts Advocacy Day 2011
For the fifth consecutive year in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, chaired by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) scheduled a hearing on the importance of investing in the arts. Americans for the Arts was invited to organize witnesses to give testimony before the subcommittee, which determines the budget levels for the National Endowment for the Arts. The hearing was scheduled for Arts Advocacy Day on April 5, but was cancelled along with all other appropriations hearings that week due to the potential government shutdown crisis. The invited witnesses gave their remarks before the assembled media, congressional members and staff, and arts advocates following the Congressional Arts Kick-Off event.
Actor Kevin Spacey is the artistic director of The Old Vic Theatre Company in London. He directed its inaugural production, Cloaca, before appearing in National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, Richard II, A Moon for the Misbegotten, which subsequently transferred to Broadway, and Speed-the-Plow. Previous theater includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor); Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor); Long Day’s Journey into Night (Broadway and West End) and The Seagull (Kennedy Center). His films include The Usual Suspects (Academy Award®, Best Supporting Actor), American Beauty (Academy and BAFTA Awards, Best Actor), Swimming with Sharks, Se7en, LA Confidential, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Shipping News, and Beyond the Sea. His production company Trigger Street executive produced the film The Social Network, which won the Golden Globe for Best Film. Read his remarks here (PDF).
Edgar Smith, Jr. is founder, chairman, and CEO of World Pac Paper LLC and the winner of the 2010 Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Ohio and Region V of the United Sates, which covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Smith serves as a director and the vice chair, small business for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, representing the interest of nearly 6,000 member businesses. For 14 years, Smith has served on the board of Cincinnati’s united arts fund, ArtsWave. He is the chair of ArtsWave’s 2011 campaign which seeks to raise $11 million for Cincinnati area arts and cultural organizations. Read his remarks here (PDF).
Actor Alec Baldwin has appeared in more than forty films, including Beetle Juice, Working Girl, Miami Blues, The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, Malice, The Juror, The Edge, Ghosts of Mississippi, State and Main, The Cat in the Hat, The Cooler (National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, Oscar nomination), The Aviator, The Departed, and It’s Complicated, among many others. On television, Baldwin currently stars with Tina Fey on NBC’s 30 Rock, winner of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. Baldwin has received five SAG Awards, three Golden Globes, the Television Critics Award, and two Emmy awards as Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on the show. His company, El Dorado Pictures, has produced several projects including Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial for TNT television (Emmy nomination), The Confession for Showtime (WGA award for best adapted screenplay) and David Mamet’s film, State and Main. Alec Baldwin is also a dedicated supporter of numerous causes related to public policy and the arts and animal welfare. He has also served as the host of The New York Philharmonic This Week. Read his remarks here (PDF).
Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz began serving as Burnsville Minnesota’s Mayor in January 1995 and is presently serving her sixth term. Mayor Kautz has focused on restoring safe neighborhoods, economic development, maintaining quality level of community development, balancing the needs of residential and commercial development. She is currently President of The United States Conference of Mayors and represents Burnsville on numerous local, regional, state and national boards. Read her remarks here (PDF).
Robert Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to advancing the arts and arts education in people’s lives, schools, and communities. Celebrating its 51st year, Americans for the Arts is the national convener of Arts Advocacy Day, which is co-sponsored by 84 national arts service organizations, representing thousands of nonprofit arts groups, state and local arts agencies, and artists of every discipline across the country. Read his remarks here (PDF).