featured members
2013
Americans for the Arts members are truly diverse – from large arts organizations to small ones; from funders to presenters; from urban centers to rural outposts. Despite their differences, they share the common goal of advancing and promoting the arts in their communities. Featured Member Projects highlights some of the many interesting and innovative means our members are using to strengthen their communities through the arts.Are you an Americans for the Arts member who would like to see your organization and project featured on this page? If so, email your story to membership@artsusa.org.
Business for Culture and the Arts
Diversity and the Next Generation of Arts Leaders
Diversity is a constant area of focus at Americans for the Arts, so when I saw a notice about the Business for Culture & the Arts (BCA) Arts Connector, I was intrigued. Arts Connector is the product of BCA’s commitment to engage young professionals and increase diversity in arts leadership in the Portland, Oregon region. This dynamic networking event was designed to introduce both “newbie’s” and arts enthusiast business professionals, particularly those of color, to new ways to get involved with the arts.
For Wisconsin's 16th annual Arts Day, a statewide rally for the arts, advocates participated in ‘Art Bomb Wisconsin.’ The state’s arts advocacy organization, Arts Wisconsin, joined with Arts Milwaukee and a local marketing organization, Flipeleven Creative, to organize the campaign. Arts Bomb Wisconsin encouraged artists and supporters to ‘bomb’ state legislator’s social media accounts with art in picture, video, or text. #artbombwi began trending on Twitter, eventually reaching more than 65,000 participating accounts and making impressions on a total of 175,000 accounts. Read more »
City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
Philadelphia Celebrates Black History Month in Grand Style"Look Back on the Past and Celebrate the Present” is this year’s theme for the City of Philadelphia's Black History Month. Recognizing that Philadelphia has a long history of African-American history, culture, and tradition, the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, along with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, plans to showcase Philadelphia as a destination for Black History Month. Read more »
Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis
It was a vision realized by only 11 other communities in the country in 1963. Arts advocacy and funding was still in its infancy. The National Endowment for the Arts would not exist for another two years. And yet, a handful of key St. Louis business leaders and prominent philanthropists stepped forward and worked tirelessly to create a united fund for the arts, a fund that would allow arts groups to concentrate on providing the best possible programs without spending all of their time, money, and energies on meeting bills for day-today operations. Read more »