featured members
2011
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.
The Things You Can't Learn in SchoolSad to say, but it is actually extremely rare to be given the chance to simply think about an idea for a new program: To spend time reading about a topic, imagining how a concept might take shape. To have a chance to talk to others, gain perspective, learn about their experiences, and ask lots of questions. The process of researching our proposal to have Center Theatre Group (CTG) serve as the host for a city-wide arts management internship program for graduate students has been remarkable. This article outlines our year-long process investigating this idea.
Read more »Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville
We're focusing this month’s Featured Member on an organization that celebrated National Arts and Humanities Month in part by hosting a Creative Conversation in its community. Creative Conversations are local gatherings of engaged citizens in communities across the country and are part of a grassroots movement to elevate the profile of the arts in America. While the program initially started in 2004 as a part of the Emerging Leaders Network, Americans for the Arts expanded the scope of the event this year to invite all arts leaders and interested individuals to participate.
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For the past 37 years, Junction City Arts Council (JCAC) has demonstrated the highest level of optimism and unmatched resilience. Yet the success of JCAC cannot be attributed to government funding; in fact, it hails from the strength of the community, the spirit of the staff, the exuberance of the members, and the engaging year-round programming efforts. For example, Junction City Arts Council hosts classes and runs programs for all ages; such as the Lil Emerging Artist Preschool Class, Murder Mystery Dinners, and iCreate: A Teen Arts Council (just to name a few). Adding to this, JCAC also hosts a 30-minute artist-audience interaction time after live performances. With programs like these, JCAC is able to breathe life into its visual and performing arts community. Americans for the Arts was fortunate enough to speak with JCAC Executive Director Gail Parsons about how the Council tries to live out its mission of demonstrating “how the arts are a natural part of our lives.” Read more »
Initiative. This word brings to mind new beginnings, determination and innovation. Just the thing for an economy that delivers lemons—take initiative—make lemonade.There is modern wisdom in the old adage when life gives you lemons…
In Arizona, citrus trees thrive. We know what to do with lemons.
October 2010––Scottsdale Public Art (SPA) launched IN FLUX, an initiative to connect with and support local artists, merchants, and property owners, bringing renewed vitality to downtown Scottsdale through a series of multidisciplinary temporary storefront installations. IN FLUX featured city border-crossing partnerships to reach new audiences and artists in the greater Phoenix area, co-curation with stakeholders and the public, in-kind participation nearly matching the total project budget, and artworks that were at once eye candy and conversation-inducing conceptual pieces.
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As technology and social media rapidly change, all types of interactions, the Arts & Science Council (ASC) of Charlotte is in the midst of creating the latest innovation in fundraising. Later this month, the ASC is launching an easy to navigate, revolutionary giving website, www.power2give.org, which makes donating to cultural organizations easier than ever before. The council conceived the idea for the online marketplace after acknowledging specific donor trends: increased online giving, social media utilization, and a desire for transparency—wanting to know exactly how organizations use donations to impact the community. The intent of ASC’s power2give is to broaden the cultural donor base in Charlotte and eventually other cities, attracting the attention of patrons who attend cultural events, but are not yet donors to these events and projects.
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P.S. ARTS, an organization in Los Angeles working to improve children's lives through arts education, recently announced the launch of the TakePART program in the Lawndale, Lennox, and Wiseburn school districts. TakePART (Public-School Arts Regional Team) is a collaborative effort to streamline resources, increase arts opportunities, and strengthen communities across neighboring school districts. P.S. ARTS leads the TakePART taskforce with school district leaders and other community stakeholders, or “PARTners.” PARTners work together to plan, develop, and implement arts education initiatives that benefit students and families across the entire region—beyond what can be accomplished within individual school districts.
Read more »Community Partnership for Arts and Culture
The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) located in Cleveland, OH, just launched an exciting pilot program to invest directly in artist based community development. The program, Artists in Residence, is a two-year, $500,000 pilot that will explore what artists can do for Cleveland neighborhoods and what Cleveland neighborhoods can do for artists.
Read more »Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
In mid-2006 the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) began pursuit of a collaborative arts project that would create a patron base large enough to significantly increase the depth and reach of local audience development efforts. The ambition was to bring together nonprofit cultural organizations with common marketing goals and potentially overlapping constituencies to capitalize on both innovation and economy of scale. Today, that idea has become the STAR Shared Marketing Database project. In collaboration with Elliott Marketing Group, the current project provides marketing research and learning as well as joint marketing initiatives sponsored by GPAC. Read more »
Advocacy by Numbers: Creative Economy Development Success Story
Weeks ago, when Gov. Rick Perry of Texas called for the elimination of all funding for the Texas Commission on the Arts—an agency he felt was outside the scope of the core functions of government—advocates knew that a tough battle was on the horizon. But thanks to recent in-depth studies conducted by the Texas Cultural Trust, those advocates could take comfort in the fact they had the data to challenge Gov. Perry’s notion that public funding of the arts somehow did not benefit the government, and subsequently, the people of Texas.
Read more »Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee
Creativity Works in Milwaukee
On January 19, 2011, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee, in partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Committee, unveiled Creativity Works!—a year-long study on the creative economy potential of the region’s seven counties. The project aims to define and understand the Milwaukee region’s creative industries—the individuals, organizations, and businesses whose products and services originate in artistic, cultural, creative, and/or aesthetic content. More than 2,000 people participated in surveys, public events, focus groups, etc. for this year-long study.
Local arts agencies and arts enabling organizations are uniquely positioned to serve as an example for the community of arts organizations that they serve. Sustaining a strong arts leadership within the community is equally important to programs and services, especially during a time when a new generation of arts administrators are entering the workforce. Organizations that focus on professional development for their staff not only add to their benefits package, but serve the arts community by properly training and educating the future leaders of our field. Models of strong leadership support between current and next generation leaders can be looked to for examples on how we can work together to create positive and thriving working relationships between multiple generations. The Fairbanks Arts Association (FAA), the designated local arts agency in Fairbanks, AK, is one of those models. Read more »
The Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee
The Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee was created in 2005 as an umbrella organization representing the arts and culture sector in greater Milwaukee. Christine Harris joined the organization in 2007 as its President and Executive Director. This year, under Harris’ leadership, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee made a change, not just in their name, but in their business model, service, and most importantly, their mission.
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