Americans for the Arts News - 2020
Read the latest arts news
Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce the release of the 2020 Statistical Report on Campaign Revenues of the Nation’s United Arts Funds during the Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020. During a singularly difficult year, UAFs rose to the challenge to secure needed funds for their communities, reporting aggregate 2020 campaign revenue of $73.9 million.
Catch up on the National Arts Marketing Project Conference, webinars on arts and business partnerships and the Diversity in Arts Leadership program, blogs that explore racial inequity in the arts and ways to keep the arts going in your community during the pandemic, our latest Member Profile, and a new research opportunity from the Wallace Foundation.
As we round the final corner of 2020, we hope everyone had a safe and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. This week, we shared a note to our stakeholders about racial and cultural equity at Americans for the Arts. We encourage you to read the full letter from President & CEO Robert Lynch and get in touch if you have questions. Also in this roundup, catch up on two weeks’ worth of blogs and news and look ahead to next week’s National Arts Marketing Project Conference.
Americans for the Arts’ staff, board, members and councils are united by a common purpose: To build recognition and support for the extraordinary and dynamic value of the arts and to lead, serve, and advance the diverse networks of organizations and individuals who cultivate the arts in America. We, as an organization, have taken multi-year steps towards making racial and cultural equity the guiding principle in everything we do. Those steps have not been enough. We need to do more – to increase our efforts and communicate those efforts to our stakeholders more effectively.
As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday we reflect on the urgent work of 2020, both in our own offices and at programs across the country, as the arts and culture field works to support and solve challenges related to the COVID pandemic, racial equity, and more. Wishing you a safe, happy, and creative season!
In 2020, Americans for the Arts continued its commitment to our vision and planned work, while also pivoting and taking on new, urgent work like so many of our 5,000 member organizations. Here are highlights of some key areas of the new and urgent work of Americans for the Arts in 2020 that are in addition to our planned work portfolio.
It’s been a busy two weeks in America! In this double digest roundup, read our 2020 Election statements, first urging states to count every properly postmarked and received ballot (published before a projected winner was declared) and then congratulating the incoming Biden/Harris administration. And if that’s not enough election news, our members are reminded that voting is now open for our annual Advisory Council elections—be sure to cast your ballot by Nov. 23!
Americans for the Arts wants you to elect art professionals from the field to serve on one of four network advisory councils: Arts Education, Emerging Leaders, Private Sector, and Public Art. Voting closes November 23, 2020 at 1:00 PM ET and is restricted to members of Americans for the Arts at the Colleague level or higher.
Election Day is nearly here, and early voting is happening all over the country! Do you still need to make a plan to vote? Check out the Arts Action Fund ArtsVote campaign for state-by-state fact sheets that will help ensure your voice is heard at the polls! While you're waiting in line to vote, catch up here on blogs and news you might have missed this week, plus check out the upcoming virtual National Arts Marketing Project Conference—registration is open now.
A new episode of the PBS docuseries “Craft in America” focused on the arts and democracy premiered digitally this week and is available to stream now in advance of the Dec. 11 broadcast premiere. “Craft in America: DEMOCRACY” explores how the interaction between government and the arts inspires our lives, fuels the creative economy, and protects our multicultural heritage.
