Americans for the Arts

First, I want to acknowledge that the past few months have been tough; it seems like anytime I refresh my web browser, there’s more bad news happening in our nation. Personally, I find some solace in the work that we as arts advocates do at the federal, state, and local levels in advancing the healing and transformative power of the arts and arts education. I think it’s important to remember the positive moments and for us to celebrate the victories that we as a field are achieving. In that spirit, I want to share with you a few stories about the current advocacy successes at the federal and state levels, spearheaded by the State Captains, State Arts Action Network (SAAN), and their states’ advocates.

Every day I see students succeeding from having access to dance, theater, visual and media arts and music education. They are Americans, and their right to a rich and varied curriculum should not be dependent on their zip code or their ability to pay for a private school. Arts education is enriching their lives, just as it did mine.

The arts and culture sector is often looked at through a very narrow lens. Theatre productions, museum exhibitions, and symphony orchestras typically comprise the average person’s concept of the arts. What’s more, the arts are often viewed as isolated instead of being seen as part of a larger economic ecosystem. But key decision-makers and leaders understand that the arts can be an important part of a city’s economic development and growth strategy—and this growth often comes without huge price tags or tax concessions.

Over a year ago, the seeds were planted for what would become a vibrant flowering tree called Arts Amplifying Youth or AAY! for short. The leadership team spearheading Art=Opportunity, a research based arts education movement based out of Centre Artes at Cal State University San Marcos, came up with the idea to hold an arts-based youth summit for youth in San Diego. Their brilliant Executive Director Merryl Goldberg imagined a safe space where youth could express their art around important issues, which is an essential mission of Art=Opportunity. On a warm morning last October, a group of a dozen artistic teenagers came together in a small office in Little Italy with the seemingly easy-to-answer question, “How can we bring art to youth in a meaningful way?” They soon discovered that this question was not as easily answered—so they set out on their journey of event planning! 

Visionary school districts aren’t satisfied with offering music and arts education only at schools with affluent students. Leaders in these districts know the imperative of equitable access to learning in the arts.  

However, the desire to provide arts education on the part of school leaders does not always translate into the capacity or even the know-how to make it happen. In California, the curriculum contraction that began in the early 2000s along with cycles of budget cuts, reduced arts education infrastructure, and diminished teacher training pipelines have left our state’s education field unprepared for a rapid restoration of the arts in schools.

Renowned architect and Artists Committee member Frank Gehry talks about his inspiring grandmother, Frank Lloyd Wright, and defying a professor's expectations in part one of an interview with a California student.