Americans for the Arts

Louisville’s passion for the arts is hardly a new phenomenon. We pride ourselves on our eclectic, world-class arts community that is ever evolving. Fund for the Arts recognizes that as the united arts fund field continues to evolve, we must stay ahead of the curve by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, driving new initiatives and sparking new collaborations while honoring our rich history of supporting a wide array of arts institutions. As we move forward, Fund for the Arts is focused on how the arts can be a catalyst for systemic change–a change that brings about a stronger, more inclusive and vibrant city.  

Employee engagement: a term Americans for the Arts has been throwing around a lot lately. But what does it mean, and how can you use it in your community? Simply put (according to Forbes), employee engagement is “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.” According to Deloitte’s 2015 Human Capital Trends Report, this emotional commitment is one of the top challenges facing 87 percent of companies around the world today.

As arts administrators, we’re finely attuned the emotional connections and revelations the arts can usher forth. As we explore best practices in partnering with the business sector, it’s clear that there are direct ways to harness the emotional power of the arts with business employees to increase morale and communication within a company, as well stimulate innovation and embed a practice of daily creativity.

The idea of creativity in the workplace is getting a lot of play in the media these days. Books like Creative Confidence, from IDEO founders Tom & David Kelly, entice business people to retool their approach to problem solving. Industry leaders like Hitachi CEO Barbara Dyer are making bold statements like ““[c]reativity is rapidly shifting from a “nice to have” to a “must have” quality for all types of successful organizations.”

In the midst of this hey-day, lots of people are talking. But our partners at Southwest Airlines are doing. They’re finding new ways to embrace creativity in their business, and it doesn’t stop at corporate retreats. These guys are making creativity a way of life that they embrace and encourage in the day-to-day, and it shows through in their quirky corporate culture and innovative approach to airline service.

Founded as a United Arts Fund for York County Pennsylvania in 1999, the Cultural Alliance of York County's annual campaign supports eight partner agencies that are essential to our cultural core and funds the Creative Impact Award grants that bring arts and culture to life in York County.

In an effort to promote camaraderie/fellowship in the workplace for our local corporate contributors and deepen their involvement in the Cultural Alliance annual campaign, the Cultural Alliance created YorVoice in 2015. The event brought 10 local musical acts that varied in style and genre together for a friendly singing competition. Based on the model of the Cincinnati-based ArtsWave United Arts Fund choral competition event; “CincySings,” the Cultural Alliance recruited teams from corporate contributors, as well as local performers who wanted to participate and showcase their talents to a larger audience. We had a panel of celebrity judges rank the teams to award a first place Champion and Runner Up. We also created a People’s Choice category, which awarded the People’s Choice trophy to the team with the most votes, $1 per vote.

I work for Aetna, a healthcare company that builds healthy communities by promoting volunteerism, forming partnerships, and funding initiatives to improve the quality of life for its employees and customers. Here in Community Relations & Urban Marketing we strive to deepen our local market presence in the communities where we live, work, and play. Because of my love of singing, my interest naturally gravitates toward music and arts in the community. So I look for those opportunities where I can contribute my talents to support the company’s mission. What follows are several accounts of my personal experiences with music and the arts in the workplace, all guided and encouraged by the leadership at Aetna. As you’ll see, they were fun, memorable, and unforgettable.

Creating equitable places and healthy people: that’s the mission of Louisville, Kentucky-based, artist-innovation company IDEAS xLab (IDEAS). Together with its education and training nonprofit for artists, Creative Agents of Change Foundation, IDEAS has created a framework that helps corporations and communities re-frame challenges and discover new opportunities by leveraging the dynamic capacity of artists to innovate.

IDEAS was launched in 2012 as an exhibition series designed to connect contemporary artists in Central Appalachian and Southern States with international artist networks. Today, IDEAS has morphed into a new framework for social entrepreneurship centered around artists as strategic human resources on two parallel fronts, civic and corporate innovation. The ultimate goal is creating “shared value” programs between the two.