Does band class really help develop your brain?

Monday, November 25, 2019

Photo of Dr. Kymberly M. Cruz
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Neuroscience has demonstrated that listening to or playing music has a real effect on brain waves and patterns. This is most directly applicable to music therapy, but what about music education? Current research implies that studying music can help children develop spatial reasoning and listening skills and improve their concentration, but more study is needed to fully understand this relationship.

The New Brighton Area will be celebrating the season, promoting small business, and celebrating the art on December 7th from 5:30pm until 8:30pm.  Come shop, walk, and listen as local jazz bands present sounds of the season.  You may also purchase a ticket that allows you to go from business to business sampling appetizers and Wassail from participating stores then vote for your favorite Wassail.

Art education programs slowly rebuild after schools’ budget crisis

Monday, October 21, 2019

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Though arts budgets in Philadelphia have not recovered to their pre-”doomsday levels,” every elementary and middle school in the city now has some amount of arts resources and schools with 300 students or less are given an extra $50,000 to help support the needs of their students, including arts related funding.


Cristyn Johnson

Creative Conversations Take on National Arts & Humanities Month

Posted by Cristyn Johnson, Oct 08, 2019


Cristyn Johnson

Creative Conversations are on fire! This year’s Creative Conversation theme, How is the past shaping the future of the arts?, is sparking dialogue across the country. So, you may be asking yourself, “What exactly is a Creative Conversation anyway?” Well, I’ve got an answer for you! Creative Conversations gather together arts and community leaders to discuss local arts, culture, and creativity. These conversations help to foster cross-sector and inter-sector partnerships and promote increased energy around the grassroots movement to elevate the arts during National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM) in October. Creative Conversations can take on many forms. They can be informal brown-bag lunches with colleagues, professional development workshops, panel sessions with politicians, and even full-day symposia. Participants have learned about the state of their local arts and culture industry, explored new ideas to strengthen their community with the arts, and ignited connections that spurred movement and actions that work to ensure everyone has access to the transformative power of the arts.

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Celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month with Americans for the Arts This October

Americans Are Encouraged to Explore the Role of Arts in Their Communities

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

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Americans for the Arts today announced its October celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month, a coast-to-coast collective celebration of culture in America. During the month-long celebration, Americans for the Arts encourages people to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives. 

Americans for the Arts Announces Annual Business Committee for the Arts Awards to Honor Exceptional Businesses and Leaders

Awardees to Be Honored on October 3 at Gala in New York City

Monday, August 19, 2019

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Americans for the Arts today announced the recipients of this year’s national Arts and Business Partnership Awards, recognizing 10 U.S. companies, a business leader, and an arts and business partnership for their exceptional commitment to the arts. The awards will be presented by Americans for the Arts on October 3, 2019, at a black-tie gala at The Central Park Boathouse in New York City.


Laura Kochman

Dreams, Diaspora, and Destiny

Posted by Laura Kochman, Aug 14, 2019


Laura Kochman

What if you could score a mural the way that you can score a movie? A unique project from painter Joshua Mays and DJ King Britt answers this question. In West Philadelphia, Dreams, Diaspora, and Destiny comes to life through an augmented reality app (MuralArtsAR), weaving together interviews with community elders, neighborhood sounds, and beats created by local students from The Haverford School and Mastery Charter’s Shoemaker Campus. The final mural evokes perspective and curiosity, invitations to meaning, and possibility through cosmic awareness and cultural connection. The artwork is intensely rooted in the neighborhood, and best experienced in person, but ultimately we wanted this public art to be accessible to folks farther afield—the final app includes a feature that will “create” the mural experience right in front of you, wherever you are. 

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Laura Kochman

Families Belong Together

Posted by Laura Kochman, Aug 13, 2019


Laura Kochman

In the summer of 2018, against a backdrop of national immigration policy restrictions, Mural Arts had the opportunity to work with Chiléan artist Artes Ekeko (Ian Pierce). The pieces fell into place as we worked quickly to create something meaningful: North Philadelphia’s Providence Center joined us as a partner; members of our Restorative Justice Guild program were available to assist; and local artist Cesar Viveros signed on to help make this mural possible. A 900-square-foot wall was available in the Fairhill neighborhood, a predominantly Hispanic and Latinx community, and so we got to work. Ekeko and Viveros created a bright, textured design in line with Philadelphia’s longstanding status as a sanctuary city, representing a family making their way to a new home. Over a few short weeks, the mural went up on the wall, invoking conversation around community, empathy, and home. 

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Explore a new story as a teaching artist brings the book to life through dance, dramatic play, and music!

Legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926. To kick off his birthday celebration, All That Philly Jazz will lead the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Walking Tour: Green Book Edition.

Americans for the Arts Issues Statement in Response to Senate’s Approval of Mary Anne Carter to Chair NEA

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Mary Anne Carter. Courtesy of National Endowment for the Arts.
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Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch offered a statement in response to today's Senate’s approval of Mary Anne Carter to chair the National Endowment for the Arts for a four-year term.


Lauren Cohen

August Arts Advocacy Challenge!

Posted by Lauren Cohen, Jul 31, 2019


Lauren Cohen

So far, 2019 has been a banner year in the world of federal arts advocacy. Throughout the spring, we saw promising bipartisan benchmarks for support of an increased budget for the NEA in FY 2020. However, our work advocating for pro-arts policies doesn’t stop with funding for the NEA. Americans for the Arts, along with national coalition partners, has pursued more federal legislative priorities this year than ever before. From tax policy to transit, healthcare to education, we’re working to ensure expanded arts access and opportunity throughout the country. You can get more information and send a message to your congressional delegation about any of these bills through our Action Center.

The U.S. Congress will take its traditional month-long recess in August. Members of Congress will be in their home states and districts holding town halls, making visits to local organizations and businesses, and taking meetings in their local offices. Wondering how to continue your arts advocacy momentum during the long recess? Participate in the August Arts Advocacy Challenge to stay involved and make an impact.

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Americans for the Arts Unveils Documentary to Show Benefit of Arts to Service Members, Veterans, Families

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Americans for the Arts' new documentary, CAMMO: Healing Through Song, profiles participating members of the Center for American Military Music Opportunities (CAMMO); shows how the arts can strengthen the well-being of service members, veterans, and their families; and features members of Voices of Service, one of many community-based music programs that CAMMO offers.


Mr. Clayton W. Lord

The U.S. Census and the Arts

Posted by Mr. Clayton W. Lord, Jul 11, 2019


Mr. Clayton W. Lord

At the Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention this past June, quite a few members voiced concern about the upcoming U.S. Census. In many communities, there is worry that an inaccurate count could negatively impact towns, cities, regions, and even states, and disproportionately affect people who are already marginalized. This blog is meant to give information on the Census, its impact, and what arts and culture agencies across the United States are doing to ensure a comprehensive and equitable count. The U.S. Census is a consequential tool for distributing time, attention, and money in all sorts of ways—including ways that are deeply impactful on the arts. It is also an increasingly politicized tool, and as we round the corner into the 2020 U.S. Census, it is important to understand what the U.S. Census is, what it influences, what the implication of certain proposed changes could be both generally and for the arts, and how arts and culture agencies and organizations are mobilizing to ensure a fair, full, and unthreatening U.S. Census count.

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Fern and Feather
July 1st - Augsust 31st

Black Moth Gallery
18 East Lancaster Avenue Ardmore, PA 19003

Dr. True is a medical anthropologist and folklorist with the University of Pennsylvania whose research focuses on the role of narrative and ethnography to reduce barriers to care and improve post-deployment health outcomes for combat veterans. 

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