If you missed it this week: Watch a webinar exploring state-by-state voting rules and what educational activities nonprofits can do to get the vote out, learn more about the economic power of the arts in rural communities, meet fellow #AFTAmember Kathy Hsieh of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and explore our newly redesigned interactive results dashboard for the Profile of Local Arts Agencies. 

Earlier this year, Americans for the Arts released the results of the 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies, a comprehensive survey that tracks the budgets and programs of over 600 local arts agencies in the United States. In August, we unveiled a newly redesigned interactive dashboard where users can fully explore the results of the survey. Try it out today and see what you discover! 

This week: bringing community together to make art during a global pandemic, working with stars to promote voter registration, exploring affordable and sustainable workspaces for artists, and preparing for National Arts & Humanities Month.

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley of "Stars in the House" announced today the incredible line-up of artists and activists who will join them live Sept. 22 at 8 PM ET for a very special episode dedicated to the essential work being done by Americans for the Arts. Annette Bening, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ariana DeBose, Ben Folds, Todrick Hall, Javier Muñoz, Bebe Neuwirth, Storm Reid, Alfre Woodard, Dr. Jonathan LaPook, and Nina Ozlu Tunceli, Chief Counsel of Government and Public Affairs & Executive Director at Americans for the Arts Action Fund, will come together for an evening of conversation, music, and celebration of the transformative power of the arts.

This week we celebrated the 10th anniversary of National Arts in Education Week with a blog series, a star-studded virtual conversation, and a campaign to share stories and take a stand on behalf of arts education across the country. 

With the transition into September marking the unofficial end of summer, our Weekly Roundup took a brief (and socially distant) vacation—but we’re back this week with an expanded roundup of content for you, including tips for creating a Black Lives Matter mural, nominations for our advisory councils, a star-studded National Arts in Education Week virtual event, and a new policy proposal to Put Creative Workers to Work.

Do you or someone you know want to support and advise Americans for the Arts on the services we provide to the field? If yes, we invite you to nominate yourself or a colleague for one of Americans for the Arts’ Advisory Councils! Nomination deadline is Sept. 21, 2020.

Several Artists Committee members participated in a pre-show event at the Democratic National Convention to discuss ways that artists are getting involved in the 2020 election. Also this week, meet one of our youngest members and our new Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellows, learn about an innovative arts + healthcare festival, and join us in saying goodbye to visual artist Luchita Hurtado, who passed away at age 99.

Americans for the Arts and its partners, The Joyce Foundation and American Express Foundation, welcome the second cohort in the Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship. The ACLC Fellowship program continues to invest in mid-career arts administrators of color across the Great Lakes region through a year-long professional development program. This year we selected 16 fellows to participate in creating systemic change in national arts leadership.

Americans for the Arts mourns the loss of artist Luchita Hurtado, who died at her home in Santa Monica, California, on August 13, at age 99. Hurtado was awarded the Carolyn Clark Powers Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 National Arts Awards. 

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the health needs of artists and creative workers are critical to preserve and maintain. That’s why we love this week’s story about the O+ Festival, which was hatched after a dentist and a painter mulled over the idea to exchange visual art and musical performances for healthcare. Also this week: employers love creative skills, Chambers of Commerce write to Congress in support of the arts, and it's time to take the ArtsVote Pledge to Make Your Vote Count!

A second letter of support for arts and culture in the new COVID-19 relief package has been completed by 204 local Chambers of Commerce in 50 states! This is a substantial increase from a similar May letter, which garnered 140 signatories from 39 states. If your chamber is listed in the final letter, please take a moment to reach out and thank them.

We are excited this week to have launched #ArtsCreateHope, a new social media campaign designed to remind the public that the arts are essential to the fabric of our lives. We hope you will watch and share our short, uplifting video with your networks and friends, and please take to social media to share your stories of how the arts create hope for you. We could all use a little lift from each other!

As we close out July and begin to round the corner toward the end of summer, things are heating up on the arts advocacy front. Congress is currently negotiating a new coronavirus relief bill, and two letters asking for relief for the arts went to Capitol Hill this week: one signed by one of our longest-standing strategic partners, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and another led by our Artists Committee and signed by more than 260 artist advocates.

Cultural equity is at the heart of this week's roundup. Read on to learn more about Eddy Kwon, a musician whose work is centered in equitable community development; to meet this year's Diversity in Arts Leadership interns; to explore self advocacy and self care for artists and administrators of color; and to see how civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis was true champion of the arts.