Arts Advocacy Day
By Quiana Clark-Roland
Arts Advocacy Day is the only national event that brings together a variety of cultural and civic organizations and hundreds of grassroots advocates to lobby for stronger public policies and increased public funding for the arts. Held in Washington D.C on March 31 and April 1, 2008, over 500 arts advocates from around the country were in attendance. Among these were members of the Drexel Arts Administration Graduate Association.
Fourteen students were able to attend, due to money raised by the 5th Annual Emerging Artists and Emerging Leaders Art Auction fundraiser. The group provided more than half of the representation for Pennsylvania and brought to the event a synergy of fresh faces ready to learn and ready to make a difference.
The arts are a growing concern. This year Arts Advocacy Day reached its highest number of participants. It was a chance for like-minded people to come together, collaborate and network to gain support for convincing key members of congress to support the arts.
As Arts Administrators, we identify ourselves as advocates and understand the role we play in ensuring the livelihood of the arts. We must recognize the issues that affect the sector and work to deliver on the needs of our communities and constituency. Arts Advocacy Day allowed us to do just that and presented us with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and voice our concerns on behalf of our region and state. Arts Advocacy Day was a reminder that the arts are not a dying issue and that public policy and support for the arts is as significant today as it was in the past.
In preparation for Arts Advocacy Day, advocates received a day of training. We learned about “LOBBYING 101” and attended sessions that briefed us on the issues that were called into action. In these meetings, Americans for the Arts provided advocates with copies of the 2008 Congressional Arts Handbook, which included information on important issues affecting the arts. Some examples of issues addressed include:
• Supporting a budget of $176 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the FY 2009 Interior Appropriations bill to restore funding for the creation, preservation, and presentation of the arts in America through the NEA’s core programs,
• Strengthening arts education in No Child Left Behind by retaining the arts as a core academic subject of learning, reauthorizing the Arts in Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education, improving national data collection and research in arts education, and requiring all states to annually report on student access in all core subjects,
• Providing access to educational and cultural programming for all with The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by supporting appropriations of no less than $483 million in advance funding (FY 2011) for the CPB, and rejecting any rescissions as part of the FY09 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill,
• Supporting an increase of $15 million for grants to museums within the Institute of Museums and Library Services budget in the FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.
For more information about the issue briefs, the handbook is available online at www.americansforthearts.org.
On the eve of Arts Advocacy Day, advocates had the opportunity to attend the Nancy Hanks Lecture in Arts and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts delivered by keynote speaker Daniel Pink. Pink is a best-selling author and expert on innovation, competition, and the changing workforce world. With the release of his latest book, “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future,” Pink spoke about the creative class and emphasized how the arts are a vital component in developing the workforce that will give this country its competitive edge in the future.
After the Nancy Hanks lecture, we attended the Emerging Leaders Reception where we were able to meet with other young professionals across the country and listen to young lawmakers in Congress. It was a great opportunity for us to network and get advice from young legislators and other emerging arts leaders about public policy and lobbying.
On Arts Advocacy Day, Americans for the Arts sponsored a Congressional Arts Breakfast. There, we heard testimonials from various creditable speakers, including John Legend (five-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, songwriter and pianist), Kerry Washington (critically acclaimed actress), Peter Yarrow (legendary singer-songwriter), Rep. Chris Shays (CT, co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus), Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY, co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus), Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann (HI), Robert L. Lynch (President and CEO of Americans for the Arts), as well as members of Congress from Washington, Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
In addition, this year we had the rare opportunity to view an arts Congressional hearing. Entitled “Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation” the hearing was hosted by Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior. Actor Robert Redford, Singer John Legend, Actress Kerry Washington, The Conference Board CEO Jonathan Spector, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch, provided testimonials at the hearing and emphasized the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts.
Overall, the experience taught me that a definitive role Arts Administrators play is developing public policy in the arts. Our expertise and experience are vital in informing our legislators on the needs of our constituents. It is these needs that drive our organizations, and as ambassadors for arts and culture it is imperative that we exercise that right in order to produce change. The leaders, members and supporters of the arts have long been recognized as important players in advocacy and the shaping of public policy. As an emerging leader in the sector, I will strive to deliver on that promise. The arts are a vital component in contributing to the economic, educational, artistic and cultural welfare of this nation and we must stay vigilant to ensure their future.
Quiana Clark-Roland is the Administrative Assistant for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and an Arts Administration graduate student at Drexel. She was also recently elected as Advocacy Coordinator for the AAGA.