The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (HSFCA) has drawing class to state legislators and their staff. As a condensed version of HSFCA’s Art Bento program—which transforms the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum into an arts education laboratory for public and charter school students—the class was designed to engage lawmakers in creativity, demonstrate the value of the arts and…
As part of its annual conference this year, the Tennessee Arts Commission hosted a day-long, participant-driven Arts Education Policy Convening. The Commission organized the event for arts-education stakeholders from throughout the state to collectively address issues such as Tennessee’s fine arts standards and the accountability requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The…
By revising the guidelines of its general operating support program, the Montana Arts Council (MAC) is leveraging the value of its grant making to foster legislative support for the arts in Montana and to maximize the accessibility of creative activities and experiences for all Montanans. For the FY2016-2019 cycle of its Public Value Partnerships (PVP)…
A recent partnership between the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) and the Texas Association of Business (TAB), the statewide chamber of commerce representing more than 4,000 businesses, is already paying dividends. This past legislative session, TAB helped TCA realize its legislative vision by working with Texans for the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust…
The Tennessee Arts Commission has launched a new agency brand reflecting what it learned from constituents through its most recent strategic planning process. While developing its 2015 – 2019 plan, Cultivating the Arts in Tennessee, the Commission heard from artists, arts organizations and other stakeholders that it is paramount both to demonstrate the public value…
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) began its Arts & Autism Initiative in 2012 after a constituent asked about arts activities in Ohio geared toward young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Since then, OAC and VSA Ohio, the state organization on arts and disability, have partnered to better support this underserved community. By establishing an…
More than a decade after the rise of “Web 2.0,” the proliferation and falling cost of on-line and other digital technologies means that state arts agencies can do more now than ever to engage their constituents and support artists, arts organizations and arts audiences in their state. This month, State to State looks at three…
Demonstrating their strong conviction that one of their primary responsibilities is to advocate for the Montana Arts Council (MAC), MAC’s 15 council members have developed a marketing plan to formalize their contribution to spreading the word about the public value of the agency and the arts. The plan, which complements MAC’s 2014–2018 Operating Framework, enumerates…
Each issue of the Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) bimonthly newsletter, ArtsOhio, highlights a state legislator and his or her personal experiences with the arts. Since 1999, the Legislative Spotlight column has helped constituents see how state legislators connect to the arts on both a policy and an individual level. The column directs Ohio citizens to…
There is a unique effort under way in Massachusetts to develop the potential of cultural tourism. State legislators have embarked on a listening tour in an effort to learn about local cultural tourism prospects and develop policies that strengthen the arts and arts-driven tourism. By the end of 2014, the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts…
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