The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) strives to support individuals and families whose lives are impacted by chronic disease, disability, behavioral health challenges, substance misuse, aging, dementia and incarceration. The Arts in Health Program by NHSCA creates opportunities for the arts to facilitate healing, promote awareness of public health and build healthy…
State arts agencies (SAAs) are continuing to respond to the changing dynamics of the pandemic, which severely disrupted audience attendance patterns for live and in-person arts events. To address this issue, some SAAs are undertaking promotional campaigns to encourage the public to visit cultural venues and participate in the arts. Iowa, North Carolina and New…
The isolating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the importance of the arts as a vehicle for restoring human connections, building social capital and helping communities heal after difficult experiences. State arts agencies are encouraging this kind of public engagement by supporting projects that embed the arts in civic practice to contribute to the…
Multiple state arts agencies (SAAs) are offering virtual arts exhibitions to increase visibility for artists and expand public access to their works. While some SAAs have conducted virtual exhibitions in the past, this approach took on new significance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical access to exhibition venues was restricted. SAAs are finding virtual exhibitions…
COVID-19 continues to have an adverse impact on students, families, educators, and school communities across the nation. Recent studies suggest that suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the pandemic led to learning loss, with the effects on students of color and kids from low income families being especially pronounced. Educators and health experts also…
Musician Damian Rodriguez features in this mini-documentary film as part of the Mexican Music Project with Idaho Commission on the Arts. Video courtesy Idaho Commission on the Arts The Idaho Commission on the Arts (ICA) is dedicated to creating meaningful, authentic relationships with traditional arts communities across Idaho. As part of this drive, the…
“Help Your House” video raises awareness of mental health. Video by Oklahoma House of Representatives, courtesy Oklahoma Museums Association. The posting of this video does not imply endorsement by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The Oklahoma Wellbeing Committee is the result of a new partnership between the Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC), Oklahoma Museums Association, Oklahoma…
Louisiana is facing the most acute coastal erosion crisis in the nation. Every 100 minutes, an area equivalent to a football field disappears from the Louisiana coastline. In recent decades, Louisiana’s land loss has exceeded 2,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of the whole state of Delaware. Change of this magnitude has an…
Washing hands. Social distancing. Wearing masks. Self-care. Loving and thanking community. Getting vaccinated. These are all parts of public health messaging that evolved over the past 12 months. The Art of Community: Rural SC, a creative community development initiative of the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC), prioritized its efforts in creativity + public health as…
Through the course of 2020, state arts agencies (SAAs) across the nation distributed relief funds and retooled their ongoing grant programs to support cultural organizations and artists during COVID-19. The National Endowment for the Arts Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocation made relief funding possible for all states and jurisdictions, and SAAs…
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