With the conclusion of the Arts Participation Leadership Initiative (APLI), a four-year experiment to bolster audience engagement and arts participation conducted by the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) and The Wallace Foundation, ArtsWA remains committed to sharing the knowledge the project created and to growing a learning community around it. ArtsWA’s APLI web portal now…
In addition to incorporating diversity into their own policies and programming, state arts agencies can encourage their grantees and other stakeholders to commit to practices that foster cultural awareness and inclusiveness. A recent example of this can be found in the Mississippi Arts Commission’s (MAC) Diversity Toolkit, which offers guidance on how grantees can make…
Part of the Kentucky Arts Council’s (KAC) effort to foster the state’s cultural assets is to train citizens how to document, interpret and share their community’s cultural heritage. Through its Community Scholars Program, KAC empowers local communities to preserve and celebrate Kentucky’s art and culture. KAC holds training sessions throughout the state twice a year…
Breaking into Business is a two-day artist training workshop offered by the Vermont Arts Council (VAC). The goal of the program is to help artists develop business and/or marketing plans to capitalize on their creative practices. In addition to sharing planning techniques, the workshops emphasize practical business management skills such as budgeting, hiring and use…
The Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) and Nebraskans for the Arts have launched artsadvantage.com. This website features success stories in arts education and reveals how important arts experiences are for individuals who become high-achieving adults. Eighteen prominent Nebraskans are profiled through interview transcripts, written profiles and videos that share how learning in the visual arts, theatre,…
Systematic contact with legislators is a key ingredient of successful arts advocacy. Because January is the month in which many state legislatures will reconvene and begin working on fiscal year 2013 budgets, this edition of State to State is dedicated to toolkits produced by state arts agencies to help their grantees: thank legislators for their…
Many state arts agencies provide documentation about their grant outlays, but articulating the impact of nongrant programs, such as training and technical assistance, can be more challenging. To address this issue, the Utah Division of Arts and Museums recently released a report about its Change Leader program. Formatted as a concise brochure, the document features:…
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) is offering a new workshop on crowdfunding for artists. Based on the idea that many small contributions can combine to provide significant capital for creative business endeavors, crowdfunding is a strategy in which artists and entrepreneurs mine their networks and audiences to raise funds and develop…
In collaboration with the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) recently unveiled the Mississippi’s Creative Economy website. Designed to educate business leaders, policymakers and the public about the importance of creativity to the state’s economy, the site contains resources about the role of the arts and culture in creating jobs and broadening economic…
The Montana Arts Council recently announced that it will receive $175,105 in new federal funds to promote job skills training for Montana Artists. This federal funding, provided from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Development Initiative, will expand the Arts Council’s Montana Artrepreneur Program (MAP). MAP is a training program specifically designed to help…
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