Art in Our Daily Lives
Famous poet, essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said, “The greatest art is to shape the quality of the day.” As our country continues to battle the trials and tribulations of COVID-19, societal unrest, economic uncertainty and natural disasters, feeling overwhelmed has become fairly typical. I was in a conversation with a NASAA team […]
Women’s Suffrage and the Power of the Arts
This year, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. In commemoration of this historical anniversary, I was honored to be invited by National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter to join her for a discussion about how the arts helped […]
NASAA Continues Responding to Member Challenges
Last month our country lost a hero. Civil rights movement leader and lifelong fighter for equality and justice for all Congressman John Lewis succumbed to pancreatic cancer on July 17, 2020. As we mourn his loss and reflect on a life lived with such steadfast purpose, many of us are giving voice to his memorable […]
State Arts Agencies Begin Addressing Long-term COVID-19 Recovery
As our country continues to adapt to new and evolving realities in response to COVID-19, state arts agencies are demonstrating ingenuity and tenacity as they move along a continuum of responses to benefit the arts field. Initially, state arts agencies (SAAs) reacted to COVID-19 by employing a variety of relief efforts designed to help stabilize […]
America, the Arts and Racial Injustice
Our nation continues to reel from deepening outrage over the murders of numerous unarmed black men (and women), most recently George Floyd. Peaceful demonstrations and violent riots bear witness to the devastating impact of long-standing structural and systemic racism, a painful part of the birthright we share as Americans. We all deserve a country that […]
Arts Education Partnership’s New Strategic Focus
For 25 years, the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) has been the national hub for advancing arts education across the country. Established through a unique and abiding partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education, AEP is hosted by our colleagues at Education Commission of the States. Throughout AEP’s 25-year […]
State Arts Agencies: Responsive and Resourceful
Dear friends, I hope that today finds you and your families healthy and well. As America responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, state arts agencies (SAAs) are responding to its impact across the arts community. With creativity and grit, SAAs are retrofitting grant making and providing special services that are critical to arts stakeholders navigating the […]
Achieving More Together
I was honored to be interviewed for the inaugural issue of American Artscape, the new magazine from the National Endowment for the Arts. The focus of the issue is how state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, NASAA and the Arts Endowment mutually support the nation’s arts and culture ecosystem. I hope you enjoy my article, […]
NASAA Testimony to House: $170 Million for National Endowment for the Arts
Today, I testified for NASAA to the U.S. House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. I requested fiscal year 2021 funding for the agency of $170 million, and focused on the value of the federal-state partnership to communities across the country. Read NASAA’s […]
Ten Reasons I’m Enthusiastic about 2020 at NASAA
Happy new year, everyone! As we roll forward into 2020, I’m grounded by my to-do list and the considerable traffic in my e-mail inbox, yet uplifted by so much that lies ahead. I’m confident we’ll advance NASAA’s core mission of strengthening state arts agencies, and we’ll do so in some new and interesting ways. For […]