The arts and communities fuel one another. When the arts are thriving, research shows the benefits reach beyond the economic and touch on the definition of community.
Neighborhood Revitalization Grants
In partnership with Ovation, the nation’s only multiplatform performing arts channel, we launched the new innOVATION Grant Program. This new program awarded more than $100,000 to six member organizations that support artist-led neighborhood revitalization efforts in communities across the country.
Sixty organizations submitted their projects on Ovation’s Facebook page for the Viewers’ Choice award. After 2 million votes were cast, Northside Workshop in St. Louis which highlighted its “Beautification of Vacant Space” program, was the clear winner.
Lanesboro Arts Center (LAC) in rural Lanesboro, MN, (pop. 754) was recognized with a $25,000 innOVATION grant for its community revitalization through the arts. This grant will help LAC continue to bring vibrant, creative change to the remarkable rural town through the creation of the Lanesboro Arts Campus. Photo courtesy of LAC.
U.S. Travel & Tourism Board
Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch joined other leaders across a wide spectrum of fields when the Secretary of Commerce appointed him to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) in January. This appointment builds upon work that we have done during the last decade with the United States Conference of Mayors and the Destination Marketing Association International to study cultural tourism and train local arts agencies and tourism organizations about how to harness this asset.
In its first three months of work, TTAB developed a set of recommendations to Secretary Bryson to inform his work, and that of the task force, on the development of the national strategy. Among the TTAB recommendations that relate to the arts and culture were:
- the inclusion of the arts as an objective to attracting tourists to secondary markets throughout the country,
- how an “authentic” experience is critical to a quality experience, and
- the need to include local tourism partners, such as city agencies and destination marketing organizations, as partners with the federal government.
Arts and Social Change
With its new website and workshops, Animating Democracy is enhancing the work of individuals and organizations fostering social change and civic engagement through the arts. The site offers a wide-angle view of who is doing and supporting the work, as well as resources that complement an evolving set of in-person workshops on social impact evaluation and community engagement.
Approximately 1,300 registered users—arts professionals, funders, activists, and artists from across the United States and abroad—have shared 229 projects that profile the work of 512 organizations.
Dancing in the streets at Biggest Dance Ever in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by John McCoy