North Carolina: Come Hear NC
The State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Arts Council and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, is running a year-long campaign, Come Hear NC, in response to Gov. Roy Cooper and First Lady Kristin Cooper proclaiming 2019 as The Year of Music. The state is celebrating the composers, musicians, studios, venues, instrument […]
Showcasing State Arts Agency Ingenuity: Artist Fellowships
The majority of state arts agencies have an individual artist fellowship program to recognize and honor the creative achievements of their state’s residents. While these programs generally share broad goals—such as fostering the development of new artwork and advancing creative careers—they each are designed to respond to the particular needs of a state’s cultural ecosystem. […]
Indiana: InstaGrant
Crowdsourcing is helping the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) to surface, highlight and share—as well as reward—exemplary arts activities during its annual constituent convening. Through its InstaGrant program, IAC awards $2,500 to an arts organization or project determined to be the most outstanding or impactful by attendees of the Indiana Arts Homecoming. IAC selects 11 InstaGrant […]
South Dakota: Governor’s Award for Supporting the Arts in Tribal Communities
This year, there is a new category of the biennial South Dakota Governor’s Awards in the Arts—presented by the South Dakota Arts Council and Arts South Dakota—that honors efforts to support tribal communities. The Outstanding Support of the Arts to Native Nations with Lands in South Dakota Award recognizes an individual, organization or business that […]
California: Gathering of Poets Laureate
This fall, California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia—who served as the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 to 2008—completed his term of literary public service to the state by organizing and hosting the first large-scale gathering of California’s poets laureate past and present. The event, which was designed not only to celebrate […]
Texas: Young Masters Program
The Young Masters Program is a joint effort of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) and the Texas Cultural Trust designed to advance the state’s creative economy by investing directly in the education of young artists and, indirectly, in the future of the state’s cultural ecosystem. Through the program, TCA awards grants of $5,000 […]
Maine: Dynamic Apprenticeship Programs
Many state arts agencies support cultural traditions and the artists who propagate them through an apprenticeship program. Such programs, as the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) demonstrates, can be adapted effectively to better respond to a state’s changing demographics and growing creative economy. For example, the new Craft Apprenticeship Program, which MAC manages in partnership with […]
Alabama, Delaware, Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island: Arts Shine at Governors’ Inaugurations
Governors’ inaugurations are not only celebrations of the democratic process and affirmations of policy visions, but also opportunities for states to showcase their greatest assets, such as prominent artists and cultural traditions. State arts agencies are poised to contribute to inauguration ceremonies and festivities in ways that harness the arts in honor of public service, […]
North Dakota: Governor’s Photo Contest
The North Dakota Governor’s Photo Contest for Travel and Tourism is an annual event that recognizes the creative talent of North Dakotans as well as the natural beauty, abundant wildlife, unique places and vibrant communities of the Peace Garden State. The contest, which is open only to photographers who live in North Dakota, is a […]
Massachusetts: Celebrating Centennial of JFK’s Birth
This year is not only the 50th anniversary of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), but also the centennial of the birth of President John F. Kennedy, a native son of Massachusetts. To honor the importance of the arts and humanities to a vibrant democracy—which was a touchstone for President Kennedy—MCC and the John F. Kennedy […]