Pennsylvania: Arts Map Demonstrates Impact of Partnerships
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) serves a diverse state with cultural and physical topographies as variegated as Philadelphia to the east, Pittsburgh to the west and the Allegheny Mountains in between. Through its Arts in Education (AIE) Partnership, PCA works with a network of arts organizations acting as local and regional partners to […]
New Jersey: First State to Include Arts Education in Annual School Assessment
New Jersey recently marked a national milestone when it became the first state to include arts education in its annual assessment of public schools. While the State of New Jersey Department of Education‘s comprehensive evaluation—its second ever—does not measure students’ grades or test scores in the arts, it does report on the percentage of high […]
Arizona: Art Tank Invests in Crowdsourced Innovation
Arizona Art Tank is a new Arizona Commission on the Arts (ACA) initiative that harnesses the spirit of crowdsourcing to make strategic investments in arts based entrepreneurial ventures. Through the program, funded by a portion of ACA’s one-time additional budget allocation of $1 million, applicants were invited to pitch, at public and participatory Art Tank […]
California: $2-Million Budget Windfall Supports Six New Programs
The California Arts Council (CAC) has created six new programs with an extra $2 million in one-time funds from the California State Assembly. The $2-million supplement, which was allocated from a discretionary fund via a budget bill passed in July, brought CAC’s total fiscal year 2014 budget to $7 million. With the boon of its […]
D.C., Maryland, Idaho, Washington: Effective Constituent Outreach
State arts agencies are always thinking about how best to communicate with the many constituencies they serve—including artists, legislators, other state officials and taxpayers. Developing and disseminating publications, such as annual reports, strategic plans and performance evaluations, can engender particular communication challenges. Lately, NASAA has noticed interesting examples of how state arts agencies have packaged […]
D.C.: New Dedicated Revenue Stream for DC Commission
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) has a new dedicated revenue stream, thanks to the legislative work of D.C.’s city council and mayor. A law enacted in August (see Subtitle X on page 102) directs a portion of the city’s annual sales-tax revenue to DCCAH. In addition to the commission’s base budget […]
New York: Regional Economic Development Council Grants for the Arts
New York’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) program, which began in 2011, is a “community-based, bottom up” effort to create jobs and grow the economy. Through the program, the state government provides funding in 10 regions through 26 programs run by various state agencies, including the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Last […]
Ohio: Legislative Spotlight
Each issue of the Ohio Arts Council‘s (OAC) bimonthly newsletter, ArtsOhio, highlights a state legislator and his or her personal experiences with the arts. Since 1999, the Legislative Spotlight column has helped constituents see how state legislators connect to the arts on both a policy and an individual level. The column directs Ohio citizens to […]
Washington: Arts Participation Leadership Initiative Ends, but Its Community of Learning Grows
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 […]
Oregon: Connecting Students to the World of Work
This fall, the Oregon Arts Commission (OAC) kicks off its new Connecting Students to the World of Work grant program. Through the program, OAC awards grants to organizations that introduce underserved students, grades 6–12, to the artistic and creative job market through internships, externships, mentorships, job shadowing and professionals in residence. The program builds on […]