Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee: Reaching the Most-Underserved Communities

A perennial goal of state arts agencies is to improve their engagement with and support of underserved communities. Geographic isolation, economic distress and other factors can be roadblocks for some constituents, especially those in rural areas. Recognizing the long-term impacts of such impediments, some state arts agencies have developed programs that focus especially on reaching […]

Ohio: Arts and Autism Initiative

 The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) began its Arts & Autism Initiative in 2012 after a constituent asked about arts activities in Ohio geared toward young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Since then, OAC and VSA Ohio, the state organization on arts and disability, have partnered to better support this underserved community. By establishing an […]

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 […]

Advocacy Toolkits

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 […]

INFORMING ARTS ADVOCACY

INFORMING ARTS ADVOCACY The Arts: Part of the Solution Ohio Arts Council To help constituents and advocates make the case about the importance of arts funding during the recession, the Ohio Arts Council has prepared a compendium of examples that showcase how arts projects make meaningful contributions to the economy, education and community life. “The […]