Advocacy

Act Now!

The NEA faces a challenging course in securing its budget this year–ACTA urges you to take a few minutes and contact your Members of Congress and Senators to support the NEA in the budget and to tell them that the arts means jobs!  Please visit: The Arts Action Center at http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=13209311

By Eric Cesar Morales, Intern, Alliance for California Traditional Arts

On May 24-25, 2011, the Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), Rocco Landesman, visited the San Joaquin Valley in response to a formal invitation extended by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts.  Accompanying him were Jamie Bennett, the Director of Public Affairs for the NEA, and Anita Decker, Chief of Staff and White House Liaison for the NEA.  For the arts organizations and artists in the valley, this was a momentous occasion as it marked the first time in history that any Chair of the NEA has come to the area, giving the valley the opportunity to showcase local arts and culture, potentially ushering in a time where the Central Valley would gain greater visibility, no longer neglected as attention and resources are channeled largely to the Bay Area and Southern California.

Join us in sharing your stories about National Heritage Fellows as we continue to document the far-reaching meaning and impact of this vital National Endowment for the Arts program.  Please take this quick 5-minute survey to tell us about an experience you’ve had with a fellow or by participating in a traditional arts experience.  Follow this link to share your story: http://www.surveymonkey.com/heritagefellows.

ACTA will continue to compile and share the results with you, the field, and policy-makers in an effort to articulate the value that the National Heritage Fellowships and the folk & traditional arts field bring to our communities – locally, nationally, and globally.

Last week, the Washington Post arts and culture blog ran a story about National Heritage Fellow and Bluegrass legend Del McCoury who is against the National Endowment for the Arts plans to abolish the popular National Heritage Fellowships beginning in 2012.  In this budget cycle, the NEA has proposed taking the Jazz Master Fellowships, the National Heritage Fellowships and the NEA Opera Honors and creating a new honorific called NEA American Artists of the Year.

McCoury sent out a letter to the hundreds of recipients of the Heritage awards, who include basketmakers, boatmakers, quilters, fiddlers and stonemasons. “It’s now particularly disturbing to hear,” about the plans, he wrote. “All of us must take immediate action to keep this from happening.”   To read more go to: Del McCoury protests the NEA plan to merge its honorary awards.

Join ACTA and the Arts in the California Governor's Race campaign in thanking Governor-Elect Jerry Brown for his support of the arts.  Not only did Governor-Elect Brown give his victory speech at the Oakland School for the Arts, he also mentioned the importance of creativity!  Please take a moment to send an email to thank Jerry Brown for his support of the arts.

More than 70% of people with disabilities are not in the labor force, and those who wish to pursue a career in the arts face difficult challenges.  On July 22-24, 2009, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presented a National Summit on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities.  The first such gathering since 1998, this National Summit was initiated to review progress over the past decade concerning education, arts training, and job opportunities for people with disabilities who are pursuing arts careers; and develop recommendations and best practices for advancing arts careers for people with disabilities.  Other federal agencies participating included the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

ACTA’s Executive Director Amy Kitchener was invited to participate at the National Summit, to make a presentation about her experiences in working with traditional artists who are unintentionally prevented from participating as grantees and recipients of cash awards due to their government assistance requirements limiting income.