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2017 Annual Convention
June 16 - 18, 2017
Hilton San Francisco Union Square
San Francisco, California
National Arts Marketing Project Conference
November 10-13, 2017
The Peabody Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
2018 Annual Convention
June 8 - 10, 2018
Hyatt Regency Denver
Denver, Colorado
National Arts Marketing Project Conference
November 9-12, 2018
The Westin Seattle
Seattle, Washington
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SAAN Summer Meeting
June 15, 2017
Hilton San Francisco Union Square
San Francisco, CA
SAAN Fall Meeting
November 2-3, 2017
Denver, CO
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State and Local News
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State
§ When North Carolina state legislators passed House Bill 13 which lowered maximum class sizes for kindergarten through third grade from 24 students to between 19 and 21 students, arts and PE programs became under threat. Local school districts spoke out that, in order to accommodate lower classroom sizes, special subject teachers would need to be pulled to cover general education classes. On April 25, the North Carolina Senate approved a compromise to House Bill 13 which will roll out the reduction of elementary school class sizes over the next two years to give local districts more time to address staffing needs. The compromise is supported by authors of the original House bill and the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. The new bill also will require biannual reports to be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction on class sizes and the number of arts, PE, heath and language teachers in each school, as well as how those positions are paid for.
§ Henderson Mill Elementary School in DeKalb County became Georgia's first STEAM-certified school. The certification means that the school meets all requirements for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) as well as offering a strong arts curriculum. An outspoken advocate for STEAM and arts education is Georgia's own State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods. In a recent radio interview, the state superintendent went into further detail supporting arts education such as encouraging schools to not eliminate fine arts classes as classes such as theater and dance help students develop critical thinking skills, imagination, and creativity in classes. To listen to the full interview, click here.
Local
§ King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, the Metropolitan County Council budget chairman, pulled legislation for a sales-tax ballot measure for the arts on the August ballot from the budget committee's agenda on April 11. Previously, King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a 0.1 increase to the county's sales tax to raise $469 million over seven years for arts and science programs. Councilman Upthegrove commented that the proposed sales tax would both hurt working class people with money not being evenly distributed. However, Deputy County Executive Sung Yang does not believe that the legislation is dead. The council has until May 1 to approve measures for the August ballot. Stay tuned for future SAANBox updates.
§ New York City Council publicly acknowledged the need to increase operating support for the more than 1,500 culture and arts organizations throughout the five boroughs in the fiscal year 2018 budget. Majority Leader City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer commented that he supports the NYC Inspires Campaign recommendation to increase the Department of Cultural Affairs' budget by $40 million in order to better support operational funding. Last year, New York City approved a record $320 million in funding to the Department of Cultural Affairs. The SAANBox will continue monitoring for future issues.
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SAANBox Recommended Read
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Check out Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch's op-ed, "Sometimes the Budget Pie is Big Enough for Everyone," in the Huffington Post. His post reminds readers that the budget process is long and complex, with numerous opportunities along the way for advocates to affect and influence the process. Now is the time to rise to the occasion, mobilize, and get creative with advocacy.
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Bulletin Board
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§ Registration for the SAAN Summer 2017 meeting events on June 15-16, 2017 in San Francisco, CA is now open! Please RSVP by filling out the SAAN meeting registration form.
- The SAAN Summer 2017 meeting will take place on Thursday, June 15 from 1:00 to 6:00 pm PST in San Francisco at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square (333 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102)—prior to the start of Americans for the Arts' 2017 Annual Convention.
- Following the SAAN meeting on June 15, SAAN members are invited to attend the Preconference Party reception and to get together for a group SAAN dinner after the reception.
- In addition to the SAAN members-only meeting, there will be a joint meeting for both SAAN and State Arts Agencies on Friday, June 16 from 9:00-11:00 am PST, also at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.
- Please note that if you plan on staying for any events and/or sessions after the joint SAAN and State Arts Agencies Meetings session on June 16, you will need to register for Annual Convention.
- Annual Convention's early bird registration rate ends today, April 12 (postmarked). Regular registration fees will apply starting April 13.
- For hotel bookings, Americans for the Arts has arranged for a room block at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. The room rate for single occupancy is $239 per night plus taxes, and double occupancy is $269 per night plus taxes. To book a room in our hotel block, reserve online or call 1-800-HILTONS.
§ Americans for the Arts is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Public Leadership in the Arts awards for Lieutenant Governor, State Legislator and County Official.
Please state in bullet point format the reasons for your nomination of the individual named. Clearly identify his or her community arts contributions, measurable impact on the arts and arts education, facts and figures of accomplishments, innovative style and leadership, and your work with the nominee.
Please limit your nominating statement to under 5000 characters. Our database willreject any statement that exceeds this amount.
All nominations must be submitted by May 23, 2017.
To review the list of previous honorees and statements about their contributions, click here.
§ Americans for the Arts just launched a new Arts Mobilization Center—a hub for the information you need to advocate for the arts today. It contains messages that we have distributed, policy response statements Americans for the Arts has issued on key and timely topics, news articles that are useful, and important action steps for you to take now and in the weeks and months to come. Please visit the Arts Mobilization Center often—it will continue to grow each week with new tools and resources.
§ Diverse Community Development Networks Host People & Places 2017
What's working to advance prosperity in low-income places and communities of color? What strategies are effective in the new political landscape? Five national community development networks are convening People & Places 2017 on May 31 - June 2, 2017in Arlington, Virginia (minutes from DC) to share solutions and chart a path forward—the National Urban League, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations, and the Network for Developing Conscious Communities.
View the agenda for this peer-learning event. Topics include: ballot wins across the country and the organizing tactics behind them; local solutions to blight remediation, equitable development and asset growth; and strategies to address federal policies that threaten our communities. Participants will go to Capitol Hill to raise their voices on behalf of the communities they serve.
Register now.
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Tech Talk
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Arts U Learning Opportunity
§ Introduction to Digital Storytelling as a Community Arts Practice for Social Change
Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 3:00 PM Eastern
Since 1993, StoryCenter has collaborated with community arts practitioners and grassroots groups throughout the United States to situate first-person stories as central to progressive change efforts. As a preview of the more in-depth session on digital storytelling that the organization will offer at the Annual Americans for the Arts Convention in June, StoryCenter's Amy Hill is leading a one-hour introductory webinar. Hill will highlight the theoretical basis for working with personal stories as tools for change; provide an overview of StoryCenter's internationally-recognized Digital Storytelling Workshop methodology; and share case study examples of effective community arts and justice projects from the past several years.
As a result of attending the webinar, participants will understand the basic skills and requirements for leading successful community-based digital storytelling efforts and be able to identify best-practices for sharing digital stories in local settings, online, and through social media, to build understanding and compassion among viewers and mobilize them to action.
Note: this is a beginning level webinar, appropriate for organizations considering the use of digital storytelling as a community arts and advocacy tool.
Presenter: Amy Hill, Silence Speaks Director, StoryCenter
§ Member Briefing: Arts and Education
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 3:00 PM Eastern
Arguing for the impact, value, and relevance of the arts is a constant effort. We are here to support you as you make your case.
Join us for this members only 30 minute call to discuss our Statement on Arts Education directly with Americans for the Arts staff. They will discuss the latest updates, implications for arts, and what you can do.
Sign up, call-in, and join the discussion!
Please note, to join the call you must first access the platform on the right-hand column.
If you will be viewing the live event on your electronic device you will need to download the MobileMeetings APP By E-STREAM.COM, Inc. and enter the meeting number: 297970.
Presenters: Narric W. Rome (Vice President of Government Affairs and Arts Education, Americans for the Arts), Jeff Poulin (Arts Education Program Manager, Americans for the Arts), and Bridget Woodbury (Membership Marketing Coordinator, Americans for the Arts)
Upcoming Free Webinars
§ 3 Writing Strategies That Will Help You Raise More Money
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 1:00 pm Eastern
How confident do you feel about your writing? It's an important skill every non-profit professional should have at their disposal for fundraising. Writing that raises money is more for a science than an art, and this webinar will break down three important strategies that you can use in your writing to get better fundraising results.
- Learn 3 essential writing strategies that can help you raise more money
- Understand the biggest mistakes that fundraisers make when it comes to writing, plus how you can avoid them
- See before and after examples of writing that use these strategies
- Get answers to your questions about writing
§ Do you need a planning/feasibility study before you run a capital campaign?
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 1:00 pm Eastern
Do you need a study before you run a campaign? What are the pros and cons of planning/feasibility studies? How long will it take? How much will it cost? Can we do it ourselves? What should we expect from a consultant? What happens if we don't do one? These and other questions will be answered in this webinar by capital campaign expert, Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE. Linda has run campaigns ranging in size from $200,000 to more than $30 million. She's done campaigns where there was no study done and the campaigns were successful, and she'll tell you why!
§ Effective Strategic Planning Part 3: Implementation, Measurement, Reporting
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 1:00 pm Eastern
No matter how rewarding a planning process is in cultivating your stakeholders, focusing your board and staff, and developing your organization, and no matter how promising the goals and objectives of your plan, strategic planning cannot be successful unless it drives action. A bit of wisdom from the business world is that we manage what we measure. This webinar rounds out our strategic planning series with a look at selecting what to measure and how to use, track and report the data.
Takeaways:
- Why metrics are critical to management, mission, sustainability and funding
- How to use different kinds of data (trends, norms, and performance)
- The difference between outputs and outcomes.
- Different ways to report metrics.
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Spotlight: Ken Adams
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This week's Spotlight featuresKansas Alliance for the Arts in Education Executive Director Ken Adams.
Ken Adams has been passionate about the arts since an early age by playing the trumpet. He first became involved in arts advocacy when he served as President of the Board for a youth performing arts organization in Denver, Colorado.
He took the helm as executive director at Kansas Alliance for the Arts in Education (KSAAE) a year ago. Ken commented, "I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting arts professionals and students throughout the state, and am so impressed with how much is going on with the arts, even in small rural communities." Previously, his career was in the consumer products industry where he held a number of senior sales and marketing positions. Throughout his sales and marketing career, he was also involved with youth performing arts and witness the drive for excellence and amazing talent in both dance and music.
Currently, Ken is working on solidifying and expanding the organization's board of directors. He said, "We have an extremely talented and passionate group, not only involved in the arts, but representing the business community as well." KSAAE is also organizing professional development workshops for arts integration with educators. The organization is also involved in sponsoring a two-school pilot program for total arts integration. Additionally, they are organizing arts advocacy initiatives throughout the state; funding for the arts has been a major issue for Kansas, and they are leading the effort to create awareness and hopefully orchestrate change.
As he considered past favorite advocacy moments, Ken attended Arts Advocacy Day 2017 in Washington D.C. He found it both thrilling and extremely motivating to be with more than 700 advocates from around the country in going to the Hill to advocate for support of the arts. Ken commented, "The passion and dedication of these art advocates was very impressive!" In offering advice to others, he believes that arts advocates need to Stay passionate, stay fact based, and follow your beliefs!
When asked about his ongoing practice of art, Ken said, "All of my efforts and energy are supporting our Kansas Alliance and ensuring that the arts are an integral part of quality education of every Kansan to promote students' personal development and academic performance. I love my job and our goals!"
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