this was forwarded to me from the president of NCAEA-thought it might be of
interest. Linda in NC
AMERICANS for the ARTS
Dear Friends:
Please join cultural organizations across the country to National
Arts and Humanities Month this October. The theme this year is
arts education
and the need for every child in America to have a comprehensive, high
quality
education in the arts. We hope to secure a letter from the White House
by the
end of September recognizing October as National Arts and Humanities
Month.
President George W. Bush has said, "The study and appreciation of the
arts and
humanities serve as both the unifying force in society and as a
vehicle for
individual expression."
There is much to celebrate this year, including the release
of Arts and Economic Prosperity, a study
by Americans for the Arts that confirms the role of the nonprofit arts
as an
economic engine in large and small communities across the country.
That study
reports an annual $134 billion generated in national economic activity
and 4.85
million equivalent full-time jobs supported. This summer the U.S.
House of Representatives
voted to increase FY 2003 funding for the National Endowment for the
Arts by
$10 million and National Endowment for the Humanities by $5 million---a
vote that
repositions the arts as bipartisan with supporters on both sides of
the political
aisle.
Providing momentum for this year's arts education theme, Americans
for the Arts, the Ad Council, and hundreds of arts organization
partners across
the country earlier this year kicked-off a two-year, national public
service
advertising campaign focused on arts education. The message of the ads
is "The
less art kids get, the more it shows. Are yours getting enough? Art.
Ask for
More." The campaign's dual objective is to raise public
awareness
about the need for more arts education for children, and also to call
on parents
and other decision-makers to ensure that the arts are included in
their school
system's educational requirements.
We invite you to visit www.
AmericansForFheArts.org/services/visibility/nahm.asp</a>
and look at the National Arts and Humanities Month Tool Kit. It
includes
a logo for your print materials, "Ten Tips for Parents to Keep the
Arts in their
Children's Lives," sample proclamation for your elected officials to
recognize
the month, a participation questionnaire, and a sample 'swiss cheese'
press
release to alert your local media of your agency's involvement in this
national
celebration honoring the contributions of America's artists, scholars,
and cultural
organizations. In the months following September 11, the humanities
and the
literary, visual, and performing arts have been a major vehicle for
expressing
the inexpressible---even the unbearable. God Bless America
became for a time our national anthem, sung at almost every public
gathering.
Along
with this national embrace of the arts, came the realization that the
arts were
not only the vessel for our collective grief, they were also the
vessel for
our collective hope, our collective sense of who we are, and what it
is to be
American.
Sadly, it is ironic that at this moment when our nation is
turning to the arts, the arts are marginalized in many school systems
across
the country. The next generation of Americans---our children---are
being denied
a comprehensive education in the arts.
The Ad Council tells us that these kinds of celebratory months
are wonderful opportunities to secure additional donated media from
your local
broadcasters and newspapers. We hope that you will take this
opportunity
to use National Arts and Humanities Month to celebrate the arts in
your own
communities and to increase your efforts to place the ads for the
Art. Ask
for More. campaign in your local media as
well as in your own newsletters and publications. Our PSA
campaign partners
have the additional opportunity to localize the ads with their
organization's
name and logo. But all of you can help with outreach in this important
work,
and I invite you to do so. Visit our PSA campaign website for more
details at
www.AmericansForTheArts.
org/public_awareness/</a>.
Please keep us informed of your local plans and activities
by completing the participation questionnaire in the Tool Kit. If you
have questions
or would like additional materials, please e-mail Mary Toth at <a
href="mailto:mtoth@artsusa.org">mtoth@artsusa.org</a>.
Thank you for the work you do to celebrate National Arts and
Humanities Month and most-especially, for the work you do on behalf of
the arts
and humanities all year long.
Sincerely,
