Arts Advocacy
“The life of the arts is far from an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and is a test of the quality of a nations’ civilization.”
– John F. Kennedy
Arts Advocacy Bona Fides:
I have been an arts advocate for more than 30 years. I have served on city and county arts commissions, a state grant review panel, spoken to a State legislature subcommittee about the impact on students through participation in arts education, an observer on a National Endowment for the Arts grant review panel, selected for an international two-week executive residency Fellowship on non-profit arts leadership at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, led multiple seminars on arts leadership and management through the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), served as Dean of Fine and Performing arts, participated on multiple arts feasibility studies, taught graduate arts administration, lobbied for arts support to members of a State legislature, and have made presentations on arts related topics to multiple community service organizations and local government entities. I have been an active professional theatre practitioner and educator for forty years. I am a long-time member of Americans for the Arts.
“The arts and humanities teach us who we are and what we can be. They lie at the very core of the culture of which we're a part.”
– Ronald Reagan
I have multiple topics available to present to a variety of audiences, ranging from educational institutions to corporate/business entities, and to social service organizations. My primary presentations are about the role the arts play in creating a “healthy” community. I speak on the positive impact the arts have on educational retention and success as well as on the beneficial social and economic impact on local, regional, and national qualities of life.
My presentations can be tailored to fit between ten minutes to 30 minutes in length. My principal presentation is a deconstruction of the business community, demonstrating the negative economic impact on businesses without the existence of arts practitioners and the crafts people who are integral to every aspect of successful businesses. For this presentation I include architecture, clothing, and furniture designers. I also address the improved business employee recruitment environment in a community with a diverse and active arts scene.
I have additional presentations tailored to:
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Discussion of the role the arts play in high school student retention, outcomes, and persistence.
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The role of the arts in economic development and community redevelopment.
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How to interact with and positively influence government officials and corporate leaders to garner their support of, and commitment to, bringing the arts into the foreground of discussion
“The arts and humanities define who we are as a people. That is their power -- to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common. To help us understand our history and imagine our future. To give us hope in the moments of struggle and to bring us together when nothing else will.”
– Michelle Obama
Please contact me should you wish to have me speak to your organization or business on topics related to arts advocacy.
The button will take you to a page featuring a variety of reference links should you wish to delve into some of the resources and data available to support arts advocacy efforts.