Voices from the Field Blog

For nearly 60 years, Americans for the Arts has convened an annual convention for arts and community leaders to network and discuss strategies for building stronger towns, counties, and cities through the arts. As our professional field has grown, so has this gathering. This year's Annual Convention explored the role of the arts in creating and sustaining healthy, vibrant, equitable communities...

As arts organizations, it's important to stay connected to our New Jersey tourism partners. After all, we share the same dedicated revenue source (NJ Hotel/Motel Occupancy Fee) and we know that cultural tourism is critical to our state’s tourism industry. The NJ Travel Industry Association's Conference on Tourism is a great opportunity to network with colleagues in the tourism industry and...

The ArtPride New Jersey Foundation will honor Pleasantville, N.J. educator Tamar LaSure-Owens for her outstanding arts advocacy at the 35th annual Governor’s Awards in Arts Education. This year’s Awards, which promote awareness and appreciation for the arts, will take place on Wednesday, May 27 at the Patriots Theatre of The War Memorial in Trenton. Each year, ArtPride New Jersey recognizes an...

Earlier today, Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America, announced the recipients of the 2015 Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Awards. Among the honorees is Ann Marie Miller, ArtPride New Jersey Foundation’s Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, who will receive the Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award...

In today's American culturescape, the performing arts center (PAC) is often the anchor arts institution and a key contributor to local economic rejuvenation. The PAC delivers short-term fiscal impact with its ongoing schedule of events drawing visitors whose spending in the surrounding commercial milieu creates a “ripple effect” that circulates revenue throughout a network of restaurants, retail...

Arts for Life: Boosting the Health of Older Adults was held on Friday, March 20, 2015 at the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood. Over 20 artists, arts administrators, aging services providers were hosted by the Alliance for Arts and Health New Jersey and Arts for Life of New Jersey in partnership with the Bergen County Division of Cultural Affairs to experience and discuss the benefits of...

You may ask, "Why should we, as an arts organization, attend the NJ Travel Industry Association's Conference on Tourism?" Some things to consider: Funding for the arts, history and tourism is provided by the Hotel/Motel Occupancy Fee and all three sectors have launched a cooperative campaign to restore that funding. State and municipal bed tax receipts grew 3.7% in 2013. (Source: 2013 Tourism...

We encourage you to celebrate the life of one of New Jersey's most inspirational advocates at the 35th Anniversary of the Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series: Curating Black America, on Saturday February 21, 9:30am - 7:00pm. African American history is American history, located at the center of the making of the American Republic. Next year's Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series entitled...

Upon being selected and sponsored to attend Building One New Jersey and Together New Jersey's Leadership Training, I hoped to further my knowledge in order to assist in the sustainability and advancement of the Arts in the community in which I live and work, which in turn would have a positive effect on both the State and National levels. I was motivated to attend due to the concern regarding our...

Three reports from the National Endowment for the Arts reveal new findings about the impact of arts and cultural industries on GDP, as well as how and why Americans participate in certain arts activities. The data for the three reports is all from 2012, so for the first time the NEA can show a comprehensive view of a single year in the life of the arts and cultural sector from three different...