Americans for the arts

DEFINITION

Americans for the Arts is one of the USA's leading nonprofit organizations for advancing the arts. It is dedicated to representing and serving local communities in order to create opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Americans for the Arts was created in 1996 as a result of the merger between the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) and the American Council for the Arts (ACA), two national nonprofit groups.With offices in Washington and New York, and more than 5,000 organizational and individual members and stakeholders across the country, Americans for the Arts is focused on three primary goals: 1. increasing public and private sector support for the arts; 2. ensuring that every American child has access to a high-quality arts education; and 3. strengthening communities through the arts.To achieve its goals, Americans for the Arts partners with local, state, and national arts organizations; government agencies; business leaders; individual philanthropists; educators; and funders throughout the country. It provides extensive arts industry research and information and professional development opportunities for community arts leaders via specialized programs and services, including a content-rich website and an annual national convention.Local arts agencies throughout the U.S. comprise this organization's core constituency. A variety of unique stakeholder groups with particular interests like public art, united arts fundraising, rural and small communities, state arts agencies, and emerging arts leaders are also supported. Through national visibility and local outreach, Americans for the Arts strives to motivate and mobilize opinion leaders and decision makers who can make the arts thrive in America.Americans for the Arts has been running rousing campaigns in the mass media, leading with such questions as "There's not enough art in our schools. No wonder people think Martha Graham is a snack cracker." And, ". . . No wonder people say 'Gesundheit' when you say 'Tchaikovsky.' " The two graphics shown here are samples of their work. Visit the Americans for the Arts, and take a good look at their varied and ongoing art advocacy.