Art Matters

MICHIGAN

ArtServe
www.artservemichigan.org/advocacy
This is one of the most useful sites for a Michigan resident with arts advocacy interest. Here you will find the following:

• The downloadable Grassroots Advocacy Toolkit, which will give you all the information you need to get started
• Legislative Action Center, where you can use the "CapWiz" tool to personalize a message and send it to your representative with the click of your mouse
• Sign up for GRAAND (GrassRoots Arts Advocacy Network Distribution), an e-mail newsletter that will keep you up to date on any arts action alerts.

Arts of Citizenship
http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu
Fellow U-M Public Goods Council member asks "how can work in the arts, humanities and design contribute to the practice of citizenship and public culture?" Visit their site to find out.

Imagining America
www.ia.umich.edu
Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life is a national consortium of colleges, universities, and cultural institutions dedicated to supporting the civic work of university artists, humanists, and designers. Of particular interest to students is "Arts in Action," the division of the national "Raise Your Voice" campaign designed to inspire students to get involved in arts initiatives to create change in their communities. See Campus Compact/Raise Your Voice below, also.

Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies (MACAA)
www.macaa.com
Find Action Alerts as well as excellent information on how the arts can build communities in Michigan.

Michigan Council For Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA)
www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17445_19272---,00.html
A division of the Michigan Council For History, Arts and Libraries. Check out their site for the latest news in arts and community-building.

NATIONAL

ArtsEdge
artsedge.kennedy-center.org/connect/aes.cfm
Link to the site's "Advocacy Essentials" section for several helpful articles and links.

Americans for the Arts
www.artsusa.org/get_involved/advocate.asp
Lists of events, arts advocacy resources, and arts action alerts. It's easy to contact your representative through their website to advocate for various national arts funding issues.

Campus Compact/Raise Your Voice
www.compact.org
www.actionforchange.org
Campus Compact is a coalition of over 900 college and university presidents committed to the civic purposes of higher education, and Raise Your Voice is a Campus Compact initiative designed to inspire and give university students the tools to "act today to create the world you want to live in tomorrow."

Center for Arts and Culture
www.culturalpolicy.org/issuepages/issuetemplate.cfm?issue=Investment
This link takes you to the Center's "National Investment in Creativity" page. It provides great information on the sort of policy that can shape arts and culture in our country.

Community Arts Network
www.communityarts.net
Ideas and reading materials about promoting art within the community.

Educational Theatre Organization
www.edta.org/advocacy
Information on advocating for theatre and advocacy generally.

Music Friends
www.musicfriends.org
Music education advocacy site.

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
www.nasaa-arts.org
Lists important arts advocacy news, including action alerts to spur you to contact your representatives.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
www.arts.gov
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the largest annual funder of the arts in the United States. An independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Arts is the official arts organization of the United States government. Funding for many state and community organizations comes, in part, from the NEA. Often, an arts advocate will advocate against cuts to NEA funding, as these cuts affect individual artists and arts organizations throughout the country.

National Art Education Association
www.naea-reston.org
Legislative tips for art education associations and general arts advocacy resources and tips.

Partners for Livable Communities
www.livable.com/culture_builds/index.htm
This links specifically to the "Culture Builds Communities" page. The idea that arts and culture improve our communities in numerous ways is being used to build advocates' cases for arts and culture funding throughout the country.

SAA: Student Advocates for the Arts
www.studentadvocatesforthearts.org
Site of a student group founded at Columbia University, containing advocacy news and alerts. Chapters exist also at Duke and Ohio State Universities--start one at your school!

Vote Smart
www.vote-smart.org
Though not specifically arts-based, this website is a great place to orient yourself with your elected officials and where they stand on various issues.