April 8, 2011
Filed under: A&BC News
Response to a Recent Roundtable Discussion with Americans for the Arts President and CEO, Robert Lynch.
For government officials and politicians to arts practitioners and supporters, the importance of arts and culture and its funding has been a key topic of discussion – or at least it should be. It’s definitely a key focus for A&BC.
In early March, Robert (Bob) Lynch – President and CEO of Americans for the Arts (AFTA) – participated in a round table discussion with A&BC staff, board members and several volunteer consultants from the Business Volunteer for the Arts (BVA) program. Bob discussed some of the trends in the arts and culture field and shared his views on the arts sector in America today. The discussion was very thought-provoking, insightful and, as one BVA consultant said, “enlightening.”
Some of the volunteer consultants and board members shared with Artsbiz their thoughts about the roundtable discussion with Bob Lynch.
Wendi Hill, a BVA consultant, said “before the discussion with Bob, I hadn’t realized or had given concentrated thought to the intricacies involved in building strategic alliances and networks to support arts advocacy at the national level. It's assuring to know that arts advocacy is being approached at so many varying levels (in Lynch's words, "tiers", seeking support from the grass roots level to leading business leaders.).”
Daniel Reid, another BVA consultant, shared that he was “pleased to learn about the battery of arguments that AFTA and its partners use in advocating for support for the arts by the private and public sectors. I tend to associate AFTA with economic impact studies, which have been influential arts advocacy tools. However, listening to Bob, it was obvious to me that he and AFTA have thought hard about how to deploy other arguments such as the intrinsic value of the arts, the role of the arts in fostering creativity and innovation, and the developmental role arts can play in education or community building. It's heartening to see these forces arrayed in defense of the arts!”
BVA Consultant Carol Michelini said, “I was surprised to learn that for some people feeling ‘left out’ is a reason not to support the arts. I can certainly see how this could become a political issue: the haves versus the have-nots. I have never thought of the arts as something reserved for the privileged few but as something that is the right of everyone [to experience]. I think about the phrase ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ and, to me, participation in the arts is one way of pursuing happiness, of finding one’s creative voice whether that be from the audience or on the stage. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualization is at the top of the pyramid and creativity is part of self-actualization.”
Jennifer Harris, also a BVA consultant, added, “Creativity and innovation is so important to business nowadays and will be even more important in the future, I liked that Bob said we should illustrate support for the arts in an effort to foster creativity and innovation.”
“Bob (Lynch) mentioned that it appears that some business leaders out there ‘get it’ in terms of supporting arts-oriented initiatives for their companies and their employees. I agree with the importance that was placed on making these kinds of personal, strategic connections,” expressed Andrew Holtz, A&BC board member.
For more information on what’s happening in the arts on a local, national and international level, please visit the AFTA website. AFTA is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. It is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. The Arts & Business Councils across the nation are a division of the AFTA organization.