Congress Passes Funding for National Endowment for the Arts

DID YOU HEAR THE GOOD NEWS? 

Congress passed a $12.5 million funding increase for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of the FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill. That means the NEA will now have a budget of $167.5 million, the highest funding level in 16 years. This is great news in light of the fact that many state and local governments, including those in Arizona, have drastically cut arts budgets. (National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) experienced an identical increase.) Arizona will reap some benefits of this increase although we do not know exactly how much just yet.

If you want to know more the Arizona Citizens for the Arts Advocacy Center is the place to go to learn more about legislation in Arizona and nationally that pertains to the Arts and Arts Education. AzCA Advocacy Center

We also offer a mailing list for a monthly Newsletter and Action Alerts for the Arts and Arts Education, you can sign up for that list Here.

RESULTS OF THE VOTE:

The FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2996) was passed in the House by a vote of 247-178 and in the Senate by a vote of 72-28. Want to know how our Arizona Senators and Congressmen voted?

Here are the results:

Voting Yea (for): Congresspersons: Kirkpatrick-D1, Pastor-D4, Grijalva-D7, Giffords-D8

Voting Nay (against): Senators: McCain and Kyl and Congresspersons: Franks-D2, Shadegg-D3, Mitchell-D5 and Flake-D6

These are the people who represent you! Share your appreciate for the Representatives who Voted Yes for the Arts!

Thank you Representatives Kirkpatrick, Pastor, Grijalva and Giffords!

Help us continue our important work by becoming a member of Arizona Citizens for the Arts. Join Today!

Save Arts Funding!

Last week, the Senate/House GOP leadership released its 2010 state budget document which:
- Essentially eliminates ongoing general appropriations to the Arizona Commission on the Arts: $1.58 million.
- Sweeps the remaining $14.653 million from our once-$20 million ArtShare endowment.
- Offers a mere $300,000 in an “operations offset” – not even enough to match NEA funds to which Arizona is entitled.

It is imperative that we let the Legislature know this proposal is unacceptable and utterly devastating to the Arizona Commission on the Arts and therefore devastating to Arizona arts and culture. Their proposal follows January’s action making one of the largest budget reductions ever to the Commission budget: $423,000 taken mid-year from the general appropriation and $5.347 million swept from ArtShare. Let’s put this in perspective. These new reductions:
- Reduce 80% of Arts Commission support to nonprofit arts organizations, schools and community centers THROUGHOUT Arizona
- Jeopardize up to 50,000 private sector jobs and arts education programs reaching 1.7 million youth statewide
- Mean that the Arizona Commission on the Arts has returned more money to the state than the entire estimated fiscal year operating budget of the Commission for 2009.
- Will cost Arizona citizens $2 for every $1 reduction because Federal matching funds will be lost.

Arizona Action for the Arts along with the Arizona Commission on the Arts continues working closely with the Governor’s Office for Strategic Planning and Budget (OSPB) to identify alternative fund-reduction scenarios to mitigate the impact during these already difficult economic times.
Our board members and liaison advocates have participated in more than 20 face-to-face meetings with key leaders in the Governor’s Office, House and Senate. More will be scheduled. During these meetings, we address the potential impact the budget cuts would have in their districts.

Our goal:
• preserve a larger portion of the general appropriation, and
• protect the ArtShare endowment from further raids.

Our Proposal:
The Arts industry understands that budget reductions are unavoidable in the current situation. Nearly every agency and non-profit organization in the state is cutting budgets to ride out this storm. However, we are not prepared to allow such drastic cuts to occur to the arts in Arizona.
A 78% cut is unacceptable. A sweep of ArtShare is unacceptable. We are willing to step up to the plate in these difficult times and offer to reduce the Commission appropriation by 25%. However, the ArtShare Endowment has already been cut over 25% and should not be reduced further. The Arts have been cut by a greater percentage than most if not all other areas of the budget. More is not acceptable. Further cuts affect real jobs and real people throughout Arizona.

Action Needed:
We now ask that you take ACTION. Contact your own Legislators by phone and email. Let them know how you feel about these drastic cuts and how they will impact you personally, whether you are concerned about your community theatre cutting back its outreach programs or the closure of arts programs or non-profits arts organizations.
Tell them to consider a realistic budget proposal that doesn’t devastate the arts! We have suggested “talking points” available for your use, but the simplest message is “The House and Senate leadership budget proposal will destroy the arts in Arizona.” Personalize your message as much as possible.
Take a few minutes right now to send your personal message to your State Senator and Representatives, or you can choose to use some general messages that we’ve prepared. Check our Advocacy Guide for more direction and content suggestions.
The Legislative session will be long and challenging. But, lawmakers must understand that we will not sit on our hands while they decimate the arts industry in Arizona, affecting each and every district in this state.
TAKE ACTION: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/az/home/

Thank You for your support

2009 Governor’s Arts Awards Winners

PHOENIX THEATRE’S MICHAEL BARNARD, JACQUIE AND BENNETT DORRANCE, PHOENIX ART MUSEUM DOCENTS RECEIVE GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARDS
Boeing Receives Business Award, Ben’s Bell Project For Community Project
PHOENIX, Ariz. (April 14, 2009): Michael Barnard, Artistic Director for Phoenix Theatre, received the 2009 Governor’s Arts Award for an Artist, Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance were honored with the Individual Award and the Phoenix Art Museum Docents earned the honor for Arts in Education at the 28th annual event on Tuesday, April 14 in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at The Arizona Biltmore.
The Boeing Company received the honor in the Business category and Ben’s Bell Project of Tucson was recognized in the Community category.
Sixty-five individuals, organizations and businesses were nominated for Governor’s Arts Awards, which were presented by Arizona Citizens for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Office of the Governor to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the Arizona arts community.
The Arizona Lottery was the event’s Premier Sponsor and SRP was the Presenting Sponsor with additional support provided by Target, Wells Fargo Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Jerry Appell, who sponsored the awards.
Each honoree received specially created glass pieces by six Arizona glass artists. Nominations were received from Apache Junction, Avondale, Chandler, Flagstaff, Mesa, Nogales, Oro Valley, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Prescott, Scottsdale, Sedona, Sun City, Tempe, Tucson, Wickenburg and Yuma.
The fourth annual Shelley Award, named for Shelley Cohn, former Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, was presented to Gerry Murphy and the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award went to former Arizona Republic theater writer Kyle Lawson.
“The list of nominees was impressive in both its size and the quality, which made the decisions that much more difficult,” said Brenda Sperduti, executive director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts. “When you look at the entire body of work that was submitted, there is no question that the Arizona arts community is driven by passion, ability, talent and creativity.”
Award categories were:
• Artist: a living Arizona artist active in the field of literature, visual arts, performing arts, folk arts, architecture, design or film.
• Individual: A living Arizona individual who has made a significant impact on the arts in Arizona through philanthropy, leadership and/or direct involvement.
• Business: A business that has made a significant contribution to support the arts of Arizona. Government agencies are not eligible.
• Community: An Arizona community organization or institution for an outstanding arts-based community program or project. Schools and school districts are not eligible for this category.
• Arts In Education: A living Arizona individual or organization for an outstanding contribution to arts in education.
For additional information visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org.
-30-
2009 Governor’s Arts Awards Honorees and Nominees
ARTIST: Michael Barnard, Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix; Anne Coe, Apache Junction; Bobb Cooper, Phoenix; Andrea Jill Higgins, Scottsdale; Kyle Jordre, Phoenix; Harriett Morton, Tucson; James Muir, Sedona; Sean Nevin, Tempe; Marge Pellegrino, Tucson; Brad Richter, Tucson; Dr. Gene Rister/Christopher Scinto/Josie Tagliente, Phoenix; Vernon Swaback, FAIA, Scottsdale.

BUSINESS: The Boeing Company; JP Morgan Chase; Marley Park, a DMB Community; Serrano’s Restaurants and Enterprises; UBS Financial Services; US Airways.

INDIVIDUAL: Jacquie & Bennett Dorrance, Paradise Valley; Dorothee Cohen, Scottsdale; Persephone Dimson, Scottsdale; Joanie Flatt, Mesa; Jeff Harris, Mesa; Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Tempe; Kimber Lanning, Phoenix; Deb McCasland, Prescott; Terri New, Prescott; Theresa Regina Nixon, Phoenix; Lisa Sette, Scottsdale; Neely Tompkins, Yuma; Robert Weede, Oro Valley.

ARTS IN EDUCATION: Phoenix Art Museum Docents; Dr. Dean Anderson, Chandler; Arizona State Thespians; Arts & Letters Programs at Prescott College; Arts Studios at Mesa Arts Center; Annica Benning, Scottsdale; Linda Cato, Tucson; Chamber Music West, Sun City; William Clipman, Tucson; Curry Summer Music Camp at NAU, Flagstaff; Del E. Webb Center for Performing Arts, Wickenburg; Hilltop Gallery of Nogales; Patricia McCarty, Phoenix; Mark Modzelewski & Vicki Sweeney, Wickenburg; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson; Jill Osborne, Tempe; Dr. Pamela Stevens, Flagstaff; Superstition Review at ASU, Tempe; Barbara Surloff, Phoenix.

COMMUNITY: Ben’s Bell Project, Tucson; Art Renaissance Initiative, Phoenix; Artlink Inc, Phoenix;; Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Public Art Program; Grand Canyon Association;Kore Press, Tucson; Patrons of the Arts, Nogales; Phoenix Airport Museum; Phoenix Chorale; Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children, Phoenix; Spirit of the Senses, Phoenix; West Valley Arts Council, Avondale; Young Arts Arizona, Phoenix.

Shelley Award: Gerry Murphy.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Kyle Lawson.

About Arizona Citizens for the Arts
Arizona Citizens for the Arts is the premier arts advocacy organization in Arizona dedicated to the mission of discussion and awareness of the importance and impact of the arts in achieving quality of life, educational excellence and economic health for all Arizonans and Arizona enterprises. For information visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org

About Arizona Commission on the Arts
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is the state agency that connects artists and communities. The Commission features many diverse programs and services for Arizona residents. For information visit www.azarts.gov.

Join Us in Protecting Public Funding for the Arts

Times are tough. We know that. And, we understand that the arts may not be on the top of your priority list. For those willing and ready to take on the challenge, Arizona Citizens Action for the Arts provides resources, tools and strategies to fight the good fight to protect the state funding for arts organizations statewide.

We Provide:

* A Lobbyist: to fight for arts issues and protect government funding
* Arts Congress: a public platform for arts advocates to meet with their legislators and show the importance of the arts
* Legislative Nights: to show legislators, first hand, what the arts has to offer
* Governor’s Arts Awards: to honor arts advocates who positively impact the Arizona arts.
* Community Arts Awareness Projects: to create public dialogue and awareness of the arts.
* Collaborations with other Arts Organizations: to build partnerships that will construct a stronger Arizona arts community

This is what we fight for:

* People who visit Arizona for the arts. Traveler spending in 2007 generated 171,500 Travel Industry jobs. .
* Arizona’s 12,000 arts businesses and the 50,000 Arizonans working in the state’s arts industry.
* Sustaining the arts ability to continue to Arizona’s economic competitiveness through the generation of jobs, tax revenue and consumer spending.
o Total expenditures of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences:
+ In the East Valley: more than $82 million.
+ In Phoenix: $361 million
+ In Pima County: $57 million.
* Non-local attendees to arts events who spend nearly 3x as much as locals, an average of $40 above the cost of admission.
* Students participating in Tucson’s Opening Minds Through the Arts who narrow the achievement gap.
* Arizona Commission on the Arts-sponsored activities and programs that reach 1.6 million students.
* Students highly involved in arts instruction who:
o Earn better grades;
o Perform better on standardized tests;
o Perform more community service;
o Watch fewer hours of television;
o Report less boredom in school;
o Are less likely to drop out of school.

Now more than ever, states need the economic, educational and civic benefits of the arts. The arts contribute to community resiliency, help communities find creative solutions to complex problems and understand each other’s cultural values and traditions. We fight for government support of the arts, which has supported artists like Maya Ying Lin, Frank Lloyd Wright and Janet Echelman. Arizona art advocates must consistently remind our legislature how important the arts are and what affect they have on the economy and the community when given the proper support. Please pass this along; even if you can’t help, perhaps you know someone who can.

To make a contribution go here:https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=6f1f56
or call us 602-253-6535.

Thank you for your support

Legislative Night at the Phoenix Theatre: Les Misérables

LEGISLATIVE NIGHT AT THE PHOENIX THEATRE
March 24th
Special showing of Les Misérables with Proceeds Benefiting Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Location: Phoenix Theatre
100 E McDowell
Phoenix, Az 85004

Time Reception 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Curtain 6:30 p.m.

“The grandest piece of theater in the company’s long history!”
-Arizona Republic

Arizona Citizens for the Arts and Phoenix Theatre will host Legislative Night during a special fundraising performance of Les Misérables. Legislative Night brings together Arizona state legislators and arts advocates to promote public dialogue, build support of the arts and discuss the impact the arts have on Arizona communities. Don’t miss this special showing of what the Phoenix Theatre is calling a “modern musical masterpiece… epic, grand and uplifting.”

This story, based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo is set in 19th century France. Jean Valjean, is released on parole after 19 years of unjust imprisonment. Finding that he has become an outcast of society with nothing more than mistrust and mistreatment, he breaks his parole in hopes of starting a new life. Struggling for redemption, he is relentlessly pursued by police inspector Javert, who refuses to believe Valjean can change his ways.

Buy tickets: https://sales.phxtheatre.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=5

Shelley Award

GERRY MURPHY TO RECEIVE 4TH ANNUAL SHELLEY AWARD FOR ARTS ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT AT GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARDS DINNER, APRIL 14

Gerry Murphy, who built a legacy as both a strong business leader and a consistent and ardent supporter and advocate of the arts, has been named recipient of the 4th annual Shelley Arts Advocate Award.
The Shelley Award, presented to an Arizona individual who has advanced the arts through strategic and innovative work in creating or supporting public policy beneficial to the arts in Arizona, is named for Shelley Cohn, who spent more than 25 years as executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Murphy will receive the award at the 28th annual Governor’s Arts Awards Dinner in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at The Arizona Biltmore on Tuesday, April 14. Individual tickets are $200. Table sponsorships also are available.
Murphy’s arts resume is as impressive as his business biography during a career that spanned more than four decades in Arizona.
“There may be no individual from the business community who has done more than Gerry Murphy to support and advocate for the arts,” said Bob Booker, executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. “He has helped position the arts as a primary element of the quality of life in our community and he has been an eloquent and consistent spokesperson in delivering messages about the value and importance of the arts as an economic development driver in Arizona.”
Currently the Chairman Emeritus of the Phoenix Symphony Board of Directors, Murphy has been on the Symphony board since 2004 and served as chair from 2004-2007. He was the founding Chair of the Phoenix Symphony Board of Overseers and the Phoenix Symphony Foundation and continues as a member of both. He was chairman of the Arizona Commission on the Arts from 1994 to 1997; served on the City of Phoenix Arts Commission (now the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture) from 1986 to 1990 and 2000 to 2003; chaired the Arizona Theatre Company Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1991, serving on the board from 1983 to 1995; was president of Arizonans for Cultural Development (now Arizona Citizens for the Arts) from 1991 to 1992, and was a board member of the Herberger Theater Center from 1998 to 2004, serving as chairman from 2001 to 2003.
Murphy also served on the City of Phoenix Bond Committee in 2005, which resulted in voter approval of $875 million in bonds including $58 million for arts and cultural projects.
“In many respects, Gerry has been the face and the voice of the arts in the business community and beyond,” said Jessica Andrews, President, Arizona Citizens for the Arts and Executive Director, Arizona Theatre Company. “His passion for the arts and his intrinsic understanding of their value on economic, cultural and educational levels have been instrumental in advancing, sustaining and nurturing the arts not only in the Valley but throughout the state.”
Murphy served on the Florence Crittenton Services board of directors from 2000 to 2006, chairing the board from 2003 to 2005; chaired the Audubon Arizona Building Committee from 2007 to 2008, and is now chairing the Saint Francis Xavier Church Building Committee. He has been a member of the Phoenix Art Museum Director’s Circle and the Heard Museum Director’s Circle.
The Governor’s Arts Awards are presented by Arizona Citizens for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Office of the Governor to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the Arizona arts community.
The Arizona Lottery is the event’s Premier Sponsor with additional support provided by Target, Wells Fargo Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Jerry Appell, who is the Award Sponsor.
Sixty-five individuals from around the state were nominated in five categories. Judging will take place this month. Winners will receive specially created glass pieces by six Arizona artists.
For questions, additional information, table sales or ticket purchases, call Arizona Citizens for the Arts at (602) 253-6535 or visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org.

2009 Governor’s Arts Awards

Date: April 14th 2009

Location: Arizona Biltmore

Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom

2400 E. Missouri

Time: Reception 6:00-7:00

Dinner & Program 7:15-9:30

Tickets: $200 per person, tables of 10 available

We are pleased to announce the 28th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards, on April 14th, at the Arizona Biltmore Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom. This year’s event will feature fabulous glass pieces created by ­members of Arizona Glass Alliance. Last year, over 900 local and state elected officials, prominent members of the arts, and leaders in the business community attended from throughout Arizona. Please join us in celebrating this year’s Shelly Award recipient along with the 2009 Arizona Governor’s Arts Awards honorees. For a complete list of nominees, visit our website. Since 1981, Arizona Citizens for the Arts has been dedicated to the ongoing commitment of public support for the arts.

For more information visit our website www.azcitizensforthearts.org or call 602-253-6535

Arizona Citizens for the Arts is Now on Face Book and MySpace

Arizona Citizens for the Arts is now on Facebook and Myspace! Follow the links below and be the first to know exactly what our organization is up to.

www.myspace.com/410574995

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1462522446

Also, you can find us on Twitter and don’t forget about our website: www.azcitizensforthearts.org

News from Arts Congress 2009

Arts Groups Squeak Through Fiscal Trims

2/2/09 – The Arizona Guardian

By Patti Epler

Hundreds of advocates for the arts gathered at the state Capitol on Monday hoping to convince lawmakers that arts programs and projects are important to the economic and spiritual well-being of the community and should not be whacked — too much, that is — as the state struggles to find money.

Despite suffering a $5.7 million hit late last week as legislators scrambled to plug holes in the fiscal 2009 budget, arts community leaders gathered for the annual Arts Congress said they were relatively happy with the way things worked out.

“The arts have always stepped forward and worked with the Legislature to help with funding, and this year is no different,” said Robert Booker, executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Booker was pleased that the Legislature agreed to take virtually all of the money it wanted from the arts commission out of the Art Share Endowment Fund. That fund holds about $20 million that has been collected through an annual $2 million endowment from the Legislature for the past 12 years, he said.

Additionally, the arts commission must trim about $20,000 from its current-year operating budget. Booker said the agency had anticipated the cutbacks and has left four positions unfilled and started doing more emailing and using less paper, among other savings.

The arts commission gets interest earnings from the endowment fund and uses that to help pay for arts programs throughout the state. In 2008, that interest amounted to about $1 million. Taking $5 million from the endowment fund would reduce interest earnings on the account to about $895,000 this year, according to estimates prepared by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Booker said the cut coming with only five months left in the fiscal year means his agency will have about $500,000 less to give out to arts groups. Even though that’s “a considerable amount,” Booker said, cuts from other funds or money the agency gets directly from the general fund likely would have required the commission to withdraw money it had already earmarked or even passed on to local groups.

“It would have had an immediate negative effect,” he said. “We would have had to have ask for grants back.”

For fiscal year 2010, the proposed cuts to the arts commission are even steeper — about $6 million from the endowment fund and about $50,000 from the operating budget.

Convincing lawmakers that arts are not a simple luxury is the reason the Arizona Citizens for the Arts organizes the Arts Congress every year, said Brenda Sperduti, executive director of the organization.

She said about 450 arts advocates, including people who are in the arts business, attended this year’s gathering. More than 60 of the 90 lawmakers also came by for the lunch and speeches, she said. Advocates paid $25 each to attend; lawmakers got in free.

Sperduti pointed out that government support of the arts is essential because that leverages money from private donors and corporations, two groups of traditional donors who have fallen off this year because of the downturn in the economy.

She and others said most people aren’t aware that the arts are economic drivers in a couple of ways — drawing new dollars into a community through creative projects, boosting tourism and attracting businesses to locate in an area that has a thriving arts and cultural scene.

Rep. Steve Farley, a Tucson Democrat, is a public artist who does projects throughout the country. In the Valley, his tile work can be seen at two downtown light-rail stations and he’s done commissioned pieces for Phelps Dodge, among others.

Artists are small business people who are creating new products, paying takes and enhancing a community’s cachet, he said.

“We don’t have artists on the dole anymore,” he said. “We have artists who are finding their own way.”

Cutting the endowment money means fewer dollars to pay for artists in schools, which has helped offset schools cutting back arts programs from their own budgets, he said.

“Getting people to think differently about the arts is key,” Farley said.

Arizona Arts Congress 2009

23^nd ARTS CONGRESS TO BRING ARTS EDUCATORS, ADVOCATES, BUSINESS LEADERS, ARTISTS TO ARIZONA STATE CAPITOL, MONDAY, FEB. 2

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Jan. 14, 2009): Arizona’s diverse arts community of artists, arts-related organizations, advocates and business leaders representing tourism and economic development will gather on the Senate Lawn at the Arizona State Capitol for the 23^nd annual Arizona Arts Congress from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Feb. 2.

The yearly event includes a short program and meetings with Arizona legislators to discuss the aesthetic, cultural and economic value of the arts across the state and to advocate support for public funding of the arts and arts education.

Sponsored by Arizona Action for the Arts and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, registration begins at 10 a.m. and follows with training sessions in the Arts Congress tent. Legislators are expected to be on hand throughout the event.

“At a time that is so critical to the future of the arts and arts education in Arizona, Arts Congress has never been more important to bring together a very broad-based, diverse group of arts advocates, educators, artists and the business community with one voice,” said Brenda Sperduti, Executive Director, Arizona Action for the Arts. “The budget challenges facing the Legislature are daunting, but so too is the possibility that many arts organizations across the state may not be able to survive without some level of ongoing financial support.”

Arts Congress 2009 includes training sessions and guest speakers on topics including advocacy, arts education and the economic impact of the arts. Among the speakers are Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne who will discuss the Arizona Department of Education’s investment in arts education for all students, and Liberty Schools Superintendent Andy Rogers, who will discuss the importance of arts in the total development of students.

Registration fee is $25 for Arizona Action for the Arts members and $30 for nonmembers. To register, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org/artscongress.html

For more information, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org or www.azarts.gov.

Arizona Action for the Arts

Since 1986, Arizona Action for the Arts (formerly Arizonans for Cultural Development) and the Arizona Commission on the Arts have gathered arts advocates from every community in Arizona at the State Capitol to show their support for a vibrant arts and cultural environment in Arizona.

Arizona Action for the Arts, the non-profit statewide arts advocacy membership organization, promotes public dialogue, public policy and legislation favorable to the arts, ensures and increases state funding for the arts, and serves as a resource for

Arizona Action for the Arts, the non-profit statewide arts advocacy membership organization, promotes public dialogue, public policy and legislation favorable to the arts, ensures and increases state funding for the arts, and serves as a resource for expanding other public arts funding sources.

For more information, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org.

Arizona Commission on the Arts

As the state arts agency, the Arizona Commission on the Arts envisions an Arizona where all people can broaden, deepen and diversify their engagement with the arts, as creators, audiences, and supporters in ways that are satisfying and integral to their lives. For more information, visit www.azarts.gov.