Governor's Arts Awards  

For the second year in a row, the now-30-year-old Arizona Governor's Arts Awards was named the top Awards Event in the fifth annual Arizona Capitol Times "Best of the Capitol" competition. Capitol Times readers cast ballots in more than 40 categories from best awards events, to best dressed, to best cocktail party and everything in between.

Arizona Citizens for the Arts board members Senator Michele Reagan R-Scottsdale, and Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, also were recognized - Michele for her stunning choice of handbags and Steve for "Best Quote." Policy Development Group's Kathy Senseman who represents Arizona Action for the Arts at the State Legislature was selected Best Female Lobbyist.

That's the question all Phoenix voters should answer before they cast their ballots in the upcoming elections for Phoenix Mayor and City Council on August 30, 2011. Public debates and candidate websites offer a great chance to learn which candidates support arts and culture.

Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts also will be reaching out to survey mayoral candidates and council candidates in Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 about their support for City of Phoenix arts funding and support for other arts and culture-friendly policies.

We also are jointly sponsoring candidate forums and debates for mayoral hopefuls and council candidates in order to insure that candidates must answer questions about arts support as frequently as possible before as many voters as possible.

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Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts was well represented among the 150 Arizona Town Hall attendees last month when the 98th session focused on Capitalizing on Arizona's Arts and Culture. And now, the major recommendations from the Town Hall will form a major part of our agenda for the coming year.

We will be helping Arizona Town Hall convene follow-up town hall meetings that are being scheduled around the state to keep the discussion moving forward.  

Specifically, we will be working on the major recommendations involving: 

• Convening a broad coalition to develop a statewide quality of life ballot initiative to provide a dedicated public funding source for arts and culture.
• Restoring funding for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
• Working to dedicate a seat on the Arizona Commerce Authority for arts and culture and making sure the arts and culture industry obtains equal stature with Arizona's other major economic sectors.
• Ensuring that all schools adhere to existing state standards for arts education, that parents are active advocates for arts education and that public policymakers agree that we need to put an "A" for "arts" in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in order to educate our children for the 21st Century global economy.

Town Hall participants also agreed that arts and cultural organizations must help build a database on the economic impact of arts and culture by signing up for the Cultural Data Project and Arizona Community Database. To learn more click on these links:

http://www.azculturaldata.org/home.aspx

http://www.allianceforaudience.org/Pages/arts&culturecensus.html

For the full list of recommendations, visit the AzCA website.

To see an editorial by Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts Interim Executive Director Rusty Foley and Arizona Theatre Company Interim Managing Director Jessica Andrews, visit the Arizona Republic.

You can help us prepare for our busy advocacy agenda by joining or renewing your membership to Arizona Citizens/Action to the Arts by the end of June. In exchange, your renewal will be good for 15 months through the end of September 2012.

There are varying membership levels, and each adds your name to a growing list of arts advocates around the state whose collective voice is loud, clear and critically important.

A "pop-up" newsroom designed to give extensive and thorough coverage of theater in Los Angeles went live this month at www.engine28.com.

A reporting staff from 28 media outlets nationwide will produce reviews, analysis, forums, podcasts and videos. Material will include coverage of several coinciding theater festivals and conferences.

"Rather than simply talk about new models for arts journalism at this year's NEA Arts Journalism Institute, we decided to create some," said Douglas McLennan, digital editor and chief architect for Engine28.com. "Engine28 is an exercise in 'what if' arts journalism. What if you could throw a large group of journalists at a subject and invent creative ways of covering it? Engine28 will be a real-time laboratory for journalism about the arts."

Last month, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback cut off funding to the Kansas Arts Commission, closing the door on the 45-year old agency and leaving Kansas as the only state in the U.S. without a functioning state agency in charge of promoting arts and culture.

During the agency's tenure, the nonprofit arts and culture sector became a booming industry, generating $153.5 million in annual direct statewide economic activity that supported 4,612 full-time equivalent jobs. Brownback intends to form a private foundation to replace the state agency. However, the success of that gambit remains questionable, and at this time, it appears Kansas will lose its National Endowment for the Arts funding because it has no state match funding.  

The board of Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts elected the following individuals to the Executive Committee for FY2011-12 during its annual meeting June 14:

Steve Martin, president, Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Brenda Bernardi, vice president, Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Joel Hiller, Arizona Action for the Arts

Julie Richard, vice president, Arizona Action for the Arts

Tom Chapman, secretary, Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts

Dawn Brown, treasurer, Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts

Jeff Rich, member-at-large, Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts

Also elected to the board was Mark Feldman, Barbara Fenster, Executive Director of Free Arts of Arizona, and Bill DeWalt,  President of the Musical Instrument Museum. Retiring from the Board are Dick Bowers, President of the Herberger Theater Center and Executive Director of the Phoenix Boys Choir, and  local educator Joan Howell. Congratulations to all, and thank you for your willingness to serve.

An all-volunteer organization dedicated to creating an active and vital blues heritage scene through live performances, education and awareness, the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation reaches deep into the community.

This year's annual Festival on Oct. 16 at Reid Park in Tucson features blues legend Elvin Bishop. 

The organization's "School House Bluez" project is a collaboration with Cholla High School to study the history and impact of blues in American popular culture over the past 100 years.  The program engages more than 300 juniors in American History, English and Music classes and concludes with an interactive display in the school library, a day of concerts and a lyrics concert.

Advocacy Spotlight

Suns Star Grant Hill Named Spokesperson for The Choice is Art Campaign

You may know Grant Hill as a great defender and key offensive weapon for the Phoenix Suns.  But he's also an art collector and arts advocate and now is the official spokesperson for the Arizona Commission on the Arts' The Choice is Art campaign.

Hill is featured in a donor-sponsored public service announcement airing on Cox Media promoting the importance of arts education.  During the campaign's four-years, he'll also address the contributions of Arizona artists and arts professionals, the positive impact of the arts on community health and livability, the economic impact of arts and culture and the role of arts promoting cultural understanding.

For more information, visit www.thechoiceisart.org.

OFFICERS

Steve Martin,  

President, Arizona Citizens 

Brenda Bernardi,  

Vice President, Arizona Citizens 

Joel Hiller,  

President, Arizona Action

Tom Chapman,  

Secretary

Dawn Brown,  

Treasurer

Jeff Rich,  

Member-At-Large

Jessica L. Andrews,  

Past President, Arizona Citizens 

MEMBERS  

Allan Affeldt,  

La Posada Hotel 

Robert Benson,  

Peoria Unified School District

Jennifer Burns,

Community Volunteer 

Sam Campana,  

Audobon Arizona

Clark Chasten,

Community Volunteer 

Jae Chin,  

Asian Bank

Mary Dryden,  

Tucson Symphony Orchestra League  

Karen Falkenstrom

Odaiko Sonora 

Representative Steve Farley 

Arizona House of Representatives

Wes Gullett,  

First Strategic

Phillip C. Jones,

Community Volunteer 

Cathy Knapp,  

Quarles & Brady LLC

Alika Kumar,

Community Volunteer 

Melissa Lopez, 

The Apollo Group

Kate Marquez,  

Southern Arizona Arts & Culture Alliance

Rob Nichols,  

Salt River Project

Joseph Perez,  

City of Phoenix

Senator Michele Reagan,  

Arizona State Senate 

Julie Richard,  

West Valley Arts Council

Andrea Soto,  

FAME Events

John Tannous,  

Flagstaff Cultural Partners

Jackie Thrasher,

Washington Elementary School District 

Lynn Tuttle,  

Arizona Department of Education

Roberta Ukura,  

City of Yuma Park & Recreation

Cathy Weiss,  

Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts

Nancy Welch,  

Flinn Foundation

Dick Bowers,  

Herberger Theater Center

Joan Howell,  

Phoenix Elementary School District