Sharron L Tancred MIDA’s Post

Here is a wonderful example of inspiring leadership from the National Endowment for the Arts and many actors from the arts, academia, civil society, and government. This summit invites people to imagine what policy would look like “when one thinks of the arts as not being confined to a narrow sector, but woven and integrated into other things we care about” (María Rosario Jackson) There are too few spaces like this one, through which we can ask two fundamental questions: what are our moonshot goals as a society and how can the arts help us reaching them?

More about the #artssummit.

Design thinking and the arts in policy can create a space for reflection, visual engagement and bring out the human element in policy systems. See the new evaluation of PolicyLab's art in policy programme. #designthinking #policy #policylab

Daisy Fancourt is an award winning researcher who has been seeking to understand what role the arts play in society - are there real, measurable benefits, or do people engage in the arts purely for the arts sake? Her research demonstrates numerous robust cognitive, psychological and physiological benefits and is an important contribution to the larger research effort analyzing the role the arts play in our wellbeing. One of her longitudinal studies, looking at a cohort of over 6,000 participants over 14 years with an average age of 65, looked at mortality rates when adjusted for frequency in engagement with receptive arts. Receptive arts as opposed to active arts engagement, include attending theater performances, concerts, operas, museums, art galleries, and exhibitions. Infrequent receptive arts participants who engaged with the arts once or twice per year, had a 14% lower risk of dying compared to their counterparts who reported no receptive arts engagement. Participants who frequently engaged in receptive arts, every few months or more, had an astonishing 31% lower risk of dying. These results are after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, health related, behavioral, and social factors. The arts literally help you live longer. Click here to read the full study: https://lnkd.in/eDwUhjd

Isn't this fantastic to learn? We mainly focus on activities to maintain physical health or activities that test and assist in acquiring knowledge but his often do we talk about the emotional and creative activities to lead to longevity? Personally, I saw the covid lockdown as a blessing as it allowed time to show a bit in a sense that people started looking at art again or they were brave enough to pick up a brush or pencil for the first time and put it to paper or canvas. It allowed for the topic of discussion of mental health and brought even more focus to a topic often pushed to the side. I have met and see many people who have used art as a form of therapy and that's fantastic because there a periods in history where genres of art acted as forms of therapy. Creating art allows us to give free reign to our subconscious and let whatever is on our minds out even if we aren't atune to what's there. Creating art is the first step to developing stronger communication skills because first we must identify the problem and art assists in doing so. To learn more keep following...

How Do We Decide Whose Stories Are Told? In history, a crucial question often arises: Whose stories get told? This shapes not only how we view the past but how we teach it. Art provides a unique way to explore this, especially when discussing race, gender, and representation in Early US History. Join Cherish Christopher from the Philadelphia Museum of Art on October 16, 2024, at 7:30 pm ET for the webinar, Whose Stories Get Told? Art and Historical Perspectives. Learn how art can be used as a primary source to highlight stories often left out of mainstream historical accounts. By examining cultural history through art, this session will help teachers bring new perspectives into their classrooms, fostering discussions about who is represented in history—and who isn’t. Webinar Details Date & Time: October 16, 2024, at 7:30 pm ET Presenter: Cherish Christopher, Philadelphia Museum of Art Sign up and learn how to make history lessons more inclusive! https://ow.ly/lUYI50THirw

CELEBRATING NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES MONTH Every October, National Arts and Humanities Month provides us the opportunity to celebrate the profound importance of arts and humanities in shaping our lives, communities, and country. The arts and humanities help us tell our stories on our terms and make sense of the world. They offer us nuanced understanding, different ways of thinking, and open new sources of inspiration and innovation. Critically, the arts protect and advance our humanity, allowing us to embrace our commonalities and recognize our meaningful differences with respectful curiosity. Arts and culture make the space and provide a language to capture the complexities of our American story more fully and embolden us to stand in the space of possibility – imagining a more hopeful and just future.   The integration of the arts in every facet of our lives and society is vital to ensuring that we not only imagine but also create a more equitable and just future for all. At the National Endowment for the Arts, we are committed to deepening our collaboration across the federal government and with state, regional, and local organizations; supporting research into the effects of the arts on health, education, public safety, and more; and bolstering arts ecosystems that foster opportunities for arts participation and engagement to help all people lead artful lives and thrive.

This excellent Campaign for the Arts & University of Warwick report provides some compelling insights into arts funding in the UK.  Australia and New Zealand are similarly under severe funding pressure from Goverment. It's a no-brainer that government funding is essential for the arts and creativity to thrive. Additionally, organisations must be equipped with commercial and business development capabilities to articulate, leverage, and advocate their inherent value through strategic partnerships. These partnerships are essential to underpin organisational purpose and generate funds for growth. Empowering arts organisations with the self-sustaining skills to define an enterprise-wide understanding of their value proposition and strategically unlock it is not just about survival—it's about ensuring they continue to flourish and enrich our society. Strategic collaborations can unlock new opportunities, drive innovation, attract new audiences, and secure new capabilities, revenues, and funding streams. But yes, as Justine says, it's also a no-brainer that government funding is critical to providing organisations with the stability to plan for overall sustainability and lasting success. Additionally, sector-specific and organisational performance benchmarking across key measures is vital to evaluating performance, identifying new opportunities, and planning for success. Together, they can combine to create a vibrant, dynamic arts sector suitably equipped to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges. #ArtsFunding #StrategicPartnerships #ArtsLeadership #CulturalGrowth #CreativeIndustries #PerformanceBenchmarking #CreativeAustralia #CreativeVictoria #CreateNSW Sandwalk Partners

Only 3️⃣ days left 💡 Imagine new creative communities, defined by collective support and solidarity. Enroll now 🍀 ⭐️ Learn how artistic groups throughout history have attempted to create methods of making and experiencing art, beyond Eurocentric, market-based, and institutional art worlds. 🔎 How do economic systems affect the capabilities of art? 🔎 Must artists continue to work within an art world in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals? Or are there other ways? 🔎 How can artists continue to do their work at all, when art-making itself becomes a vocation of the rich? 👉 https://lnkd.in/dvJiqp-u Text & photo by courtesy of Mitch Speed

CELEBRATING NATIONAL ARTS + HUMANITIES MONTH Every October, National Arts and Humanities Month provides us the opportunity to celebrate the profound importance of arts and humanities in shaping our lives, communities, and country. The arts and humanities help us tell our stories on our terms and make sense of the world. They offer us nuanced understanding, different ways of thinking, and open new sources of inspiration and innovation. Critically, the arts protect and advance our humanity, allowing us to embrace our commonalities and recognize our meaningful differences with respectful curiosity. Arts and culture make the space and provide a language to capture the complexities of our American story more fully and embolden us to stand in the space of possibility – imagining a more hopeful and just future.   The integration of the arts in every facet of our lives and society is vital to ensuring that we not only imagine but also create a more equitable and just future for all. At the National Endowment for the Arts, we are committed to deepening our collaboration across the federal government and with state, regional, and local organizations; supporting research into the effects of the arts on health, education, public safety, and more; and bolstering arts ecosystems that foster opportunities for arts participation and engagement to help all people lead artful lives and thrive.