The Nancy Hanks Lecture on Art and Public Policy with Vijay Gupta

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The 33rd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy will be presented live as the opening keynote presentation of the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 11:30 AM EDT.  Delivering this year's lecture virtually will be Vijay Gupta, renown citizen artist, social justice advocate, acclaimed violinist, 2018 MacArthur Fellow, and Americans for the Arts board member. You can view this thought-provoking and artistic event free by either registering here on this page for just the lecture or registering for the entire Americans for the Arts Annual Convention and Public Art & Civic Design Conference, where the lecture is included in your paid registration.

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Vijay Gupta

Breaking Down Structural Racism in Grantmaking

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Racism is baked into the structure and model of foundation giving—including that of local, county, and state arts agencies. In moments of crisis, even strong pushes towards equity have the potential to be set aside in favor of moving quickly—and we have to resist the idea that speed and equity are an either/or proposition. In this session, participants will briefly learn the history behind the funding structures we have today, hear about session leaders experiences or aspirations in restructuring their general operating support programs, share their own experiences, and then be led through an exercise to get in the shoes of your community members.

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Deidre Thomas, Houston Arts Alliance
Kathy Hsieh, City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture
Jaren Bonillo, San Francisco Arts Commission 

The Top 10 Talking Points You Need to Center the Arts in Recovery

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As cities face historic budget shortfalls in the wake of COVID-19, local arts agencies are increasingly under threat. This lively session will fill your arts advocacy quiver with 10 case-making arrows to ensure a vital presence for your arts agency. 

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Randy Cohen, Americans for the Arts

What COVID-19 Means for Local Option Taxes (and What To Do About It)

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Local option taxes are the lifeblood of certain local arts agencies (and, through grants, their communities)--but they are also one of the components of government funding that may be hit longest and hardest by COVID-19. In this session, break down what may happen to local option taxes, including hotel/motel taxes, taxes on goods, taxes on construction, etc, that are sometimes substantial funding streams--and talk about how to prepare, mitigate, and advocate to address the challenge.

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Ruby Lopez Harper, Americans for the Arts
Erin Harkey, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Jonathon Glus, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture

An Artistic Dialogue with Vijay Gupta

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Following his Nancy Hanks Lecture, Annual Convention attendees can get a special opportunity to hear more from, and engage with, MacArthur Fellow and musician Vijay Gupta in this special session.

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Vijay Gupta

Creating Your Quick Pitch on The Relevance of Arts Now

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We’re in the middle of a moment where the relevance of the arts is in question even for our staunchest allies. When the whole world is on fire, how do you explain the relevance of the arts? How do you get people who are not on your boat onboard when it comes to the usefulness, value, and impact of arts and culture on communities? In this workshop, learn to match what you have to what they need, use language that they understand, and back it up.

Speakers

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Margy Waller, Topos Partnership
Shannon Daut, City of Santa Monica

Navigating Your Board through Anxious Times

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How do we help our boards succeed in a time of heightened anxiety?  In this session, two veteran non-profit leaders, Dave Lawrence and Karen Gahl-Mills, will facilitate a candid conversation about boards and uncertainty, with the objective of creating a set of tools for both non-profit executives and board members that can be applied to organizations and boards of all sizes. What is the leader’s role in managing board anxiety? How can we help some of our most dedicated volunteers stay the course? How can we, as non-profit leaders, empower our boards during times of crisis?

Speakers

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Karen Gahl-Mills, Indiana University
Dave Lawrence, Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

Supporting and Encouraging Parent Advocacy for Arts Education

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Parents are crucial advocates for arts education at all levels, but particularly locally. This is particularly true for the next two years, as education systems across the United States prepare for major economic hardship, including having to let teachers go. In this session, explore a newly-unveiled advocacy guide for parents created with the National PTA, talk about the mobilization power of parents, and think through how you can best use parents for arts advocacy in your community in a moment when arts educators may be in danger.

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Kelly Fey Bolender, Americans for the Arts
Kymberly Cruz, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Katie Sprouse, Virginia PTA

Ashara Ekundayo on the Artist as First Responder

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When there is a disaster or drastic urgent need in community, our creative selves emerge to forge solutions and interventions. This creative work saves lives. Artists respond by rescuing, making, and stewarding creative pursuits on the frontline edges of catastrophe and celebration. In this talk, artist, curator, and organizer Ashara Ekundayo discusses Artist as First Responder, an interactive platform with digital media and print ephemera highlighting the work of international artists whose creative practices save lives and heal communities.

Speakers

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Ashara Ekundayo, Creator, Curator, and Cultural Strategist

Helen Shaw on the Opportunity Inside the Catastrophe

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Helen Shaw, theatre critic for New York magazine and Vulture.com, is an expert at exploring the evolutions that keep an ancient artform vital. In this talk, she’ll explore what she hopes are the opportunities for innovation and revitalization are for theatre makers and other artists inside this moment of challenge, and what relevant and electrifying art will look like on the other side.

Speakers

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Helen Shaw, New York Magazine/Vulture

Kaywin Feldman on the Resilient Power of Art in Recovery

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What is essential, now and in recovery? Beyond the health and safety of our communities, it is our culture—where we experience our shared humanity. In this talk, Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, talks about the role of museums and the arts in the visible and invisible recovery that is going to come after COVID.

Speakers

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Kaywin Feldman, National Gallery of Art 

Jazz Master: A Concert with Johnson Fellow Hannibal Lokumbe

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Relax as 2020 Johnson Fellow and jazz genius Hannibal Lokumbe shares clips of some of his favorite performances and shares the story behind them and his body of work.

Speakers

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Hannibal Lokumbe, Musician, 2020 Johnson Fellow
Suzan Jenkins, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
Willard Jenkins, DC Jazz Festival 

Angelique Power on the Death of "Equity"

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Angelique Power, President of the Field Foundation, shares a deeply personal talk about how the recent flurry of equity statements without teeth actually harms the movement. From health pandemic to the pandemic of racism, this moment calls us not talk about it, but be about it. So, what will change after this moment passes and how will you know if you are part of the problem or part of the revolution?

Speakers

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Angelique Power, The Field Foundation

Nurit Siegel Smith on Power, Money, and Public Benefit

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The strategic alliance between public benefit organizations and private corporations will be critical in our social and economic recovery. In this session, explore the value proposition for both, what it means when resources are shared, and how a shift in power could transform the field.

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Nurit Smith, Music Forward Foundation

Molly Joyce on Rethinking Interdependence through Disability Perspectives

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Composer and performer Molly Joyce shares and discusses excerpts from Perspective, a sound and video work featuring contributions from disabled participants worldwide. In the work, Joyce musically accompanies disabled interviewees as they respond to what access, care, control, assumption, and interdependence mean to them.

Speakers

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Molly Joyce, Musician

Letting Go and Moving Forward: Collaborative Artmaking with Dance Exchange

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What have we had to let go? What will we choose not to pick back up? Join Dance Exchange artists Elizabeth Johnson Levine and Thomas Tyger Moore as we acknowledge the loss (and sometimes grief) we’re experiencing in our changed lives, field, and world. Through dance, story sharing, and creative dialogue we’ll explore a profound opportunity to celebrate the possibilities that lie ahead as we let go of that which does not serve us and move toward more just, sustainable, expansive futures. 

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Elizabeth Johnson Levine, Dance Exchange
Thomas Tyger Moore, Artist Educator and Community Activist

Get Your Arts Advocacy On--Even (Especially) Now!

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In this session, learn how you can use your individual story to engage with decisionmakers, what types of outreach are most effective (particularly in a moment when some of the most traditional, in-person avenues for advocating are temporarily off the table), and how to maintain relationships with decisionmakers and other stakeholders. Leave this session equipped to be the best arts advocate you can be.

Speakers

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Lauren Cohen, Americans for the Arts
Nate McGaha, Arts North Carolina

Partnering with Chambers of Commerce on Road to Re-Opening and Recovery

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Chambers of Commerce and other business-centric organizations are working on overdrive to jump start their economies following the shutdowns of COVID-19. We know that the arts are essential to thriving communities and are important partners in developing vibrant places to live and work. In this session, hear examples of partnerships and solutions between arts groups, agencies, and chambers of commerce, and learn how to have these conversations in your community.

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Jessica Stern, Americans for the Arts
Sheree Anne Kelly, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives
Wendy Bury, Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition
Tony Sheridan, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut

Recognizing and Tackling the Collective Trauma of COVID-19

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Trauma has been an unfortunate reality for many people for a long time, but the arrival of COVID has meant a heightened, collective, and often unrealized trauma for basically everyone, which we are all carrying in difficult and unhealthy ways. In this session, we'll unpack the collective trauma of the last 4 months and explore how to address it personally, within your organization, and for those you support and care about. 

Speakers

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DeAndrea Nichols, Artist, Civic Creatives
Neil Gross, Colby College

Virtual Happy Hour and Networking Event

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Social distancing has allowed us to connect and collaborate in new and innovative ways. Join colleagues from across the arts and culture field to network with Americans for the Arts advisory council members and staff with your favorite post-work beverage. We will create virtual breakout rooms for informal discussions about how we are adapting to our new normal and preparing for the future. The event will also provide an opportunity to learn more about what it means to be members of Americans for the Arts.