Advocacy Day is March 2, 2010!!
Click Here to Sign Up for Arts Advocacy Day!
Watch the Advocacy Day 2007 video | Get the details, | 2009 Advocacy Day Handbook
Each year, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites arts advocates at the Minnesota History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota.Through this big day, we show the strength of Minnesota’s arts community. Each year, there are representatives from small rural choirs and suburban community theaters, presenters and big organizations, museums and art centers of all sizes, painters, tenors, dancers, cellists, french horn players, and arts administrators joining together for this big day.Past participants have enthusiastically reported two things about Advocacy Day:
- First, that they feel empowered by gathering together with like-minded people.
- Second, that they say that Arts Advocacy Day is the best arts networking event of the year. This is the only time that arts lovers of all kinds gather together in one place. Through this big day, we show what a strong, vital arts community we have in Minnesota. In 2003, one thousand arts advocates attended Arts Advocacy Day!Participation in events like Arts Advocacy Day has led to significant increases in state arts funding, including 1997’s $12 million Arts Initiative, for which the unified voice of the arts community was critical to our success.
Be a part of the team!
The five hundred advocates at last year’s event were the first to hear about the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which was passed by Minnesota voters this past year.
Our legislators need to be educated about the importance of the arts to our state every year.
On Arts Advocacy Day, we are out in full force to say “Please support state arts funding!”
Never been to Advocacy Day? Want more information?
Watch the new Watch the Advocacy Day 2007 video,
Get the details,
Read “Tales of a First Time Arts Advocate”,
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions,
Or contact us at (651) 251-0868 or Staff@mncitizensforthearts.org.
Virtual Arts Advocacy Day Was April 13th
What’s a Virtual Arts Advocacy Day?
On April 13, you can be a part of a rally for the arts, all on-line! No fuss, no muss! You don’t have to go to the Capitol, take time off work, get dressed up, or spend all day. All you have to do is go to our Desktop Lobbyist on or before April 13, 2009 to send letters to your legislators asking them to support the arts.
What’s Our Goal?
Our goal is to generate at least 1000 more emails to legislators by the end of the day, highlighting the importance of the arts to Minnesota. Legislators will have to sit up and take notice.
What’s Our Message?
Our message is that the arts are important to Minnesota, and we want legislators to “minimize cuts to arts funding” and to “dedicate at least 50% of the Amendment’s Arts and Culture Fund to the existing Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Council system.” Hearings on both of these issues will be going on in April – we have only two weeks to make our message heard. Passage of these initiatives could double or triple resources for the arts in Minnesota and increase access to the arts for all Minnesotans!
Who Should Participate?
Anyone who cares about the future of the arts in Minnesota.
How Do I Do It?
Go on-line anytime between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm on April 13 (or before!) and use our Desktop Lobbyist to send your message. Then, forward this alert to your friends and encourage them to join in. If we all take just five minutes on April 13, we can make a difference for the arts.
How Else Can I Help?
Starting today, forward this alert to as many friends, organizations and artists as you can, and encourage them to be a part of the Virtual Rally for the Arts. For this Virtual Rally to succeed, we’ll need the help and participation of friends of the arts from all over the state. Thank you for your help!
So far over 1800 letters to legislators have now been sent protesting Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to cut the arts by 50 percent, and eventual elimination of the State Arts Board after 2011, as part of a package of budget changes intended to balance the state’s budget. The Governor’s budget proposal flies in the face of the clear message sent by voters in the passage of the Amendment: that we want MORE investment in the arts and culture, not less. We are also very strongly asking that at least 50% of the Arts and Culture Fund from the Amendment that we passed be appropriated to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils so that it gets to every corner of the state.
Be a part of the action: Send a letter to your legislator today saying you want them to protect the arts. You can do it in 5 minutes with our simple Arts Action Center. We give you talking points and set it up, all you have to do is enter your name and address and the letter will go automatically to the right elected officials.