press room

For Immediate Release

11/15/2004

Contact:
Virginia Anagnos
Goodman Media
212.576.2700 x222
virginia@goodmanmedia.com


Arts Action Fund Officially Kicks-Off First National Citizens Membership Initiative to Promote the Arts

New York, November 15, 2004—At a press conference luncheon in New York City today, the Americans for the Arts Action Fund (www.ArtsActionFund.org) will be joined by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein to officially launch the first-ever national citizens membership campaign to promote the arts. The campaign will encourage individual citizens to join in advocating for the arts and arts education. Its goal is to enlist and mobilize more than 100,000 citizen activists who will help ensure that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels, and that public and private resources are maximized.

“The Arts Action Fund provides a conduit for individual citizens to voice and show their support for the arts and arts education,” states Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts Action Fund. “Never has there been a national initiative that unequivocally supported all art disciplines, until now. This is a great moment for the arts and a turning point for arts advocacy.”

In an expression of support, Wendy Wasserstein says, “Drama is about choice, character, and individual responsibility in a community. It engages a student on the crucial issues of their life in the way that no lecture, sermon, or even story can. I feel it is the implicit objective of every artist to reach as many young minds as possible. They are not only the next generation of audience members or artists, but the next generation of citizens.”

In addition to Wendy Wasserstein, celebrated artists such as Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Jeff Koons, as well as many others have joined our Artists Committee to lend their voices in support of this mission. Following are quotes to be included in the direct mail outreach, conducted by the Arts Action Fund:

“To Americans for the Arts, my gratitude for your tireless and effective advocacy on behalf of art and all that comes with it—you truly make a difference and we’re all the better for it.” —Robert Redford

“Like the air we breathe, the cultural winds in America blow across state lines and county boundaries. It’s vitally important that all Americans have access to a common language in art and music; it helps mend the broken social contract and brings us together in appreciation of the best that human beings can do.” —Meryl Streep

“The advocacy work of Americans for the Arts fosters appreciation for the arts on every level, from children in our nation’s schools, to citizens who support the arts locally, to legislation on the state and federal level. The arts are a vehicle that brings the viewer and the creator to the different disciplines of the world: science, philosophy, theology, mathematics, etc. This is the unique power of the arts.” —Jeff Koons

The creation of the Arts Action Fund is part of the long-term strategic plan of Americans for the Arts. After receiving a $120 million gift from pharmaceutical heiress Ruth Lilly in late 2002, Americans for the Arts surveyed thousands of its members and stakeholders to guide the future direction of the organization. Over the next five years, the Arts Action Fund will invest $5 million in programs and marketing, with the first round of direct mail launching this week.

In addition to building a membership of citizen activists, the Arts Action Fund will be establishing national partnerships with other arts organizations to make new strides on behalf of arts advocacy and arts education.

The launch of the Arts Action Fund allows for individuals and organizations to voice their support for the arts and arts education. Membership contributions to the Arts Action Fund start at $20, which is not tax-deductible. Join online at www.ArtsActionFund.org or by calling toll-free 1.866.471.ARTS (2787).

The Arts Action Fund was created last month by Americans for the Arts, the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. It adds a new dimension to arts advocacy by providing a vehicle through which any citizen can help ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to appreciate, value, and participate in the arts. The Arts Action Fund released its first ever Congressional Arts Report Card highlighting the voting records of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on high-priority arts legislation and a special report on Election Impact on the Arts at the Federal, State, and Local Levels. Both reports are accessible online at: www.ArtsActionFund.org/special_reports/.

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