This page includes current and past news, updates, and blog posts. Please browse the page to learn more about Connecticut Arts Alliance and our advocacy efforts and education campaigns.
To read our most recent Member Newsletters, please click below.
At the bottom of the right column of this page, you can enter your email address to receive a notification whenever this page is renewed.
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on November 8, 2018
https://ctartsalliance.org/2018/11/08/caa-news-and-updates/
Connecticut began 2019 with the inauguration of Governor Ned Lamont following an election in which CAA’s Create the Vote CT campaign encouraged candidates and voters to consider the impact of arts and culture on our towns and cities, schools, and economy. As a result of CAA’s efforts, the new Governor formed an Arts, Culture and Tourism Transition Policy Committee to present recommendations to his incoming administration.
Also this year, CAA kicked off its first membership campaign to support the organization and the arts and culture community throughout our state. By the end of the year, 60 Charter Members had joined CAA. The membership represents 25 towns and cities throughout Connecticut, all eight counties, and the artistic disciplines of dance, music, theater, visual arts, and arts education.
In March, CAA led a delegation of Connecticut artists, arts administrators, and advocates to Washington, D.C. for the Arts Action Summit and Arts Advocacy Day, hosted by Americans for the Arts. Our group visited the offices of both Senators and all five Representatives to advocate for increased funding for the NEA and arts-related legislation.
Connecticut’s own Arts, Culture and Tourism Advocacy Day was held in April, and over two hundred arts and tourism advocates attended. Among the accomplishments of the day, a unanimous vote to change the name of the legislative Tourism Caucus to the Arts, Culture and Tourism Caucus was a significant achievement for our industry.
In May, CAA hosted a reception for members and guests following Connecticut Arts Day , which was organized and operated by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, in New Haven. The day included special performances, panel discussions, presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities.
As Connecticut’s legislative session ended in June, CAA updated its members on General Assembly accomplishments . Calls to action and Federal legislative updates continued through the summer, and CAA published out-of-session advocacy tips in the fall.
Throughout the year, a significant project for CAA has been the development of a Strategic Plan. The plan’s actions—which include increasing fundraising, hiring a full-time executive director, changing the make-up of the board of directors, upgrading databases, developing state-wide educational campaigns, and establishing a sustainable business model—are aimed at positioning Connecticut Arts Alliance to ensure that the arts are valued as fundamental components of a vibrant, healthy, connected, and equitable Connecticut!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on December 30, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/12/30/a-year-of-accomplishments-with-caa/
Earlier this month, the Department of Economic and Community Development announced state Office of the Arts grants in four categories for fiscal year 2020. The interactive map below shows grant awards and the location of recipients. (Click here if the map doesn’t load.)
If your organization received a grant, we encourage you to thank your legislators. Whether or not they supported the budget that made these grants possible, legislators should hear about the positive impact that state money dedicated to the arts is having on our organizations and those they serve (who are also our legislators’ constituents and voters). In addition to thanking legislators, invite them for a photo opportunity when grant checks are presented; and then promote the photo and award. To find your current representatives and senators, click here.
Please also thank the Office of the Arts itself! Elizabeth Shapiro, the new Director of Arts, Preservation and Museums, and the entire COA staff work hard with limited resources to administer grant programs and other services for our community and state. Contact information for the COA staff is online here.
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 28, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/10/28/thank-your-legislators-and-arts-office/
In Connecticut, our General Assembly—composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives—convene for regular sessions in the winter and spring. In even-numbered years (like 2020), the General Assembly is in session from February to May. In odd-numbered years (like 2019), when the state budget must be drafted and approved, the regular session runs from January through June.
During the months when the General Assembly is “in session,” CAA has sometimes called our members to action to support (or sometimes oppose) a proposed bill. In April 2019, we held an Advocacy Day with the Tourism Coalition in the State Legislative Office Building, and we invited CAA members to participate.
During the in session period (in odd-numbered years), much focus lies on debating the state budget. In addition, bills that affect the arts and arts education may be proposed, referred to committee, debated, “die” in committee from inaction, or move through the legislative process to become law.
But what about the “out-of-session” months? Between June and January, much can be done to advocate for the arts, arts education, and each of our organizations individually. Here are some suggestions:
For tips on how to contact your legislators, click here . All of these advocacy actions will help you to get to know your legislator now so that you’ll have an established relationship during the in-session months when we may call on them to support us and the arts industry. That established relationship may be key to getting a quick response, an open ear, or even their vote.
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on October 17, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/10/17/out-of-session-advocacy/
Several pieces of Federal legislation are pending which will affect the creative sector. Our thanks to Americans for the Arts for providing these updates through our State Advocacy Captain, CAA Administrator Darren Farrington.
NEA Appropriations
In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed ten appropriations bills, including an Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Bill which increases National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funding each by $12.5 million to a total of $167.5 million each. The U.S. Senate may now begin to consider Appropriations bills. The proposed White House budget had eliminated funding for the NEA and NEH for the third consecutive year.
On August 1, Representative Joe Courtney (CT-2) and Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition will host an Arts, Culture and Humanities Federal Grants Forum. Representatives from the NEA, NEH, and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will present information about current grant programs and processes and criteria for applying. All Connecticut arts organizations are welcome, but space is limited, and registration is required. To register, visit www.culturesect.org.
CREATE Act
This spring, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) reintroduced the Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy (CREATE) Act in both the U.S. Senate and House. Among the goals of the CREATE Act are “to assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange.” As described by Americans for the Arts, “the CREATE Act aims to more thoroughly serve the people, places, and programs that make our nation’s creative economy prosper in all its cultural, social, and commercial forms.”
To date, no Connecticut Senators or Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the CREATE Act. Read here how to contact them and ask.
STAR Act
In June, Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) introduced the Saving Transit Art Resources (STAR) Act. In 2015, Congress prohibited the use of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds for including art in transit projects. Further, by accepting FTA funds, local government funding is restricted as well. The STAR Act would “allow certain funds to be used for incremental costs of incorporating art into facilities, and for other purposes,” thereby giving local communities the option of including the arts in federally funded transit projects.
No Connecticut Senators or Representatives have yet signed on as co-sponsors of the STAR Act. Click here to contact them.
RISE from Trauma Act
Also in June, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the bi-partisan RISE from Trauma Act “to improve the identification and support of children and families who experience trauma.” Americans Arts worked with Sen. Durbin’s staff to draft arts-focused language into the bill which would include state and local arts agencies among those eligible for support and which would add a new grant-making category to the NEA’s authorizing language for “projects, programs, and workshops that provide therapy and creative expression opportunities through the arts for children, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma.”
CAA will continue to provide updates on these and other Federal bills affecting the creative sector.
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on July 16, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/07/16/federal-legislation-update/
The 2019 Connecticut General Assembly session ended in June, and it included a few significant wins and changes for the creative sector.
The most encouraging legislative development was the name change of the Tourism Caucus to the Arts, Culture and Tourism Caucus . The unanimous vote for the name change recognizes the important impact that arts and culture, along with tourism, have on our state. Our thanks to Senator Paul Formica and Representative Dorinda Borer for co-chairing this nonpartisan group of members of the General Assembly who meet to pursue common objectives. CAA’s own continued alliance with the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, the Connecticut Marine Trades Association, Connecticut Humanities, and the Connecticut Restaurant Association will also benefit CAA in our future advocacy efforts.
A bill recently receiving the Governor’s signature allows municipalities to create cultural districts , thereby increasing visibility and awareness of municipal cultural institutions and encouraging economic development. Another bill requiring the licensing of art therapists was incorporated into the general budget legislation and signed by the Governor.
State funding for the arts was maintained at a flat rate, in recognition of the importance of our creative sector despite a need to reduce state spending due to significant budget deficits. An increase in the percentage of lodging tax revenue going toward arts, culture and tourism, however, was not achieved.
Through a bill recommended by the House Speaker’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tourism, the state is also reopening welcome centers , and those centers are already accepting brochures and rack cards from state arts, culture and tourism attractions. The same Blue Ribbon bill estalished an administrative Connecticut Tourism Council within DECD.
The state has also confirmed a permanent leadership position in the Office of the Arts , still within the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Elizabeth Shapiro, who had been Interim Director for nine months, is now the Director of Arts, Preservation and Museums.
Thank you to our CAA members and others who contributed their voices and efforts to our advocacy work this past session. In the coming year, among other goals, we will continue to invite legislators to join the Arts, Culture and Tourism Caucus, and we will advocate for increased state funding with the Tourism Fund coalition.
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on July 1, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/07/01/2019-legislative-session-update/
Connecticut Arts Alliance has begun a series of posts spotlighting its CAA members. The Membership Program, begun earlier this year, joins together arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons throughout Connecticut in building a strong arts and culture sector that benefits the arts and all Connecticut residents.
Founded in 1842 with a vision for infusing art into the American experience, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford is home to a collection of nearly 50,000 works of art, spanning 5,000 years and encompassing European art from antiquity through Modernism as well as American art from the 1600s through today. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the oldest continuously-operating public art museum in the United States, opening its doors to the public in 1844.
The Wadsworth Atheneum has paved the way for encyclopedic museums across the country, presenting engaging and groundbreaking exhibitions that explore every era of art history while consistently being at the forefront of collecting works by diverse artists. Today, visitors to the Wadsworth galleries find captivating and innovative programs mining the iconic holdings and offering new stories that illustrate the breadth and quality of the collection.
Highlights include the Morgan collection of Greek and Roman antiquities and European decorative arts; world-renowned Baroque and Surrealist paintings; an unsurpassed collection of Hudson River School landscapes; European and American Impressionist paintings; Modernist masterpieces; the Serge Lifar collecton of Ballets Russes drawings and costumes; the George A. Gay collection of prints; the Wallace Nutting collection of American colonial furniture and decorative arts; the Samuel Colt firearms collection; costumes and textiles; African American art and artifacts; and contemporary art.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on June 3, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/06/03/meet-our-members-the-wadsworth-atheneum/
Connecticut Arts Alliance has begun a series of posts spotlighting its CAA members. The Membership Program, begun earlier this year, joins together arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons throughout Connecticut in building a strong arts and culture sector that benefits the arts and all Connecticut residents.
Artreach, an Arts & Health Agency based in Norwich, has been supporting mental health and wellness through the creative and performing arts since 1985. Second Step Players comedy troupe has been a mainstay since the company’s inception, and the group performs original sketch comedy about mental health issues throughout Connecticut and in tours around the country.
The Players touring performances reach audiences from all walks of life: providers of mental health services, students in nursing and psychology programs, family members, and other people who have experienced psychiatric issues. Other programs include Artreach Heals Coffeehouse, Comedy Alchemy stand-up comedy troupe, artistic development programs, and wellness programs.
The Artreach community is supportive and fun. Artreach’s innovative approaches to wellness use the creative arts to help adults who have experienced psychiatric disorders achieve sustainable recovery. Performing educational theater and stand-up comedy locally and nationally enables Artreach to touch the hearts of audience members.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on June 3, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/06/03/meet-our-members-artreach/
Connecticut Arts Alliance has begun a series of posts spotlighting its CAA members. The Membership Program, begun earlier this year, joins together arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons throughout Connecticut in building a strong arts and culture sector that benefits the arts and all Connecticut residents.
The Greater New Britain Arts Alliance promotes the creative, performing, and visual arts in New Britain, Berlin, Newington, Plainville, and Southington. The Arts Alliance provides a unified voice for arts organizations, serves as a catalyst for arts-related collaborations, nurtures individual creative abilities, and advocates the arts as vital to the economic health and quality of life in the region.
Its website and weekly Happening Here newsletter promotes events and performances in the region.
GNBAA also operates the STOCKMAN Gallery, a staffed gallery space where artists’ work can be experienced and marketed.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on May 20, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/05/20/meet-our-members-greater-new-britain-arts-alliance/
Connecticut Arts Alliance has begun a series of posts spotlighting its CAA members. The Membership Program, begun earlier this year, joins together arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons throughout Connecticut in building a strong arts and culture sector that benefits the arts and all Connecticut residents.
Thrown Stone Theatre Company in Ridgefield presents new and reimagined plays that spark reflection, emotion, and conversation. The company cultivates artists and audiences through opportunity, education, and mentorship, emphasizing new work and unconventional approaches to repertoire. They are committed to integrity, inclusiveness, and using technology to serve the region with theater of distinction.
The company members of Thrown Stone believe that work is inseparable from the place where it grows. They honor and celebrate local character, culture, and history. All theater is site-specific, and Thrown Stone will highlight local facilities and resources in our productions.
Thrown Stone is named after an allegory by the 17th-century philosopher, Benedict de Spinoza. Opposing Descartes’ conception of free will, he argued that like thrown stones, we are set in motion by “the impulsion of an external cause” and are “necessarily determined by some external cause to exist and operate in a fixed and determinate manner.” It also sounds cool. Read more on the company’s About page.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on May 20, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/05/20/meet-our-members-thrown-stone-theatre-company/
With less than three weeks remaining in the 2019 Legislative Session, we ask you to contact your legislators and urge them to support the recommendations of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, CT Humanities, the Connecticut Restaurant Association, and the Connecticut Marine Trades Association.
Click here to identify and contact your legislators. Please also contact Legislative Leaders and leadership of the Appropriations Committee and Finance Committee.
Please SHARE this email with board members, staff, volunteers, and others who you can ask to make a phone call, send an email, or reach out to representatives to stress the importance and value of including this language in a bill this legislative session.
CAA is Connecticut’s ONLY statewide arts advocacy organization. If you agree that the advocacy efforts of Connecticut Arts Alliance on behalf of arts and culture in our state are important, please consider becoming a Charter Member today!
Posted by Connecticut Arts Alliance on May 15, 2019
https://ctartsalliance.org/2019/05/15/call-to-action-act-now/
