Advocacy
Ovation is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to all forms of art and the artists who define our cultural landscape. We focus our advocacy efforts on supporting the next generation of artists and have, to date, donated in cash and in kind, over $10 million dollars to support arts education organizations, individual artists and performing arts and cultural institutions.
Arts Advocacy Day
Produced by Americans for the Arts in partnership with Ovation
Arts Advocacy Day: The 2011 National Arts Action Summit was a success!
The House Appropriations Committee publicly released the final budget agreement for FY 2011 negotiated by President Obama with House and Senate leaders, which includes $155 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Take a look at these pictures from the event.
F
rom left to right: Ovation C.E.O. Charles Segars, actor Alec Baldwin, Congressman Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio) and actor Kevin Spacey.
Emmy Award winning actor Alec Baldwin speaks at the Arts Advocacy Day Congressional Arts Kick-off
From left to right: Ovation C.E.O. Charles Segars, actress Kerry Washington, and Robert Lynch from the Americans for the Arts before the Nancy Hanks lecture at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
-Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Ovation
Advocacy News/Alerts
Write to Your Legislator in Support of Arts Funding
On July 7, 2011 a U.S. House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee began the funding cycle for Fiscal Year 2012 by approving legislation to fund the NEA at $135.2 million, which is a reduction of $20 million from the current year. If enacted, it would be the deepest cut to the NEA in 16 years. Please take two minutes to visit the Americans for the Arts Action Fund website and send a customizable message to your member of Congress calling on them to reject these funding cuts.
This budget proposal is disappointing, represents a disproportionate cut, and appears counter-productive to the stated objectives of growing American jobs.
This proposed cut to the NEA is 13 percent below the current funding level, while overall funding in the bill, which includes agencies like the EPA, Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service, is reduced by only 7 percent. As Americans for the Arts stated during the contentious FY 2011 budget consideration earlier this year, the arts community recognizes the shared sacrifice being asked of all federal agencies to help reduce our national debt and it is willing to do its part.
The arts sector has proven to be resilient as a growth industry and a strong contributor to the economy. NEA dollars are a critical lifeline in helping state and local budgets survive as philanthropic dollars are dwindling. This drastic reduction does not take into account the incredible return on investment those funds generate to federal, state and local treasuries.
It is expected that the House Appropriations Committee will consider this legislation next week, and the full House of Representatives may consider it before the August recess. A message from you registering your concerns with your member of Congress would be well-timed to arrive prior to these next steps in the appropriations process.
Arts Education Advocates - URGENT Action Needed!
Recently a Congressional House Committee passed a bill that would eliminate 43 longstanding federal education programs, including the model projects grant program for arts education. Under the misguided bill name of "Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act," H.R. 1891 will now move to the full House of Representatives for consideration in the coming month.
Action is needed now - this bill would eliminate the only dedicated federal source of support for arts education programs in the country.
Visit American's for the Arts' Advocacy Center and send a customizable message to oppose H.R. 1891 to your Representative:
http://www.capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=47573521
Help build the grassroots momentum needed to stop this bill from passing the House. Two minutes of your time could save millions of dollars for arts education.
New Arts Education Study Ovation Arts Ed Advocates should check out "Reinvesting in Arts Education - Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools" - a landmark study just published by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
How do you become an Arts Activist?
Check out Arts Advocacy Day!
Art activists and advocates from around the country including Kevin Spacy and Alec Baldwin provided testimony in Washington DC this week.
Watch these videos with Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin from CNN & MSNBC.
© 2012 
Ovation