Advocacy
Other Issues
As established in our advocacy policy, CAA may, from time to time, supplement or modify the issues set forth above to meet broadly supported interests or needs of its members. Any such changes require the approval of the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors.Vatican Library Closes for Renovation
July 2007
The Vatican Library closes in July 2007 for a renovation and reorganization that will take approximately three years. Click here to read more. National Medals of Arts Awarded
November 2006
On November 9, 2006, President George W. Bush awarded the National Medal of Arts to ten individuals and organizations Click here to read more. RAND Study on State Arts Agencies
November 2006
A new RAND report, entitled "The Arts and State Governments: At Arm's Length or Arm in Arm?", recommends that state arts agencies seeking increased state government support for the arts should strengthen their relationships with elected officials and raise their organizations' profile with the public. Click here to read more. US State Legislative Districts
November 2006
Americans for the Arts has produced "Creative Industries Standard Reports for Your State Legislative District," which reports on arts-related businesses in your state. Click here to read more. US Mayors Adopt Arts Resolutions
September 2006
Each year, the US Conference of Mayors adopts a series of policy resolutions proposed by individual mayors who chair committees that focus on specific issues such as the arts. Click here to read more. Digital Database for Europe's Cultural Heritage
September 2006
Drawing on a system developed by France's Ministry of Culture and Communications, the MICHAEL project, which stands for Multilingual Inventory of Cultural Heritage in Europe, has developed an electronic system to access, manage, and update digital records of Europe's collections, including museum objects, archaeological and tourist sites, music and audiovisual archives, biographical materials, documents, and manuscripts. Click here to read more. Anne-Imelda Radice Is New IMLS Director
July 2006
In March, the U.S. Senate confirmed President George W. Bush's nomination, Anne-Imelda Radice, for director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Click here to read more. U.S. Colonel to Lead Antiquities Antitheft Unit
March 2006
Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, has established a task force dedicated to investigating and prosecuting antiquities theft and trafficking. Click here to read more. Center for Arts and Culture Closes
March 2006
The Center for the Arts and Culture, a nonprofit, bipartisan resource for news and information on policies affecting the arts, has shut down its operations. Click here to read more. Twenty-Four Sites Added to World Heritage List
January 2006
Twenty-four sites (seven natural and seventeen cultural) have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Click here to read more. FBI Announces Top Ten Art Crimes
January 2006
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the "Top Ten Art Crimes." Click here to read more. NGA Report on Rural Economic Development and the Arts
January 2006
The National Governors Association (NGA) has published a report, entitled "Strengthening Rural Economies through the Arts," that shows how rural communities benefit economically from having arts organizations work in their area. Click here to read more. National Medal Of Arts Awarded
January 2006
On November 10, 2005, President George W. Bush awarded the National Medal of Arts to nine individuals and one organization. The National Medal of Arts, established by Congress in 1984, is awarded by the president to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth, and support of the arts in the United States. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia is the institutional recipient. Click here to read more. New Comparative State Policy Database on Arts Education
January 2006
The Education Commission of the States has published a comprehensive online database, ArtScan, which allows users to compare state policies for arts education across states and to view compiled reports on state policies for arts education.... Click here to read more. University of Kansas Art Department: Toys to Benefit the Children of New Orleans
December 2005
In response to the devastation of the Gulf Coast hurricanes, the University of Kansas Art Department and the student sculpture club, Ministry of Sculpture, developed a project in which artists and sculptors can have an impact on people’s lives and help in the healing process. Focused on the regenerative activity of child’s play, the group decided to create wooden toys for children during the festive Mardi Gras season. Click here to read more. UNESCO Blog
November 2005
John Daly’s “UNESCO News: Education and Culture” [http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/] provides news about the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's programs in the education and culture. The blog emphasizes news about programs serving developing nations, but is tailored for an audience in the United States. The blog also provides links to other UNESCO education and culture news sources. Click here to read more. Visual Artists and the Millennium Development Goals
November 2005
Development and Art (DevArts) [http://www.tagstudio.net/devarts] is an online resource devoted to promoting the ways visual artists can advance the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). DevArts seeks to catalogue the inspiring efforts of entrepreneurs, educations, activists and therapists who are using the visual arts as a means to achieve development goals. Among other things DevArts allow you to track news and information related to the MDGs. Click here to read more. PCAH Holds Summit on Cultural Tourism
October 2005
The President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities and the Department of Commerce convened a summit on U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism on October 6-8. The summit drew approximately 380 leaders from the for-profit, nonprofit and public sectors, including state, local and federal arts, tourism, historic preservation, humanities and natural resources agencies. Governors from each state were also asked to appoint delegations. The “2005 White Paper on Cultural Heritage and Tourism,” can be downloaded from the PCAH website, http://www.pcah.gov. Click here to read more. White House Names Nominees to NEH Council
October 2005
On September 29, the President announced his intention to nominate three new members to the National Council on the Humanities, the governing board of the National Endowment for the Humanities: Jean B. Elshtain, of Tennessee, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring January 26, 2010; Allen C. Guelzo, of Pennsylvania, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring January 26, 2006 and an additional term expiring January 26, 2012; and Eugene Hickok, of Pennsylvania, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring January 26, 2006 and an additional term expiring January 26, 2012. Click here to read more. Growth In Funding For Arts Education Surpasses Arts Giving Overall
October 2005
Charitable giving for arts education grew faster than arts giving overall between 1999 and 2003, a report released jointly by the Foundation Center and Grantmakers in the Arts finds. Funded by the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, "Foundation Funding for Arts Education: An Overview of Recent Trends" found that programs serving children and youth received more than 40 percent of the $208.8 million given in 2003 for arts education by the largest U.S. foundations. Funding for arts education targets all age groups and a range of purposes, including incorporating the arts into school curriculum, expanding arts education facilities, supporting the education of emerging artists, and advancing programs that foster a life-long appreciation of the arts. For the full report, please go here. Click here to read more. Hurricane Katrina Resources and Links
October 2005
In order to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and to assist our members and others in need, CAA has organized an online clearinghouse of information and opportunities. Click here to read more. Letter on Cultural Exchanges
September 2005
CAA joined the Americans for International Arts and Cultural Exchange, a coalition of more than fifty organizations representing the arts, cultural, and foreign-affairs communities dedicated to supporting the cultural aspects of our country�fs public diplomacy efforts, in a letter to Karen Hughes, the newly appointed under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. The letter advocates on behalf of public diplomacy that includes a robust cultural-exchange program. Read thefull letter here. Click here to read more.
Letter on the World Trade Center's Cultural Center
September 2005
CAA has cosigned a letter with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), an alliance of fifty national nonprofit organizations united in the defense of free expression, urging the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to reconsider its recent decision to impose content constraints on future tenants of a cultural complex at the former World Trade Center site, to be designed by the Norwegian film Snøhetta. Read the full letter here. Click here to read more. Letter on the World Trade Center's Cultural Center
September 2005
Dear Mr. Whitehead-On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Brennan Center for Justice, the College Art Association, PEN American Center and other organizations and individuals concerned with democracy, civil liberties, and the arts I am writing to urge you to reconsider the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s recent decision to impose content constraints on future tenants of the World Trade Center’s Snøhetta cultural center. Click here to read more.
U.S. National Commission for UNESCO
September 2005
On June 6–7, the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO held its first annual conference since withdrawing from UNESCO in 1984. Hosted by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., this landmark event celebrated the return of the United States to UNESCO by bringing together distinguished members of academia, government, and nonprofit sectors, including CAA, to discuss the role of the commission in achieving world peace through global education, the protection of cultural heritage, scientific advancements, and communications. Click here to read more. 2006 Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
September 2005
The World Monuments Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic art and architecture worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training, released their “2006 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.” The list includes sites from fifty-five countries on all seven continents. In the past, international attention to the list has inspired local governments and communities to take an active role in protecting cultural icons in their regions. This year, the list includes more modern sites than ever and, for the first time, an entire country: Iraq. For more information and to read the full list, visit www.wmf.org. Click here to read more. Letter on Noncash Charitable Contributions
July 2005
We understand that this summer you expect to introduce legislation to correct abuses of charities by those seeking personal benefits, and to encourage additional donations for charitable purposes. As you are considering reforms relating to the donation of noncash gifts, we urge you to move with caution, given the importance of such donations to many kinds of charities, but also to give strong consideration to adopting the reforms in this area that have been proposed in the recent final report of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector. Click here to read more. The International Union of Academies’ statement on the protection of monuments in the Balkan and Cyprus.
May 2005
The following motion was passed unanimously by the delegates of the fifty or so academies attending the annual session of the International Union of Academies in May 2005.The International Union of Academies (UAI) is aware of the efforts being made by UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European Commission towards the protection, conservation and rehabilitation of monuments in some Balkan countries and in Cyprus. Click here to read more.
Scholars at Risk Network
May 2005
Scholars at Risk (SAR) network works to promote academic freedom and to defend the human rights of scholars worldwide. Click here to read more. New Art Advocacy Group
May 2005
The Arts & Business Council, Inc., has merged with Americans for the Arts, creating the largest advocacy group for the arts in the United States. The headquarters for this new group, named the Arts & Business Council of Americans for the Arts, is located in Washington, D.C. For more details, please visit www.artsandbusiness.org or ww3.artsusa.org. Click here to read more. International Biennial Committee Reinstated
May 2005
After massive criticism, the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. State Department have agreed to reinstate the advisory committee that recommends artists to represent the United States in various international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale. The committee was disbanded in 2004 after the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Rockefeller Foundation withdrew their support from international exhibitions. The new committee comprises directors and curators from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Click here to read more. Endangered Cultural-Heritage Sites in Southern Asia
March 2005
While humanitarian assistance to the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean and South and Southeast Asia continues to be the absolute priority, UNESCO, among other organizations, has begun to investigate the historical and cultural sites located in the path of the destruction. Though the damage has not been fully assessed at press time, we offer this preliminary report. Click here to read more. The Forgotten Era: Modern Art in Iraq
January 2005
News about the destruction of Iraq’s cultural heritage often takes a back seat to reports on political and military issues and information about the wanton destruction, lack of protection, and severe neglect of Iraq’s archaeological sites and museum collections. But the destruction of the modern cultural heritage that was a pioneering force in worldwide modernism is a tragedy that should not go unnoticed. Many seem to forget that the cradle of civilization is also the land of a contemporary country with a thriving culture. Click here to read more. UNESCO and CAA: A Natural Partnership
September 2004
On October 1, 2003, the United States rejoined the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after an absence of nineteen years. UNESCO promotes intercultural dialogue, promotes the arts, fosters formal and informal art education, revives dying languages, exchanges artists among nations, and sponsors performances and exhibits of books and art, all in the interest of intercultural dialogue. Americans for UNESCO (AU), a new Washington,D.C.–based group, seeks participation from interested CAA members. For more information, visit www.amunesco.org. Click here to read more. Conference Advocacy Session on Cultural Heritage in Time of War
May 2004
We are very pleased to report that our Special Advocacy Session at the 2004 Annual Conference in Seattle was a great success, both in the size of the audience and the high quality of the discussion. Click here to read more. Advocacy Alert!
May 2004
On March 4, 2004, the Senate passed legislation (S. 671) that gives the president the authority to impose restrictions to prevent the import into the United States of cultural materials that have been illegally removed from Iraq since August 1990. Enactment of this legislation is crucial to prevent cultural materials looted from Iraq’s cultural institutions from entering the U.S. and to help combat the looting of archaeological sites. Click here to read more. Destruction of Orthodox and Muslim Monuments in the Balkans
April 2004
Several Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo and several mosques in Serbia were damaged or destroyed during riots in late March 2004. According to the New York Times, NATO troops did little or nothing to protect the sites. Cultural Heritage Without Borders, a Swedish nonprofit arts organization, has produced a list of the recent damage to cultural heritage sites in the Balkans, which is available on our website at www.collegeart.org/pdf/BalkanHeritageDestruct.pdf.Click here to read more.
Support Emergency Protection for Iraq Cultural Antiquities Act
March 2004
On March 4, 2004 the Senate passed legislation (S. 671) that gives the President the authority to impose restrictions to prevent the import into the United States of cultural materials that have been illegally removed from Iraq since August 1990. Enactment of this legislation is crucial to prevent cultural materials looted from Iraq’s cultural institutions from entering the United States and to help combat the looting of archaeological sites. Click here to read more. U.S. Rejoins UNESCO
January 2004
On October 1, 2003, the United States officially rejoined the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after an absence of nineteen years. Prior to our official reentry, First Lady Laura Bush led a delegation at a ceremony at which the U.S. flag was raised at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters. Other members of the U.S. delegation included all of the top governmental officials in the arts, humanities, and science, including the chairs of the NEA and NEH, the head of the National Science Foundation, and President George W. Bush’s science adviser. Louise Oliver, the president’s selection for ambassador to UNESCO, was also appointed a delegate to the Paris conference. Until last April, Oliver was president of GOPAC, which bills itself as “the premier Republican organization for political advocacy, voter mobilization, and candidate recruitment and training.” Click here to read more. U.S. Reentry to UNESCO Still Not Final
September 2003
In early July, CAA was one of forty-nine organizations (and one of only three arts and cultural organizations) that sent a letter to Congress supporting U.S. reentry to UNESCO. Our efforts were successful: on July 16, 2003, the House took an important step toward U.S. reentry to UNESCO by overwhelmingly approving the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (H.R. 382-42), which authorizes the appropriation of $71 million for the U.S. to pay its dues to rejoin UNESCO. At press time, Congress had not voted on the final appropriation bill for UNESCO in fiscal year 2004, though the bill did contain the full $71 million included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. Should the final appropriation be approved, the U.S. will rejoin UNESCO after a nineteen-year absence. Click here to read more. Baghdad Report: Status of the Museums and Ancient Sites
September 2003
Since before the Iraqi war this spring, Prof. Zainab Bahrani of Columbia University has been in regular contact with CAA, keeping us apprised of news regarding the condition and safety of museums, archaeological sites, and scholars of that country, and has agreed to act as our occasional informal reporter on this subject, which is of continuing concern to CAA members. Click here to read more. Focus on Iraq
July 2003
Though the full extent of the damage to Iraqi museums and cultural institutions has yet to be determined, it is clear that many significant works of art and manuscripts have been either stolen or destroyed since April. CAA continues to work with other cultural organizations to assist with the recovery of stolen artifacts from Iraq. In early March, we signed an Open Declaration on the Protection of Iraq’s Cultural Heritage, which was sent to the U.S. Department of Defense before war began in Iraq. Since then, CAA has sent letters to the White House and the Congressional Arts Caucus calling for immediate action to prevent further looting, to protect the remaining artistic and archaeological sites of Iraq, to institute exit searches at Iraq’s borders, and to initiate an aggressive campaign to restore the contents of the National Museum in Baghdad and other cultural institutions to the people of Iraq. We also signed a letter addressed to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), urging it to place cultural-heritage needs on an equal footing with the other reconstruction activities for Iraq identified as high priority. Click here to read more. Board supports U.S. Reentry into UNESCO
July 2003
In a response to a proposal from CAA’s International Committee, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the following statement at its spring meeting on May 4, 2003, in support of U.S. reentry into UNESCO. Click here to read more. CAA Statement on Iraq looting
May 2003
On April 16, 2003, the Executive Committee of the CAA Board of Directors unanimously approved the following statement regarding the looting and destruction of cultural institutions in Iraq, which was then sent to President George W. Bush. Click here to read more. U.S. to Rejoin UNESCO
September 2002
In his speech at the United Nations on September 12, 2002, President George W. Bush announced his administration’s intention to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).Click here to read more.
New York Arts Recovery Fund
January 2002
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is leading the development of the New York Arts Recovery Fund, which will bring together local service organizations to address immediate, short-term, and long-term needs of artists and arts organizations directly affected by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The New York Arts Recovery Fund is a four-part initiative that will coordinate and build on each organization's individual and collective strengths in information resources, advocacy, grants, and public programs. The Rockefeller Foundation has fully funded the Information Resources and Advocacy components of the program with a $350,000 grant, and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation has committed $250,000 for the re-grant program. Click here to read more. White House Conference on Culture and Diplomacy
November 2000
On Tuesday, November 28, President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright convened the first White House Conference on Culture and Diplomacy. Discussions at the conference centered on ways to better integrate cultural concerns into American foreign policy and to strengthen cultural exchange programs. The State Department will be issuing a report on the conference proceedings. Click here to read more.