Poetry Out Loud

Before the virus 

The Poetry Out Loud (POL) Maine State Finals he state finals took place at the Waterville Opera House on March 2. The following ten high school students proudly took their places after excelling at the classroom, school and regional level. If you click on their names you can hear parts of an interview and the student reciting.

Northern Maine Regional Champions

•  Hannah Nilsson, Grade 12, John Bapst Memorial High School
•  Ogechi Obi, Grade 10, Bangor High School
•  Ella Shaffer, Grade 10, Rangeley Lakes Regional School
•  Magnolia Vandiver, Grade 11, George Stevens Academy
•  Emi Verhar, Grade 12, Hampden Academy

Southern Maine Regional Champions

•  Daniela Aryaie Grade 12, Deering High School
•  Gracia Bareti, Grade 12, Westbrook High School
•  Sierra Cummings, Grade 11, Gorham High School
•  Julliet Mutizwa, Grade 10, Portland High School
•  Emma Roth-Wells, Grade 12, Morse High School

Ella Shaffer, grade 10, Rangeley Lakes Regional School photo by Kate Philbrick, Sun Journal

At the time the students, their families and schools understood that one student would be selected to represent Maine at the POL National Finals. Each student was prepared to recite three poems. At the end of round two five state finalists were selected to recite their third poem from which one is the runner-up and one is the state champ. Grade 10 student from Rangeley Lakes Regional School Ella Shaffer was named the 2020 State Champ and Maine’s representative to travel to Washington, D.C. at the end of April. Ella did an amazing job reciting  “Sestina: Like” by A.E. Stallings, “I Eat Breakfast to Begin the Day” by Zubair Ahmed, “No, I wasn’t meant to love and be loved” by Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.

Traditionally a school bus from Rangeley travels to the POL state finals with a group of students and their teachers to support their school representative and also participate as audience members. English teacher Tim Straub has been a huge supporter of his students and the program. Along with Sonja Johnson, art teacher who is amazing! Everyone can benefit from the experience. This year was no exception but it was the first time Rangeley traveled home with the POL State Champ. Those of us who live in a small town in Maine know how exciting this news was for the residents in Rangeley and you can see in the video (below) what that looked like to Ella’s dad on the night of March 3 returning to town. (Get out your tissues).

Sadly the Corona virus (COVID-19) has robbed Ella and her school community the opportunity to travel to D.C. at the end of April for the national event. Even though the national event has been canceled it doesn’t remove the pride that this community has for Ella! I’m sure her three poems will be with her everywhere she travels during her lifetime.

If your high school doesn’t participate in the Poetry Out Loud program you can learn more at the National Poetry Out Loud website. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.

Musical Theater Songwriting

High school song writers

2020 MUSICAL THEATER SONGWRITING CHALLENGE OPENS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Washington, DC—Calling all high school songwriters! Beginning January 13, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Theatre Wing are accepting submissions to the 2020 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. This national contest is for high school students with a passion for writing songs that could be part of a musical theater production and the wide range of musical styles represented in contemporary musicals. The goal of the program is to engage the musical theater field in nurturing the next generation of songwriters.The Songwriting Challenge provides six winners with a coaching team consisting of a mentor and music director (both musical theater professionals) to hone an original song into a Broadway-ready composition and then have that song recorded by Broadway musicians and vocalists in New York City. Final songs will be distributed on streaming music platforms and compiled into a songbook created by Concord Theatricals. The final recordings of the songs by the 2019 winners are on the recording sessions landing page.

The application is simple and can be completed online. The deadline is April 6, 2020 at midnight ET.

The Arts Endowment and the Wing welcome back Disney Theatrical Productions, Concord Theatricals, and the National Music Publishers’ Association as Songwriting Challenge partners.

Key dates and details for the 2020 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge are:

•    After the submission deadline of April 6, 2020, the Arts Endowment and the Wing will convene panels in different regions of the country to review all submissions. Each panel consists of experienced songwriters and musicians who select one winner or a duo from its region in a blind competition. Those winners will be announced at the end of May 2020.

•    Beginning in June, the winners work with their coaches remotely using video conferencing software followed by a weekend workshop later in the summer when the coaches travel to the winner’s hometown. To see workshops in action, go to the workshop landing page for the 2019 winners. At the end of the workshop, the song is transcribed for an ensemble and the winner has the opportunity to select the instruments and voices that make up their ensemble.

•    The recording sessions take place in the fall when the artists come together in New York City to make the best recording possible. Go to the recording sessions landing page for audio, photos and other materials from the 2019 sessions. Lead vocalists last year included Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill), Gizel Jimenez (Wicked), and Jessie Shelton (Hadestown) among others.

To learn more and to apply, go to arts.gov/songwriting. To join the conversation on Twitter use #IWriteMusicals.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more about National Endowment for the Arts.

About the American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing champions bravery, with a focus on developing the next generation of brave artists. We envision an American Theatre that is as vital, multi-faceted, and diverse as the American people. The Wing’s programs span the nation to invest in the growth and evolution of American theatre.

We provide theatre education opportunities for underserved students through the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, develop the next generation of theatre professionals through the SpringboardNYC, Theatre Intern Network, and SwingSeats programs, incubate innovative theatre across the country through the National Theatre Company Grants, support emerging musical theatre songwriters through the Jonathan Larson® Grants in addition to the Songwriting Challenge, and illuminate the creative process through the Emmy-nominated “Working in the Theatre” documentary series. In addition to founding the Tony Awards®, which are co-presented with The Broadway League, the American Theatre Wing co-presents the Obie Awards®, Off Broadway’s Highest Honor, with The Village Voice.AmericanTheatreWing.org.

If you have questions please contact Victoria Hutter, hutterv@arts.gov, 202-682-5692.

Poetry Out Loud

Registration December 1, 2019

Joao Rodrigues Victor-2019 Maine State Poetry Out Loud Champ

The Maine Arts Commission is proud to partner once again with the National Endowment for the Arts to give Maine schools the opportunity to participate in Poetry Out Loud in 2019-2020.

About Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation.

How it Works

Victor on the national stage reciting

Once you register with us, involvement in Poetry Out Loud starts at the classroom level. We’ll provide educational materials and resources to help get you and your students started. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to regional and state competitions, and ultimately to the National Finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by the judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria.

Poetry Out Loud Awards

Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for their school. At the national finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually.

Please visit the national Poetry Out Loud site to explore and learn more about this great program.

Key Dates

September 10, 2019       Registration Opens

December 1, 2019          Registration Deadline

February 3, 2020            Northern Maine Regional Finals (snow date February 4)

February 10, 2020          Southern Maine Regional Finals (snow date February 11)

March 2, 2020                 Maine State Finals — Waterville, ME (snow date, March 3)

April 28-29, 2020            National Finals – Washington, DC

For more information about Poetry Out Loud, please contact Brita Wanger-Morier, Performing Arts & Media Director at the Maine Arts Commission, at 207.287.2750 or by email Brita Wanger-Morier.

REGISTRATION 

Grant Funding

NEA announces grants

National Endowment for the Arts Announces More than $27 Million in Grants Reaching All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico

Washington, DC— With today’s announcement of more than $27 million in grants, the National Endowment for the Arts is continuing its efforts to provide all Americans with the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts. These fiscal year 2019 grants will reach all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This is the first of two major grant announcements in fiscal year 2019 and includes three of the agency’s funding categories: Art Works and Challenge America to support projects by nonprofit organizations, and Creative Writing Fellowships. Through these grants, the National Endowment for the Arts supports local economies and preserves American heritage while embracing new forms of creative expression.

“The arts enhance our communities and our lives, and we look forward to seeing these projects take place throughout the country, giving Americans opportunities to learn, to create, to heal, and to celebrate,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Click here for a list of all the recommended grants in this announcement sorted by city and state.

• Click here for a list of recommended grants separated by category: Art Works (sorted by artistic discipline/field), Challenge America, and Creative Writing Fellowships in poetry.
• Click here to use the online Grant Search to find additional project details for National Endowment for the Arts grants.
• Click here for the lists of the panelists who reviewed the applications for funding.

Art Works

Art Works is the National Endowment for the Arts’ principal grantmaking program. The Arts Endowment convened panels to review 1,605 eligible applications for funding and the agency will award 972 grants ranging from $10,000-$100,000 totaling more than $25 million. Projects include:

• An arts education grant of $10,000 to Mauro, Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to support therapeutic arts programs including in- and after-school dance and theater residencies for children affected by Hurricane Maria.
• A theater grant of $30,000 to Theatre Squared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to support the Arkansas New Play Festival. The festival will serve as a laboratory for new play development and present the work of emerging playwrights to audiences in Bentonville and Fayetteville.
• A folk and traditional arts grant of $30,000 to Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in Olympia to support a series of presentations to showcase cultural and occupational communities in the state, increasing participation in the parks, while also strengthening cultural identities and fostering cross-cultural respect between the various ethnic communities.
• A design grant of $45,000 to Design Museum Boston to support the publication Bespoke Bodies: The Design and Craft of Prosthetics, which will include a 500-year history of prosthetics, case studies of how prosthetics design changes the lives of people with limb loss, and guest essays addressing global impact, athletic performance, and bionics.

Challenge America

The Challenge America category primarily supports small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.

For fiscal year 2019, expert readers reviewed 221 eligible applications and the agency will award 138 grants of $10,000 each for a total of $1.38 million. Projects include:

• A grant to Josephine Sculpture Park Inc. in Frankfort, Kentucky, to support a multidisciplinary arts festival featuring outdoor sculptures and associated outreach events. A guest artist will be in residence before the festival to create and install a new sculptural work with the help of local students.
• A grant to Maplewood Housing for the Visually Impaired in Chicago, Illinois, to support a collaboration between a sound artist and blind weavers to create a woven art piece for exhibition. The guest artist will help incorporate technology and sound elements into the artwork.
• A grant to Eastport Arts Center in Eastport, Maine, to support a community-based musical theater work produced in partnership with the Passamaquoddy Tribe. The development of performing arts programming intended to serve residents of the Pleasant Point Reservation is in alignment with tribal strategies to combat poverty, unemployment, and opioid use.

Creative Writing Fellowships

In fiscal year 2019, the National Endowment for the Arts will award 35 Creative Writing Fellowships in poetry. Each fellowship is $25,000 for a total of $875,000. Nearly 1,700 eligible applications were received and reviewed anonymously by a panel, resulting in a group of recipients from across the country, diverse in ethnicity and background. None of the 2019 recipients have previously received an NEA fellowship.

Visit the Arts Endowment’s Literature Fellowships webpage to read excerpts by and features on past Creative Writing Fellows and recipients of Literature Fellowships for translation projects.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

Contact: Liz Auclair, auclaire@arts.gov, 202-682-5744

Musical Theater

Songwriting challenge #IWriteMuscials

Washington, DC—The National Endowment for the Arts is supporting the next generation of American songwriters. For the second year and in collaboration with the American Theatre Wing, the Arts Endowment is calling for applications from high school students to the agency’s Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. This national program is for students with a passion for writing songs that could be part of a musical theater production and the wide range of musical styles represented in contemporary musical theater including hip-hop, rock, R&B, country, jazz, and more.

Application is simple and can be completed online beginning today, February 12 with a deadline of April 30, 2019 at midnight ET. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #IWriteMusicals.

This year’s competition follows a successful inaugural year in 2018 that featured finalists from across the country. For this second year, the Songwriting Challenge will again pair six finalist songwriters (either single songwriters or duos) with professional musical theater artists to develop the students’ original song into a Broadway-stage-ready composition. The Arts Endowment and the Wing welcome back Disney Theatrical Productions and Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals company, as Songwriting Challenge partners.

Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge National Champions: Angel Rodriguez, 2016 (Photo by NEA Staff) and David Volpini, 2018 (Photo by Natalie Powers).

“The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge is part of the Arts Endowment’s commitment to nurture the creative talents of our nation’s young people,” said Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “By assisting these student songwriters, the Songwriting Challenge contributes to the ongoing vitality of the American art form of musical theater.”

“Cultivating young talent is crucial for our industry and for our world,” said Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing. “I am thrilled to once again be partnering with the National Endowment for the Arts, Disney Theatrical Productions, and Samuel French on the Songwriting Challenge, which furthers our commitment to the next generation.”

After the application deadline of April 30, 2019, the Arts Endowment and the Wing will convene panels in different regions of the country to review all of the applications. Per last year, each panel will consist of experienced songwriters and musicians who will select one finalist or finalist duo from its region. Those finalists will be announced at the end of June 2019.

Each finalist will be paired with a musical theater mentor and music director to form a coaching team that will work directly with the student to hone all parts of their song. Initially, each coaching team will work with their finalist remotely using Skype/video conferencing software. This will be followed by an in-person coaching weekend when the mentor and music director travel to the finalists’ home community to work together. This extended coaching period allows for a deeper experience for the student finalists.

After the mentorship weekend, each finalist’s song will be transcribed, performed by Broadway singers and musicians, and recorded. Students will be able to watch rehearsals either via Skype/video conferencing or in person, depending on their schedules. As in 2018, Samuel French has generously agreed to publish a songbook containing each of the finalists’ song in their transcribed form.

There are also plans to convene a video conference for the finalists, mentors, and music directors to meet each other and discuss their unique songs and the perspectives they’ve gained by participating in the program.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more about NEA.

About the American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing champions bravery, with a focus on developing the next generation of brave artists. We envision an American Theatre that is as vital, multi-faceted, and diverse as the American people. The Wing’s programs span the nation to invest in the growth and evolution of American theatre.

We provide theatre education opportunities for underserved students through the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, develop the next generation of theatre professionals through the SpringboardNYC, Theatre Intern Network, and SwingSeats programs, incubate innovative theatre across the country through the National Theatre Company Grants, support emerging musical theatre songwriters through the Jonathan Larson^® Grants in addition to the Songwriting Challenge, and illuminate the creative process through the Emmy-nominated “Working in the Theatre” documentary series. In addition to founding the Tony Awards^®, which are co-presented with The Broadway League, the American Theatre Wing co-presents the Obie Awards^®, Off Broadway’s Highest Honor, with The Village Voice. AmericanTheatreWing.org

POL Southern Regional Finals

Amazing Reciters

The Poetry Out Loud (POL) Southern Maine Regional Finals were held earlier this week at the beautiful Westbrook Performing Arts Center. Students traveled from 17 high schools in the southern part of the state to recite poetry. The Maine Arts Commission held the Poetry Out Loud (POL) Southern Maine Regional Finals in conjunction with the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Students have been practicing and reciting poems in schools across the state and country since the fall. For the event each student had prepared three recitations and wowed the audience with their amazing performances.

We’re so proud of the following students who participated (listed in order of their recitations, selected randomly). The names with stars are the five students moving onto the state finals on March 11 at the Waterville Opera House, 3:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The Messalonskee Jazz Band under the direction of music educator Andy Forster will perform at 2:45 and again in between recitations. All are welcome!

• Jack Lent, North Yarmouth Academy
• Stephanie Brown, Portland High School
• Amber Soucy, Lisbon High School
• Kaitlyn Guay, Greely High School
• Liam Doyle, South Portland High School
• Hannah Smith, Westbrook High School
• Helen Strout, Cape Elizabeth High School
• Delaney Ziegman, Thornton Academy**
• Aaliyah Biamby, Gorham High School**
• Olivia Cox, Mt. Ararat High School
• Blythe Thompson, Waynflete School
• Wyatt Bates, Yarmouth High School**
• Maya Ham, Oak Hill High School
• Charles Van West, Maine Coast Waldorf School
• Allison Rickert, Kennebunk High School
• Allan Monga, Deering High School**
• Joao Victor, Lewiston High School**

For more information about the Poetry Out Loud program please go the POL pages at the Maine Arts Commission website.

Southern Regional Finalists Wyatt Bates, Delaney Zeigman, Aaliyah Biamby, Allan Monga, and Joao Victor

Poetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. It begins in Maine’s schools where school champions are selected to compete in two regional finals at which ten students are ultimately selected to recite at the state finals. One student, the state champion, moves on from the state finals to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C., where students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends for the purchase of poetry books.

Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals.

Maine State POL Champ

Allan Monga, Deering High School Junior

They came, they recited, and they were AMAZING! Students from the following high schools were this year’s Poetry Out Loud finalists:

• Abigail vanLuling, Grade 12, Gorham High School
• Hanna Lavenson, Grade 10, Messalonskee High School
• Lauren Farmer, Grade 10, Rangeley Lakes Regional School
• Emma Lombardo, Grade 11, Westbrook High School
• Nelson Peterson, Grade 12, Oak Hill High School
• Lydia Caron, Grade 12, Bangor High School
• Wyatt Bates, Grade 11, Yarmouth High School
• Richard Hilscher, Grade 12, North Yarmouth Academy
• Lauren Dodge, Grade 12, Lee Academy
• Katharine Kemper, Grade 10, Camden Hills Regional High School
• Allan Monga, Grade 11, Deering High School

You can listen to them recite from the regional finals held earlier this winter on the Maine Arts Commission site.

Allan Monga, Deering High School

Yahooooo for Allan Monga from Deering who is Maine’s 2018 State Champ.  The poems he recited at the Waterville Opera House on March 20th at the state finals included “The Song of the Smoke” by W.E.B. Du Bois, “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron (George Gordon) and “In the Desert” by Stephen Crane. You can hear him recite “In the Desert” on Maine Public Radio.

The Maine Arts Commission is proud of all of the recipients and wish Allan the best at the national finals which will be held in Washington, D.C., on April  23-25. They will be live streamed – look for the link in a later blog post.

CONGRATULATIONS to Allan and all of the 9,500 students in schools across the state who participated this year. See hundreds of photos from the state finals on the Maine Arts Commission Facebook page.

Waterville High School jazz band under the direction of music educator Sue Barre provided music at the state finals

Poetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. It begins in Maine’s schools where school champions are selected to compete in two regional finals at which ten students are ultimately selected to recite at the state finals. One student, the state champion, moves on from the state finals to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C., where students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends for the purchase of poetry books.

Lauren Dodge, Lee Academy

Charles Stanhope, Chair Maine Arts Commission, Allan Monga, Maine State Champion, Julie Richard, Executive Director, Maine Arts Commission

The Arts and the Economy

$760 Billion contributed to the US Economy

Washington, DC—New data released March 6 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) offers an insightful picture of the impact the arts have on the nation’s economy. The arts contribute $763.6 billion to the U.S. economy, more than agriculture, transportation, or warehousing.  The arts employ 4.9 million workers across the country with earnings of over $370 billion. Furthermore, the arts exported $20 billion more than imported, providing a positive trade balance.

Produced by the BEA and NEA, the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACSPA) tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and non-profit. The ACPSA reports on economic measures—value-added to gross domestic product (GDP) as well as employment and compensation. For the first time, the report also includes the arts impact on state economies as contributions to gross state product (GSP). The numbers in this report are from 2015, the most recent reporting year.

“The robust data present in the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account show through hard evidence how and where arts and culture contribute value to the economies of communities throughout the nation,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The data confirm that the arts play a meaningful role in our daily lives, including through the jobs we have, the products we purchase, and the experiences we share.”

KEY FINDINGS 

National

• For all national findings, see this arts data profile.
• The arts contributed $763.6 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015, 4.2 percent of GDP and counted 4.9 million workers, who earned $372 billion in total compensation.
• The arts added four times more to the U.S. economy than the agricultural sector and $200 billion more than transportation or warehousing.
• The arts saw a $20 billion trade surplus, leading with movies and TV programs and jewelry.
• The arts trended positively between 2012 and 2015 with an average growth rate of 2.6 percent, slightly higher than 2.4 percent for the nation’s overall economy. Between 2014 and 2015, the growth rate was 4.9 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars.

By Industry

• Among the fastest-growing industries within the ACPSA are web-streaming and web-publishing, performing arts presenting, design, and architectural services.
• Tax-exempt performing arts organizations (those producing art and those presenting the art of others) contributed $9 billion to the U.S. economy and employed 90,000 workers, who earned $5.6 billion in total compensation.
• Consumers spent $31.6 billion on admissions to performing arts events, $1 billion more than projected.
• The value added by performing arts presenting (tax-exempt and for-profit) rose by 9.5 percent during the recent three-year period.

By State

The value-added to a state’s economy defined as contributions to the GSP is noted for individual ACPSA industries and the states in which that industry ranked above the national average. For example, as a percentage of GSP, Nevada is at the top for performing arts companies and Louisiana follows only California and New York as the premiere state for movie production. For all state findings, see this arts data profile. Other leading states are:

• Graphic design in Illinois contributed $589.5 billion to GSP, 69 percent above the national rate.
• Architectural services in Massachusetts added $804.6 million, 73% greater than the national rate.
• Industrial design in Michigan added $429 million, 9 times the national rate.
• Jewelry manufacturing in Rhode Island is $224 million, 33 times the national rate
  Art‐related printing in Wisconsin contributed $530.9 million to the state’s economy, four times greater than the national rate.

In a research brief looking at rural states, North Carolina and Tennessee had the largest rural arts economies with value-added from rural areas in both states totaling more than $13 billion.

In a research brief about the fastest-growing arts economies, Washington State and Utah topped the list with average annual growth rates over five percent between 2012 and 2015.

More state examples are on the State Highlights Fact Sheet.

RESOURCES

The NEA, BEA, and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies have developed resources to help users navigate the data.

• A Key to Industries describes the 35 ACPSA industries and the percentage and amount of economic value ascribed to each.
• The NEA created five research briefs featuring national and state overviews, plus special topic areas:

o   The Economic Contributions of Tax-Exempt Performing Arts Organizations 

o   Rural State Arts Economies

o   Three Years of Fast-Growing Arts Industries at the State-Level

• Through an award from the NEA, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies produced an interactive dashboard that allows users to explore key information for individual states.
• The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s state fact sheets feature ACPSA value-added, employment, compensation, top industries, trends, and rankings for 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Two interactive infographics produced by the NEA offer a quick and fun look at national and state data.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Please visit arts.gov

Statewide Data Infrastructure Project

Taking the Lead

This was published on January 4, 2018 on the National Endowment for the Arts blog.

By NEA Director of Arts Education Ayanna Hudson and NEA Director of Research & Analysis Sunil Iyengar

It’s always gratifying—if all too rare—to see a New Year’s resolution become a full-fledged action item. A perennial goal of the NEA’s, for example, has been to bring greater access and transparency to public data about K-12 student participation in arts education.

In 2014, the goal was inscribed in the NEA’s strategic plan for arts education. In 2017, it became part of the agency’s five-year research agenda. But 2018 will be the year in which, thanks to a new agreement with the Education Commission of the States (ECS), we strive to strengthen capacity for public-private partnerships within all 50 states to undertake (or, if already active, to continue) this important work. Our hope is that key metrics related to students’ access and enrollment in K-12 arts education—as well as the underlying data and the methods for obtaining and analyzing them—become integral to education policy discussions within states, across states, and ultimately at the national level.

The reasons for this push are straightforward. The NEA is committed to ensuring all students are engaged and empowered through an excellent arts education. Although the U.S. Department of Education (ED) occasionally surveys schools across the country to report on the provision of arts education, better data are required at the state, school district, and local levels, especially to guide resource allocation. State policymakers, school district officials, civic and business leaders, and parents all need timelier and more detailed information on the presence (or absence) of arts education in specific schools and communities.

Leading up to the present effort, the NEA has invested steadily in arts education data-sharing. For instance, under the “Collective Impact” project type within its Arts Education grant category, the NEA has provided funds to Chicago-based Ingenuity, Inc. for its ArtLook Map (which collects arts education data from Chicago public schools and arts organizations); to the California Alliance for Arts Education for its CREATE CA’s Arts Education Data Project (which extracts arts education data from ED-funded statewide longitudinal data systems); and to many communities and school districts that are assessing the status and quality of arts education in their localities. These assessments will enable local stakeholders to develop action plans to ensure that all students participate in the arts over time.

Despite this progress, it has become clear that a) a large coordinated effort is needed, and b) with the right organizational partner, the NEA can play a catalytic role. In 2016 the agency commissioned a feasibility study exploring creation of such an effort. The study, based partly on interviews with state education data managers and with other experts in the field, highlighted recent and ongoing efforts to pull data specific to arts education from existing datasets at state education agencies, and to report the findings statewide. These promising approaches, long underway in several states, are sure to yield crucial lessons for the present initiative.

But the study also identified value-added opportunities for the NEA to assist public-private partnerships in every state, regardless of the state’s own arts education data-extraction capacity, or the maturity of its longitudinal data system. The study, in short, led to creation of the NEA’s Statewide Data Infrastructure Project for Arts Education. Last year, through a national competition, the Education Commission of the States was selected as the NEA’s cooperator for the project. Over a two-year period, the NEA and ECS will:

• Establish a committee of leaders across the country who will work together to identify and publicly share key arts metrics that states should consider extracting from existing education data systems.
• Determine the current capacity level of states to report out data on arts education, taking into consideration any changes in state leadership and state policies that occur based on the 2018 elections. (To learn more about state legislation as it relates to education data, see Education Commission of the States’ policy snapshot on Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems.)
• Develop a toolkit to provide user guides, dashboard wireframes, and training materials to help states build their own systems for collecting, extracting, analyzing, reporting, and communicating about arts education data.
• Provide in-depth technical assistance and outreach to help a select number of states across a range of readiness and capacity levels add arts metrics to their education data systems.
• Conduct outreach to leadership of state education agencies, state education policymakers, and other stakeholders to help them understand how to extract, analyze, and report key arts metrics from their education data systems.
• Publicly disseminate a comprehensive report that presents all of the tools and resources created and provides recommendations for effective practices and lessons learned.

If successful, these actions—engaging stakeholders in dialogue, creating a supportive policy environment, disseminating user guides and tools, and sharing effective practices—will benefit the entire field of arts education, including communities and states that already are making arts education data publicly available.

As we embark on the project (and on 2018 itself), we anticipate potential spillover benefits. In the long term, access to fine-grained data could inform robust research and evaluation about the impacts of arts education. In the nearer term, NEA grantmaking could support statewide deployment of tools and resources created through this project—whether to extract or analyze arts education data, or to develop and implement communication strategies around the findings. Meanwhile, we look forward to engaging states on which types of solutions will work best for them when it comes to extracting and elevating data about arts education access and enrollment.

Maine Poetry Out Loud

Poets go to school

The Poetry Out Loud (POL) program is underway across Maine and the country. Over 10,000 Maine high students are selecting their poems, furiously memorizing and practicing them for themselves, their classmates, and their teachers.

Maine has 48 high schools participating this year, 10 new to POL. At some schools every student, grade 9-12 participates. Maine is repeatedly one of the states with the highest participation and this year will be no exception.  The 2017 Maine State Champ, Gabrielle Cooper, attended Gardiner Area High School; one of the schools where all students participate every year. Three of the new schools this year were fortunate to have

Winthrop High School students with Gibson Fay-LeBlanc

poets visit them to work with students and teachers. Portland’s fifth Poet Laureate, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc provided a workshop at Winthrop High School and Hampshire County Council’s Hampshire Poet Brian Evans-Jones provided workshops at Herman High School and Van Buren District Secondary School.

Students had a chance to experiment with their voices and ‘try out’ their poems for feedback. Both Gibson and Brian are on the MAC Teaching Artist roster and available to provide workshops for schools and community organizations.

Brian at Hermon High School

Thanks to all of the teachers who are working with students across Maine. I was thrilled to be at Hermon High School for the workshops. Brian led the students through exercises to help prepare their voices and their confidence. He said: “It’s important to understand your poem. The better you understand your poem the better you communicate the meaning and with that comes confidence.” Even listening to students recite their poems 2 and 3 times, I could hear their confidence rise.

Poetry Out Loud (POL) is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.  This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. Maine’s POL represent public and private high schools as well as high school homeschooling populations.

You have a chance to learn more about POL in Maine. The Maine Arts Commission invites you to attend the regional and state finals.

• The Northern Maine Regional Finals will be held on Monday, February 12, 2018, 3:00 p.m. at the Hampden Academy Performing Arts Center, Hampden. The snow date is Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 3:00 PM. Hampden Academy, Regional School Unit #22, is an in-kind sponsor of this event.
•  The Southern Maine Regional Finals will be held on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 3:00 p.m. at the Westbrook Middle School Performing Arts Center, Westbrook. The snow date is Thursday, March 1, 2018, 3:00 p.m.
• The Maine State Finals will be held on Monday, March 12, 2018 at the Waterville Opera House, 93 Main Street, Waterville. The snow date is Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Doors open to the public at 2:30 p.m. and the event begins at 3:00 p.m. No tickets are required. The event is free and all are welcome to attend. We anticipate that the event will conclude by approximately 5:00 p.m.

Working with teachers at Hermon High School

Learn more about the POL program at the national site or at the Maine Arts Commission POL webpages. If you teach or live near a high school that does not participate please plan on joining the program in the 2018-19 school year. Email Argy Nestor if you have any questions about how to get involved!