Engage Advocacy Connects and Energizes State Arts Advocates
By Becky Brown
Sharing and participating in the things we care about is one of life’s unique joys.
At Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), we have the privilege of spreading the word about the creative work done across six states. We connect communities and empower arts leaders to include, grow, and create.
As part of this work, our new Engage Advocacy program supports state arts advocacy groups. These activists inform and educate government officials and the public about the importance and impact of the arts. It’s work that’s less sprint, more marathon.
“Lance Nielsen of Nebraskans for the Arts has a great analogy: ‘Advocacy is a wellness program, not an emergency room visit,’” says Margaret Keough, M-AAA’s director of advocacy. “The work is incremental, and you want to be doing it daily, whether it’s meeting with community leaders, legislators, or people within your communities to talk about what role and what importance the arts have in the work they do.”
The arts aren’t a nice to have. They’re a must have.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, arts and culture added $1.102 trillion to US economic activity in 2022. Arts are part of a well-rounded education and are key to wellness and creative arts therapy programs. Community improvement, beautification, and tourism are all connected to the arts.
State arts advocates with Carris Adams, Margaret Keough, Carla Patterson, and Margie Reese.
Despite this, small arts advocacy organizations often depend on just one to three staff members. These employees head up advocacy efforts and work with volunteers across an entire state. It’s a daunting task.
That’s where Engage Advocacy comes in.
“Our job is to strengthen and add muscle behind their work and to their work,” Margaret says. “We’re here to give them the boost that they need.”
Engage Advocacy is part of M-AAA’s larger Engage program. Aimed at professional and organizational development, Engage uses workshops, coaching, and peer-to-peer interactions to ensure small to mid-sized arts organizations have the tools they need to be sustainable in the long term.
Engage Advocacy arose from feedback from the six regional state arts organizations. Based on this information, Margaret worked with outside consultant Margie Johnson Reese and M-AAA staffers Carla Patterson and Carris Adams to create a professional network for advocacy leaders. It’s clear that this important part of the arts ecosystem has traditionally received little support.
Now, information and networks empower arts advocates.
As M-AAA officially launched Engage Advocacy in 2023, the first steps were to ask questions and listen.
“We brought our leaders, those working with state art advocacy organizations, together to ask what they want to learn together,” Margaret says. “From that, we developed what we’re doing right now. Every other month, we tackle a topic and have a subject matter expert lead a discussion. We also have an executive coach to discuss the topic more if they want. And participants also get assets that they can draw up when they need them.”
This formal sharing enables participants to explore best practices and strengthen their practices. Like all aspects of Engage Advocacy, it’s customizable and responsive to the needs of the people around the table.
These workshops are just part of what regional arts advocates gain from Engage Advocacy.
“It’s nice to have a network, particularly when you’re the only one doing a job in your state,” Margaret says. “With Engage Advocacy, you have colleagues you can get ideas from, people you can talk to about what’s going on.”
Engage Advocacy is focused on state advocacy associations in M-AAA’s six-state region, with an eye on the issues and challenges specific to our area. However, Margaret and other leaders have been working with advocacy organizations in other regions as well. It’s all about sharing resources and supporting each other.
Across the country, it can be difficult to keep track of what arts activity is happening at the federal level, and federal advocates aren’t always keyed into what happens at the state level. In addition, the National Endowment for the Arts and state arts agencies aren’t allowed to lobby for themselves. However, nonprofit organizations—like M-AAA—can to an extent and can encourage others to take part in the civic process.
“We’re very mindful about partnerships,” Margaret says. “We’re being very intentional and incremental so that we walk in step with our partners.”
After all, everyone can be an arts advocate.
If you love live music and tell people about it? You’re an arts advocate. Share a book with a friend or take a loved one to the theatre? You’re an arts advocate. Own it, and don’t be afraid to do more.
“We shouldn’t be shy about being part of the community and talking to our leaders, and that can be at a state, community, or federal level,” Margaret says. “The arts really have power. Sometimes they aren’t seen as for everyone or by everyone, so it’s really important that we celebrate but also strengthen the arts and culture in our region.”
She urges citizens to build those connections and join their state arts advocacy organization.
“Support the work of arts advocates because, for the most part, throughout our region, it’s led by one or two staff members,” Margaret says. “It would be great to have more people and dollars behind their work.”
Learn how Engage is making an impact in West Texas and Nebraska.
Learn more about M-AAA’s advocacy work.
Header photography: State arts advocates participating in an Engage Advocacy program.