A Show of Solidarity for the Arts in America

Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BC, AATA President
Mar 31, 2017 3:00 PM ET
From left: AftA CEO & President Robert Lynch; NEA Chairman Jane Chu; AATA President Donna Betts; NEA Senior Advisor Bill O’Brien; and AATA CEO Cynthia Woodruff, at a recent event in Washington, DC.

Art Therapy Today

It’s a critical time for the arts and healthcare across the USA. In solidarity with Americans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and dozens of arts organizations, the AATA was a proud National Partner for the 30th annual Arts Advocacy Day, March 20 and 21, 2017, in Washington, DC. Executive Director Cynthia Woodruff and I represented the AATA at the event’s National Arts Action Summit. Hosted by Americans for the Arts (AftA) in partnership with over 85 arts-related cultural and civic groups, we joined together with a record 700 enthusiastic participants – and we were noticed! The New York Times and the Washington Post reported on this most well-attended Arts Advocacy Day to date.

AATA has been represented at previous Arts Advocacy Days, and our support of this year’s event was all the more significant given the planned budget cuts impacting the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and the Humanities (NEH). During the months prior, AATA volunteers and staff were part of AftA’s Legislative Planning Team, tasked with preparing materials for this important annual event.

Click here to read the full report via Art Therapy Today.