professional membership

Featured Member

Since 1994, the Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) has promoted a positive image of the arts through its grassroots arts advocacy project, the Say Yes to the Arts campaign. The Say Yes message has been promoted statewide and nationally through banners; promotional items; and the sale of T-shirts, sweatshirts, and tote bags.

"The Say Yes campaign is an important tool for communities and schools," says Marty Skomal, director of programs. "The positive impact of the arts on so many aspects of society cannot be ignored." Complete with the promotional slogan, the Say Yes campaign both sells products to raise funds for arts advocacy purposes and provides products as give-aways for various events. The campaign was revamped and relaunched in 2004 with an online Say Yes store, and is a cornerstone of the Arts Council’s arts promotion activities.

The Nebraska Arts Council was established in 1974 by an act of the state legislature; its mission is to promote, cultivate, and sustain the arts for the people of Nebraska. It strives to build creative and proactive leadership in the arts; to forge partnerships that create and expand opportunities for the arts; to cultivate new resources needed to sustain the arts in Nebraska; to establish the arts as basic to education and lifelong learning; to use the arts as a catalyst for understanding among cultures; and to advocate for increased awareness and access to the arts.

The NAC’s primary means of supporting the arts is through a variety of grant programs that cover all disciplines and fields of creative expression. More than 350 artists, arts organizations, schools, and community groups use NAC funds and technical support to carry out a variety of art experiences statewide.