press releases

For Immediate Release
05/08/2001

Contact:
Nina Ozlu
Americans For The Arts
202.371.2830

Americans for the Arts Announces National Public Awareness Campaign with the Ad Council

New York - Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading arts advocacy organization, announced the launch of a national public service advertising campaign with the Advertising Council, slated to begin late summer 2001. The project was announced last night at Americans for the Arts 2001 National Arts Awards Gala at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. The multi-media campaign, which includes television, radio, magazine, newspaper, Internet, and outdoor advertising, and an extensive website component, will be designed to motivate parents across the country to take action on behalf of their children's arts education.

"We are extremely proud to produce this campaign," said Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. This project enables us to provide parents, caregivers, and educators with the practical tools and information they need to take an active role in ensuring that the arts are integrated into their child's education and life experience."

"This is the first national educational campaign we have embarked upon that truly highlights the importance of the arts in society, and we're glad to extend our reach into the arts," said Ad Council President and CEO Peggy Conlon. We are excited to be working with Americans for the Arts on this campaign.

Funded by a $1 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the designs are being created pro-bono by GSD&M Agency, based in Austin, TX, and will be unveiled at pARTicipate 2001, the first joint convention of Americans for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, on July 28-31, in New York. The partnership with the Ad Council will provide nearly $28 million of donated media placement, which will begin appearing nationwide in late August. The goal of the project is to increase public awareness that participation in the arts is essential to the development of every child and to spur the integration of the arts more completely in homes, schools, and communities.

In preparation for the project, Americans for the Arts held focus groups in January of this year with residents in Seattle, Orlando, and Des Moines, and conducted a national survey in February 2001 to assess public perceptions about arts education. Both studies revealed that 91 percent of respondents agree that the arts are a vital part of a well-rounded and effective education both in the classrooms and in extra-curricular activities, and 96 percent agree that the arts belong to everyone, not just the fortunate or privileged. However, the survey found that even though parents want their children to benefit from the many advantages of an arts education, they were unsure how to translate that into action. The PSA campaign will offer parents a wealth of practical information on how to involve the arts in their children's lives, from directing them to the re-designed Americans for the Arts' website to accessing arts resources in their own communities.

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people's lives by nurturing the arts, protecting and restoring the environment, seeking cures for diseases, and helping to protect children from abuse and neglect. Created in 1996 in accordance with the will of Doris Duke, the Foundation began making grants in late 1997. As of December 2000, the Foundation has awarded 214 grants and committed nearly $236 million in program, planning, capital, and endowment funding to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States.

The Advertising Council is a private, nonprofit organization, which has been the leading producer of public service communications programs in the United States since 1942. The Council supports campaigns that benefit children, families and communities. The communications programs are national in scope and have generated strong, measurable results. Ad Council Campaigns, such as "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," "Take a Bite Out of Crime," and "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste," have helped to save lives and resources, to educate the public about issues and concerns of the day and to make America a healthier country in which to live. In 1999, Ad Council campaigns received more than $1.2 billion in donated media time and space. Learn more about the Ad Council and its PSA campaigns at www.adcouncil.org.

As America's preeminent arts advocacy organization, Americans for the Arts adds this PSA campaign to its diverse roster of programs that support its mission to increase private and public resources for, and involvement with, the arts and arts education for all Americans. With offices in New York and Washington, Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading arts information clearinghouse, with a 40-year record of objective arts industry research. As the premier arts advocacy organization, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

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