Arts' intrinsic value at Arena Stage tomorrow

Hello,

So tomorrow, a dissemination tour comes through the metropolitan DC area, specifically Arena Stage (which you can follow on Twitter and like on Facebook, and you should, if you don't already).

The tour is to share finding from a recent report released by Theatre Bay Area, located in San Francisco, titled "Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of Art". Now I had't heard of a dissemination tour before and, at first, by the more I read about the report as well as the tour and partnering organizations, the more I realized that there's no other word which could've more appropriate, or more timely.

At the nonprofit I work at full-time, we represent artists and provide art & cultural programming to communities around the DC, MD & NoVA. A conversation that keeps coming back is how to make our artists and their programs more marketable, and one tactic is arts integration.  And the Kennedy Center has a wonderful resource on Arts Integration.

Anyway, this realies on an extrinsic argument and value on art, in that it is useful in pursuit of learning other subjects and skills. This is grossly oversimplifying the issue, but I'll leave it at there for now.

And if it's not arts education, one other popular extrinsic argument is the economic impact of the arts.  Even in a recent Huffington Post article, DC Advocates for the Arts board chair, Robert Bettmann made a compelling but single-minded argument that simply addressed the financial issues related to government support for the arts in DC.

Theatre Washington also organized an online petition recently, to restore funding to the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, with the text focused on, well...funding. Don't get me wrong, this was a well-executed and concise call to action, with just enough detail to inform.

To Theatre Washington's credit, they do so much more than that online petitions (if you're not familiar with the organization), and although their flagship program might be the annual Helen Hayes Awards, in terms of visibility, their effort to promote the art of theatre in the area is a year-round one.

So the dissemination tour of "Counting New Beans..." is coming to DC in association with Theatre Washington, and is at Arena Stage, tomorrow, from 10am-1pm. And I'm fortunate enough to work at an organization that allows me to attend events like this, both for the org and for myself.

I'm not sure if they're still taking RSVP's, but if you're interested, you can send an email to dtaylor@theatrewashington.org.

If you're there, please say hey!! And keep an eye out for a blog this weekend, about the event.

- J Street Jr