All advocacy starts at the local level. Taking action in your community is vital to the entire arts field. Below you’ll find some advocacy actions you can take to raise your voice in your own backyard!
Baby Steps: Take Action In 10 Minutes or Less
New to advocacy or need some quick ideas? Below are some advocacy actions that we would rate as “easy”, yet effective, many of which you can do from your home or office!
Post on your social media outlets and proclaim your love for the arts! Here are a few items you can share, along with our hashtag, #CreativeSC:
- Picture of local artwork currently in your community.
- Photo of a Concert or theatre production you attend during Advocacy Week.
- Photo of an arts center, creative company, school, or other location where the arts thrive.
- A short, shareable, personal story of the impact of the arts on your life.
- Select statistics about the arts (visit our website for some stats you can use).
- Community news story about the impact of the arts.
Go to an arts event, especially during Arts Advocacy Week. And while you’re there, snap a photo of the artwork, band, or with an actor or artist – or even the building! Post it to social media with #CreativeSC!
If you’ve ever been to a performing arts event, you’re probably familiar with the moment before the show when someone comes in front of the curtain, thanks the audience for coming, reminds them to silence their cell phones, and gives other general house keeping items. This is great opportunity for arts advocacy, with a group that is already demonstrating their support for the arts by being at the event. Consider highlighting Arts Advocacy Week, the economic and educational impacts of the arts, or both!
Elected officials are the decision makers in your community, and their support is key to a thriving creative sector. Sometimes we get so focused on what’s happening at the State House, or in Congress, that we forget about the importance of local leaders. Mayors, City and County Council members, and School Board members can all have a significant impact on the arts at a local level, and Arts Advocacy Week is a great time to send them a message and ask for their continued support.
Going to an arts event during Advocacy Week (or any other day)? Invite an elected official to attend with you! (Note: If you’re an organization, you can’t buy them a ticket or offer one for free, but a board member can pay for their ticket and take them as their guest.)
You can also create your own arts story to share!
- Write a blog post about the arts.
- Conduct a video interview
Raise Awareness: Take Action in About an Hour
Carve out an hour or so and take some really powerful action on behalf of the arts. Here are some actions you can take that may take a bit more time than just posting to social media, but have a lot more power behind them. All are great ways to show your support for the arts.
Want to tell your arts story to the world? Write a blog post on your website! Or, write a letter to your newspaper editor! Stories are the best advocacy tool – more powerful that big picture statistics or reports, your personal story is what gives the arts a fighting chance. So tell it! And be sure to share your story with us too so we can use it!
If you’ve got a cell phone, you’ve got a video camera. Pull that thing out and start recording! Post a video of you telling your arts story, or post a video of art in your community. Then post it to your social media, website, or send to us and we’ll post it for you!
Local Council meetings or School Board meetings usually provide opportunities for members of the public to speak, so why not use these opportunities to advocate? Your message will get to several elected officials at once, plus members of the public that are in attendance. You may even make a connection that will boost your advocacy efforts in the future!
Your local officials – city and county councils, school board members, state legislators – love meeting with constituents. Set up a meeting with yours and talk to them about how they can support the arts in the community. Whether it’s a casual coffee to just talk about the arts in general, or a meeting at City Hall to talk about a specific arts issue – or just to get to know them, ask for a meeting and advocate!
If you’re an organization or company with a mailing list, then Advocacy Week is the time to use that list to give the arts a powerful voice. Send your audience an email and encourage them to take action by linking them to this page!
Superstar Actions
Want to make the front page? Advocacy is most effective when many voices come together as one, and an event is great way to gather many stakeholders in the same place. Although they take more planning, and lots of work, these kinds of actions can make a huge impact in your community!
Get your staff or a group of supporters together and write some letters to your elected officials! A good old fashioned letter campaign still has a big impact on legislators! Check out our elected official message template to get some ideas.
A rally is an excellent way to leverage collective voices in support of the arts. Choose a public space that will get lots of attention, and keep your message positive. Remember, the arts are a bi-partisan issue! In addition to the general public, encourage educators, organizations, leaders, and other local stakeholders to attend and maximize your impact.
A forum or town hall focused on the arts can help you connect with candidates, public officials, or local leaders. It also engages the community in arts-related issues, which can go a long way in your local advocacy efforts. Think about specific topics related to the creative sector, and make them the focus. Try topics such as “Strengthening Our Schools with the Arts”, or “Public Art in Our Town”. Don’t stick to generic “arts” or “arts education” as your focus. Make it about your community specifically.
Talk to your City Council and see about having them pass an “Arts Advocacy Day” Resolution. Get your city to officially recognize the arts in your town each year! If you consider doing this, please let us know and we can help draft the language and make sure that everyone is coordinating for their city to declare the same day as all the others! We do have a template to get you started though!
Call your local media and set up a press conference during Advocacy Week! Invite all of the arts leaders and organizations in your community, as well as your elected officials. Band together to have a unified voice and let your entire community know that the arts are important to your city or town.
