For Current ACCM 2023, click here
ACCM 2021
Join California Arts Advocates, NIVA CA, CAM, and others in advocating for a significant investment in arts, culture, and creativity! The ecosystem of arts, culture, and creativity in California is vast and impactful, representing over 8% of the Gross State Product. The sector relies on revenue from live events, indoor attractions, gatherings and group participation, which has largely been shut down for over a year to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to some reports, the arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors will not fully recover from this public health crisis and muted economy until 2025. To fully address the recovery of our sector and to help stimulate economic activity, state advocates are building a coalition to support $1 billion in stimulus funds.
We need you! Please sign your arts organization, independent venue, cultural institution, creative business, museum, union, or service organization on as a supporter. Please complete this form to add your entity to the list of those urging the State of California to invest $1 billion in stimulus for arts, culture, and creativity.
Sign-on here. The deadline is April 28, 2021.
Download the Guide to Successful Advocacy and our 2021 legislative requests summary to prepare for Advocacy Week.
Every April, ACCM is a month to celebrate and recognize the significance of our economic and social impact across communities in CA. It is especially relevant during challenging times to uplift the humanity that connects us all. While so much is changing quickly, one thing remains the same: arts are essential and community is built around arts and culture.
ACCM 2021 features:
Month Long Activities
Each day showcasing artistic activities throughout the state and tagging local elected on all social media platforms. Follow along using the hashtags #ACCM2021 #Artsadvocacy #artsareessential #investinarts #artscreateimpact #CAARTSCHAMPION
Advocacy Week
Monday 4/19 through Friday 4/23 will involve direct advocacy to electeds organized based on our nine CFTA Regional Conversations Districts.
(Virtual) Convening
Tuesday, April 27th will be a full day virtual convening involving up-to-date advocacy action updates, breakout sessions on relevant topics facilitated by leaders in their field, and a celebration of the rich California artistic community.
ACCM 2021 Resources:
Thank you to our Membership and 2021 Convening Sponsors:
Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month, and our advocacy in 2021, is dedicated to the late Larry Baza.
Arts and culture, civil rights, Latino and LGBTQ+ activist Larry Baza died of COVID-19 on Saturday, February 20, 2021.
About ACCM
In 2019, Arts Culture and Creativity Month was declared by the California Senate in a concurrent resolution to be every April in California to recognize and celebrate the significant impact the arts have in California. Activations occur throughout the state including city and county proclamations, op-eds, special events, performances, round tables and more. The goal of our month long campaign is to elevate public awareness of the value of the arts and the collective impact the arts bring to our communities and state.
On Advocacy day, hundreds of arts advocates meet in Sacramento to illustrate arts impact on our economy and wellbeing and to meet directly with elected officials to encourage them to support increased public funding for the arts and legislation and policies that are pro-arts, arts education, culture and the creative sector.
Biannually we produce an arts impact convening where cross sector representatives from the field of presenters, venues, artists, symphonies, museums, educators, students, arts councils, commissioners, local arts agencies, cultural districts, theater, dance, visual, literary and performing arts gather to share and learn about advocacy efforts, policy initiatives and issues that collectively impact our industry. It also offers an opportunity to share success stories and best practices and celebrate our collective accomplishments.
History of ACCM
“It was nice to be reminded that I am still an artist and still need to remain engaged as an artist because actually I was about ready to give up.”
In April 2020, we were one of the first organizations to pivot our place-based conference to a virtual format with close to 300 attendees and hosted a month long awareness campaigns on #ArtistsR2ndResponders.
To kick off our convening, 3 artists got our creative brain flowing with a hour of live performances. We then heard how the leaders of California Alliance for Arts Education, Association of California Symphony Orchestras, CreateCA and California Association of Museums are pivoting, and CAA’s lobbyist spoke to what advocates can do to protect the arts in a global pandemic. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a virtual lunch in community, and later, legislative arts champions Senator Ben Allen, Speaker Anthony Rendon, Majority Leader Ian Calderon and Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager spoke to why the arts are essential in California. We then held a workshop on how to utilize storytelling to write a compelling op-ed and advocacy letter to reframe public understanding of the arts, and concluded the day with a virtual happy hour and jam session.
In April 2019, we inaugurated a month long celebration and actions building awareness of the impact of Arts, Culture and Creativity in California which culminated on April 23, 2019 as we officially inaugurated Arts Advocacy Day by gathering over 200 people on the South Side of the Capitol in downtown Sacramento, California and scheduling over 65 visits with legislatures led by Captains from across the state and Californians for the Arts outstanding board. Over 50% of the legislator received visits from arts advocates asking for support for Governor Newsom’s $10 million funding increase to the State Arts Agency as well as a number of bills supporting arts education, museums, a youth poet laureate and recognition of our cultural districts pilot program and the success of arts in corrections.
With impeccable weather, this day full of events, presentations, speakers and artists, united of all walks of life as we took a stand together as Arts Advocates in the spirit of advancing arts, culture & creativity in California. It is with great thanks to each of you who attended that day and those supporting from afar for contributing to the community that is dedicated to that which changes lives, the arts. With great enthusiasm among all and an incredible turn out for our first year, we want you to know that through your participation and engagement, we are inspired and energized to continue the work to build public awareness of the value and importance of the arts in California.
In the morning we celebrated April as Arts, Culture & Creativity Month, shared stories and data to show the impact arts have in California (these impact stories are being shared on social media and will be collected and developed into an ongoing blog) and it is beyond inspiring and staggering how impactful the arts truly are! From homelessness to corrections and recidivism rates, to healing and mental health, to confidence and social peer support, housing and public safety, arts changes lives- and gives a voice and a place of belonging to so many from students, artists, musicians, elected officials, parents, and community members alike. Our line up was full of these moving stories from speakers such as Miss Central California Dana Harrison on the value of her arts education to give her confidence and a voice, Safiya Neal of Sacramento on arts housing transforming her life, Jennifer 'JayBee' Beasley, Founder of Compton Open Mic on arts creating a positive identity and safe space for her community. Students from San Diego Symphony and Opera, Nevada Union High School theatre students, Colin Regan from George Washington Carver High School and many more shared how participation in arts programs impacted their lives-- highlighting the transformative power of the arts in the face of adversity and otherwise.
Speakers such as Steven Dilley of Veterans Arts Project, Erin Dorn of the Crocker Art Museum, Naj Wikoff of Creative Healing Connections, Alma Robinson and Jody Prunier of California Lawyers for the Arts and Yvonne Soto, CEO of Developmental Disabilities Service Organization introduced Jenny an artist in their program also shared the transformative healing power of arts in veterans, education, health, aging, wellness, corrections and programs for people with disabilities.
Artist Stan Padilla opened the event with a land recognition followed by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg presenting a proclamation for April as Arts, Culture & Creativity Month. Over a dozen elected officials stopped by during a very busy legislative day to share why arts matter to them. Rousing and inspiring speeches about the transformative and transactional power of arts, culture and the creative economy were shared by Senator Ben Allen, Senator Robert Hertzberg and Senator Anthony Portantino, Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, Assemblymember’s Kansen Chu, Ian Calderon, Sharon Quirk Silva, Tasha Boerner Horvath, Luz Rivas, Mike Gipson, Cottie Petrie-Norris and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Anne Bown Crawford Executive Director of the California Arts Council illustrated the value of the over $20 million in grants they distribute throughout the state and how additional support allows the arts to be accessible for every Californian. The day concluded with a enthusiastic speech from Arts Data Guy Randy Cohen, Americans for the Arts Vice President of Policy and Research.
The 3 hour morning presentation on the South Side of the Capitol featured different presenters every 5 minutes and highlighted all the arts disciplines including 2 poets laureate; Mighty Mike Mcgee of Santa Clara and Molly Fisk of Nevada County, Brazilian music and dancing from Mestre Caboclinho, Amazing Grace on the Native American flute performed by Linda Michelle Hardy, monologues from Nevada Union high school thespians and a peace song in Sanskrit performed by Harini Krishnan Vikas. The Crocker Art Museum and Sol Collective were on hand with art making and snacks were provided by Sacramento Co-Op and Milk Money and Artist Kirti Bassendine displayed photographs from her moving Homeless Voices project.
In the afternoon, delegations trekked through the Capitol halls sporting their bipARTisan buttons and speaking to Senators, Assemblymembers and staffers. Some of them were doing this for their first time, and walked away with encouraging encounters. We wrapped up the day with a wonderful reception at the Sheraton where we featured our Legislative Arts Star award, granted this year to Senator Scott Wilk and Assemblymember Richard Bloom. We thank them for their leadership in supporting and advancing the arts!
It is because of your voice and your advocacy that we've begun to gather this army of "Arts Advocates" across the miles of California for the undeniable reason that each person deserves access to the arts.
Thank you for joining us at Arts Advocacy Day. We invite you to stay engaged because this is just the beginning! California is THE State of the Arts!
