An artistic edge is a competitive edge: Skills children learn from the arts
Lisa Phillips is an author, blog journalist, arts and leadership educator, mentor and business owner who has built her professional career around bringing arts education and leadership development to young people. In her new book, The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World, she explores why leadership skills taught through the arts are crucial to young people's success in life. She discusses how and why the arts build creativity, confidence, problem solving skills, perseverance, focus, non-verbal communication skills, ability to receive constructive feedback, collaborative skills, dedication, and accountability.
On her website, Lisa reveals the impetus for her work:
"The blog came first and was born out of a desire to discuss how experiences in the arts can influence a child’s development and ultimately their success when they become an adult. I realized that in my own life, it is because of my extensive background in the performing arts that I have the skills I need to communicate with an audience in a confident manner. But, when I started to think about this more in depth, I wondered what other skills I had gained through my arts experiences that have helped me get to where I am today. I believe that there is a common misconception that only a few people are talented enough in the arts to have successful careers, so others should not bother. But, I would like to explore the idea that we all benefit from engaging in the arts, no matter where our career paths lead us. In fact, I believe that all the life skills young people need to have successful lives as adults can be gained from participation in the arts."
You can read about Lisa's "Top 10 Skills Children Learn From the Arts" on
ARTSblog, and visit Lisa's
website for the full version, information about the book and more of her thoughts.
via: Americans for the Arts ARTSblog
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Arts Advocacy Post-Election To Do List
Americans for the Arts has put together a list of post-election-day suggestions for arts professionals to reach out to the newly elected and reconnect with incumbents, including congratulating the winners through multiple channels, asking for meetings, inviting them to share in holiday socializing, keeping them informed about the issues affecting the arts, and welcoming them as they begin their new year in office. Hopefully, by making use of the time between Election Day and when the session starts, new elected officials will become familiar (and supportive) of you, your organization and your issues.
Get the details at blog.arts.org.
Via: Americans for the Arts ARTSblog

Start, build and strengthen arts/business partnerships
Americans for the Arts has compiled information and resources about starting, building and strengthening partnerships between the arts world and the business world. This blog post offers their "top 4 lists of lists (AKA the top 33 reasons/ideas/ways) to create meaningful relationships between arts and business," including:
- specific reasons for businesses to partner with the arts
- ideas for creating authentic, productive connections between arts professionals and business professionals
- ways to combat declining or static charitable giving from the corporate world.
Via:
Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.
Balancing the arts marketing mix
No matter how many shiny new technology gizmos come along, an arts marketer's job is always going to involve figuring out which communications tools work best for your audiences and your desired results. Sometimes the hardest task is deciding how and when to use the best mix of tools and tactics.
Jennifer Hubbartt, marketing and public relations director for First Stage in Milwaukee, Wis., offers tips for balancing your marketing efforts in this blog post, Planning Your Marketing Mix.
Via: Americans for the Arts ARTSblog