EVERY VOICE MATTERS
What are the tactics we can employ on a regular basis to make our voices heard and to help speak up on behalf of those who may not be heard?
If you’re listening to this podcast you’re at least interested, if not passionate, about arts accessibility and promoting the arts. It can be overwhelming and intimidating to be an advocate, but Ann S Graham breaks down the ways in which you can be the voice of the arts in your community.
Ann Graham whistled before she talked, but her mother reminded her that once she started talking, she began speaking up to make the world a better place. After a 25 year career in the arts, culture and creativity sector – arts festival producer, public art administrator, nonprofit leader, municipal arts planner, and more – Ann took on the Executive Directorship of Texans for the Arts, Texas’ statewide arts advocacy organization. Powered by its members – arts organizations, individual artists, citizen arts leaders, businesses – Texans for the Arts seeks to secure, protect and grow the public investment in the arts and ensure that the arts, culture and creativity sector have a voice at the political, fiscal and social justice tables of our democracy.
In 2016, Americans for the Arts Convention was held in Boston, Massachusetts. Having lived in Boston for 12 years prior to moving to Austin, Texas, Ann was familiar with the arts landscape, but didn’t realize the depth of work already being done then in the arts and health arena. She signed up for the “Art and Health” conference tour – which featured extensive and expansive programming at several Boston hospitals (Brigham & Women’s, Boston Children’s) and exchanged business cards with some of the other tour attendees. Who would have thought that one year later those same business cards would introduce her to the founders of NOAH – the National Organization for Arts in Health who held their first conference in Austin in 2016 (and the rest is history). Since that time, Ann S Graham has followed NOAH’s work and their commitment to research, data collection and analysis – sharing and giving voice to a significant body of work that has moved the needle on the international understanding of arts and health. In addition, as an advocacy leader, Texans for the Arts has supported legislative action to support music therapy licensure in the state of Texas (still working on legislation that did not pass in the 87th Session) and aiming to give voice to the field as we engage in the legislative process. And, as a trained cellist…there is no question in her mind of the positive impact of the arts on our health and health care.
Connect with Ann S Graham at texansforthearts.com and hottoolkit.com