On June 4, 2020, as part of TCG's virtual National Conference, Re-Emergence, we held an Advocacy Session:
Arts Advocacy in 2020: What’s Needed and What’s Permissible
Participation in arts advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels is always important, but becomes critical during a crisis. And, we face multiple crises. This session will acknowledge our pivot to center the needs of Black colleagues, theatres of color and theatre artists of color. We know that some theatres and theatre artists have had greater challenges in accessing federal relief than others. This session will highlight bipartisan arts advocacy efforts focused on COVID-19 relief, as well as our annual advocacy issues. Especially because this is a presidential election year, this session will also outline what is allowable advocacy activity for nonprofits. The theatre field produced more than 7,000 messages to Capitol Hill this year – we will discuss why we should and how we can maintain this level of engagement throughout this crisis and beyond.
Session Leader: Laurie Baskin, Director of Research, Policy & Collective Action, TCG
Speakers: Erica Ortiz, Director of Marketing, TCG & former member of the National Board of Directors of the NAACP; David Freudenthal, Director, Government Relations, Carnegie Hall; Allison Grayson, Director of Policy Development and Analysis, Independent Sector; Heather Noonan, Vice President for Advocacy, League of American Orchestras; Najean Lee, Director of Government Affairs & Education Advocacy, League of American Orchestras; Eve Maldonado O'Toole is leader of Holland & Knight's Local Government Group; Jonathan Moscone, Chief Producer, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)
Like the rest of the conference, this session did acknowledge TCG's pivot to center the needs of Black colleagues, theatres of color and theatre artists of color.
The conference session video is now available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlu3xOXtD4