The arts are everywhere.

From paintings that grace our public buildings to dance, theater and music we experience in our schools and communities, the arts are everywhere.

The arts build and strengthen Kansas, engaging our citizens, educating our children in the wonders of humankind, enriching the lives of our senior citizens.

But the arts are the great secret of our state; while they quietly exist in every corner of Kansas, they need more support to grow and to thrive.

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Kansas Citizens for the Arts Advocacy Workshops

Kansas Citizens for the Arts invites arts organization leaders - staff and board members - art audiences, arts educators - and everyone who cares about the arts in Kansas - to attend one of four FREE arts advocacy workshops throughout the state.

Led by lobbyist and strategic communications speciality Sarah Carkhuff Fizell, the workshop will help you become an expert in developing a message for local arts advocacy and help you craft your very own proclamation for October is Arts and Humanities Month.

*September 14, 2010: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Dillon House 404 S.W. 9th St., Topeka - Sponsored by the Kansas Arts Commission and Kansas Citizens for the Arts - To RSVP, call 785/296-3335.

*September 15, 2010: 5:30 to 7:30 pm - Tomahawk Ridge Community Center - 11902 Lowell Ave., Overland Park - Sponsored by the Arts Council of Johnson County and the Overland Park Arts and Recreation Foundation - To RSVP, call 913/345-2720.

*September 20, 2010: 6:00 to 8:00 pm - Hays Arts Center 112 E. 11th St., Hays - Sponsored by the Hays Arts Council - To RSVP, call 785/625-7522.

*October 5, 2010: 5:00 to 7:00 pm - Bowlus Fine Arts & Cultural Center 205 E. Madison Ave., Iola - Sponsored by the Bowlus Fine Arts & Cultural Center - To RSVP, call 620/365-4765.

For more information, download flyer here.

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The Arts Ripple Effect: A Research-Based Strategy to Build Shared Responsibility for the Arts

In late 2008, leaders of the Fine Arts Fund in Cincinnati embarked on a year-long research initiative designed to develop an inclusive community dialogue leading to broadly shared public responsibility for arts and culture in the region.

We concluded that our work with the community through arts and culture must be based on a foundation that incorporates a deeper understanding of the best way to communicate with the public in order to achieve that shared sense of responsibility.

This report summarizes more than a year of work and important findings for widespread use by others. While leaders of business and other nonprofit sectors often conduct research using framing science methodology to develop communications strategies for change, this is a first-in-the-nation analysis for arts and culture.

To read the report, visit http://www.fineartsfund.org/arts_ripple_effect

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State of the Arts: Advocating for the Arts in Kansas

The Kansas Arts Commission and the Kansas Citizens for the Arts have developed a new advocacy toolkit. State of the Arts: Advocating for the Arts in Kansas helps us all to tell our stories every day, to build relationships with everyone who will listen and to empower all of us to act. Download it free and make sure that all who value the arts utilize the tools within it.

For free download, visit http://arts.ks.gov/toolkits/docs/advocacy_booklet.pdf

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Candidate Forum for the Arts Guide

This guide was created to help organizations coordinate and produce a Candidate Forum on the Arts. Holding a Forum can be an important tool for determining where candidates for public office stand on important issues such as public funding for the arts before citizens go to the polls.

To dowload, visit http://www.arts.ok.gov/news/pubs.html