March
2002
Trenton
arts connection to partner with Americans for the Arts and the Ad
Council
Plan
launch of a major national PSA campaign to encourage more arts education
The
Trenton Arts Connection announced today that it is supporting the
national public service advertisement (PSA) campaign, "Art.
Ask for More," launched by Americans for the Arts and The Advertising
Council and designed to promote arts education.
The
Trenton Arts Connection joins more than 290 arts organizations in
all 50 states that will help promote the campaign to their local
media. The campaign, its production and its outreach have been made
possible by a $1 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,
which helped to leverage additional needed resources.
This
is the first national PSA campaign to promote education in all forms
of the arts and will encourage public participation in championing
arts education both in and out of schools. The campaign consists
of television, radio, print, web, and outdoor advertisements. The
advertisements, created pro bono by Austin-based GSD&M, offer
humorous portrayals of what children miss when they lack an arts
education. They end with the campaign tag line: "The less art
kids get, the more it shows. Are yours getting enough? Art. Ask
for more." The television and radio ads feature the voice of
actor Alec Baldwin. All facets of the ad campaign are available
for viewing on the Americans for the Arts website: www.AmericansForTheArts.org.
According
to Anne LaBate, president of TAC, "The arts help us to understand
each other, our history, our heritage and where we come from, which
in turn generates respect for one another. Therefore, it is especially
important that children be exposed to the arts. That is why we are
supporting this campaign and hope to place an "Art. Ask for
more" Web banner on our site www.trentonarts.org."
The
national PSA campaign began airing on Bravo, the Film and Arts Network.
VH1 has also made a national television commitment to air the campaign.
Commitments from other broadcast and cable networks are expected
soon. Advance commitments to run print ads have already been received
from The New York Times and Stagebill. In the Trenton Arts Connection
media market, the ads will feature the Trenton Arts Connection as
a local sponsor of the campaign. The ads will run for two years
through the end of 2003. The radio and print ads were released for
use starting in February.
The
campaign will offer parents a wealth of practical information on
how to involve the arts in their children's lives. It will direct
them to the newly expanded Americans for the Arts website: www.AmericansForTheArts.org,
which provides a toolkit on arts education including access to arts
resources in their own communities.
"The
vast majority of Americans believe that arts education is important
enough to be taught in schools, but parents may be unaware that
their children are offered few and uneven opportunities to learn
dance, music, theater and the visual arts," said Robert L.
Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts. "As a result
of cuts in arts education funding in schools over many decades,
far too many schools offer little, if any, arts education. We hope
that this campaign will encourage parents and civic leaders to insist
on more arts education opportunities both in school and in their
communities."
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For
more information on this campaign, and tips for parents who want
to take action on behalf of the arts and arts education, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org.
