Requested Endorsement of Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Proposal Copyrighted
October 5, 2020
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 9.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: Requested Endorsement of Americans for the Arts Federal Policy
Proposal
SUM MARY: City Manager recommending City Council endorsement of Americans for
the Arts Federal Policy Proposal per recommendation of the City of
Dubuque's Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File;Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Endorsement- City Manager Memo
MVM Memo
Memo to MVM re Requested Endorsement of Staff Memo
Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Proposal
Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Proposal Supporting Documentation
Dubuque
THE CITY OF �
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Requested Endorsement of Americans for the Arts Federal Policy
Proposal
DATE: September 29, 2020
Americans for the Arts recently released the "To Rebuild and Reimagine the United
States Post-Pandemic, We Must Put Creative Workers to Work" proposal which offers
15 actions that can be taken by the federal government to activate the creative
economy within a comprehensive national recovery strategy in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Jenni Petersen-Brant recommends City Council
endorsement of Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Proposal per recommendation of
the City of Dubuque's Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Y
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
Du buq ue Economic Development Department
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
SUBJECT: Requested Endorsement of Americans for the Arts Federal Policy Proposal
DATE: September 29, 2020
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to request endorsement of Americans for the Arts
Federal Policy Proposal per recommendation of the City of Dubuque's Arts & Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission.
BACKGROUND
Americans for the Arts (AFTA) is a member-driven organization whose mission is to build
recognition and support for the extraordinary and dynamic value of the arts and to lead,
serve, and advance the diverse networks of organizations and individuals who cultivate the
arts in America. One role that they serve is to advocate for changes to legislative policy and
funding priorities on a federal level.
DISCUSSION
AFTA recently released the "To Rebuild and Reimagine the United States Post-Pandemic,
We Must Put Creative Workers to Work" proposal which offers 15 actions that can be taken
by the federal government to activate the creative economy within a comprehensive national
recovery strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 15-actions include:
1. Direct Employment of Creatives Within Federal Agencies
2. Commissioning of Artists and Arts Orgs by Federal Departments
3. Employment of Artists in Public and Mental Health
4. Launch ArtistCorps within AmeriCorps
5. Incentivize Local, State, Tribal, and Private Hiring of Creatives
6. Incentivize and Prioritize Funding and Capital for Underfunded Parts of the Creative
Economy
7. Incentivize Local Youth-Oriented Creative Entrepreneur, Workforce, Development, and
Wellness Programs
8. Ensure Creative Economy is Included in Existing Federal Policies and Regulations
9. Overhaul Unemployment, Insurance, Food, and Housing Policies to be Independent
Worker-Inclusive
10.Incentivize Local, State, and Tribal Integration of Creative Workers in Disaster Relief
and Recovery
11.Integrate Creatives in Long-Term Federal Disaster Relief and Recovery Infrastructure
12.Improve Treatment of Creatives within Federal Disaster Response Structure
13.Subsidize and Expand Access to Low and No-Cost Cultural Experiences and Venues
14.Incentivize Investment in Arts Education and Educators
15.Prioritize Digital Training, Access, and Connectivity
Further details on these 15 actions are outlined in pages 1-7 of the supporting document.
Pages 8-62 of the supporting document feature previous organizational and individual
endorsers from throughout the country. To review the citations noted throughout the PDF,
visit https://www.americansforthearts.org/news-room/arts-mobilization-center/creative-
workers-to-work# ftn9.
On September 22, 2020, the City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission
reviewed and discussed AFTA's proposal during their regular meeting. The 6 Commissioners
present voted unanimously to recommend and request that the City of Dubuque add their
endorsement to the proposal.
BUDGET IMPACT
There is no budget impact associated with endorsing AFTA's policy proposal.
RECOMMENDATION/ACTION STEP
Advise City Council to endorse AFTA's Federal Policy Proposal attached. If endorsement is
authorized, staff will follow up by submitting the endorsement via AFTA's website, providing
the City of Dubuque's logo for inclusion on the website.
CC: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
To Rebuild and Reimagine the United States Post-Pandemic,We Mu... https://www.americansforthearts.org/news-room/arts-mobilization-ce...
Americans for the Arts Arts Action Fund
National Arts Marketing Project pARTnership Movement
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TO REBUILD AND REIMAGINE THE
UNITED STATES POST- PANDEMIC WE
,
MUST PUT CREATIVE WORKERS TO
WORK
There can be no recovery without creativity.
If you are authorized to endorse this proposal for your organization, or wish to endorse as an
individual, please visit and complete this Endorsement Form_(/node/104803). Submissions are
moderated for content, so there may be a lag in appearing. You can view the current list of
organizations and individuals who have endorsed this proposal as of September 14, 2020 at 2 PM at
the bottom of this document. There are currently over 1,200 endorsements of this proposal.
ENDORSE THE PROPOSAL(/NODE/104i
� � ;t
To thrive post-pandemic, the United States must leverage our creative power, putting
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creative workers to work rebuilding, reimagining, unifying, and healing communities in
every state and territory, as well as within tribal lands. Below, we propose 15 specific
actions that the next Administration can take to activate the creative economy within a
comprehensive national recovery strategy.
In 1935, facing 20% unemployment, President Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration
(WPA). In 1973, at a moment of similar crisis, President Nixon signed the Comprehensive Employment
and Training Act (CETA). These audacious federal policy efforts—one by a Democrat, one by a
Republican—sparked national recovery at two crucial moments, and should inspire action now.�'�
In each previous workforce effort, investment in the creative economy has proven essential. Similar
investment now will heal the soul of America, create unity, expand and improve infrastructure, address
community health, and drive innovation, recovery, and reimagination. The next Administration must
draw upon the creative energies of the country's 5.1 million creative workers to energize a
downtrodden citizenry, reimagine how communities can thrive, and improve the lives of all. We stand
ready to answer the caIL�2�
Activating the creative economy to stimulate recovery just makes sense. Creative workers are a
part of every local economy in the United States and, like others who are un- and underemployed,
creative workers have much to offer in healing, recovery, and beyond. Paying artists and other creative
workers for their contributions to the health, equity, and well-being of our communities rebuilds our
economy. These workers uniquely engage communities to contribute to well-being and connectivity,
reflecting back local history, amplifying the unique character of places, and renewing the civic and
social lives of community members through their work. To thrive tomorrow, we must create a jobs
ecosystem for creative workers today.
The next Administration must boldly activate the nation's 5.1 million arts and cultural workers
to address critical infrastructure, community development, innovation, and public health needs.
Creative workers, and the hundreds of thousands of creative businesses they drive, have been
devastated by Coronavirus more than almost any other sector�3�—one study pegs the creative worker
unemployment rate at 63% and a collective income loss of over$60 billion�4'—but stand ready to heal,
strengthen, rebuild, and reimagine our communities.
Arts and culture are crucial components of civic dialogue, and research shows that in the primary
areas of concern for recovery—including racial justice, health, education, community cohesion, and
public safety—the integration of creative workers improves outcomes and sets up the community for
success.�s� Through a suite of efforts coordinated via a centralized office housed in the West Wing,�6�
artists and creative workers can be put to work addressing these pressing issues of the day.
To that end, we offer the following 15 actions—many of which can be achieved through executive
action and/or without authorizing substantial additional federal funding.
ENGAGE IN, AND DRIVE, DIRECT EMPLOYMENT OF
CREATIVE WORKERS
1. Use executive action to advance direct employment of creative
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workers within federal agencies and programs.
Employ creative workers as artists-in-residence, fellows, community or cultural organizers,
teaching artists�'�, and project managers, with a focus on economy-boosting, living-wage creative
jobs that will strengthen our communities, schools, public health systems; beautify our
infrastructure; create a full and vibrant social and creative life in communities; and lead the
transition into the next economy. Particular focus should be given to federal departments that
have existing workforce/hiring programs, such as the Department of the Interior's National Parks
Artist Residency program�8�.
2. Use executive action to direct federal departments to commission
artists and community arts organizations.
Capture and document this unprecedented moment in our nation's history through photographs,
narratives, storytelling, murals, films, plays and other media. Creating a matrix of stories and
conversations to move a moment of loss into an opportunity for grieving and recovery will aid
development of community-driven responses to systemic racism, historic inequities, and recent
trauma. These commissions will illuminate under-told or erased narratives and histories of Black,
Indigenous, and other People of Color; immigrants; people in rural communities; people with
disabilities; LGBTQIA people; poor people; women; and children. In particular, expand the GSA
Art in Architecture Program�9' to other federal infrastructure projects.
3. Put artists to work addressing public and mental health in
communities.
Support local programs that engage artists and creative workers to address community health
issues; provide funding and guidelines for states, localities, and tribal governments to commission
public health campaigns to increase awareness of, and compliance with, public health mandates;
and integrate creative arts therapies into care for those most affected by the pandemic, including
specific support for cultural practitioners from Native communities. In particular, direct insurance
companies to include arts prescriptions and healing practices as covered treatment options;
provide opportunities for artists to support social emotional learning and/or trauma-informed
education in schools; and position artists and creative workers alongside others working to
address trauma and recovery.�'��
4. Use executive action to complete the launch of an ArtistCorps within
AmeriCorps.
Working from existing authorizing language within the Serve America Act provisions approved
during the Obama/Biden Administration, expand or redirect dollars for competitive AmeriCorps
state proposals toward cultural intervention, equitable community planning, substance abuse
prevention, community resiliency, and direct cultural programming; advance the "new cultural
models" capacity model through AmeriCorps VISTA to drive cultural institutions as collaborators in
local/state anti-poverty work; instigate a "national direct" ArtistCorps program to re-employ
unemployed and underemployed teaching artists to address mental health, education, and
workforce training efforts; direct inclusion of cultural organizations and state and local arts
agencies and tribal governments as clear partners in the AmeriCorps VISTA anti-poverty work;
incorporate creative arts explicitly in the Corporation for National Community Service's senior
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programming portfolio; and deploy teaching artists and arts educators through the Learn and
Serve America program. This work will allow artists and creative workers to use their creative
practice to heal communities, drive social-emotional learning, improve cultural competency and
cohesion, address trauma, and inspire new thinking in communities.
DRIVE LOCAL, STATE, AND PRIVATE SECTOR ACTIVATION
OF CREATIVE WORKERS
5. Incentivize private businesses and local and state agencies and tribal
governments to integrate creative workers to envision successful
business structures in recovery and beyond.
Support businesses in engaging creative minds to react to changing workplace needs, inspire
advances in practice, and drive innovation around products, services, and ways of working. Use
financial incentives, such as a tax credit or access to a loan or capital, to fund the positions and
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6. Prioritize and incentivize public and private sector support, access to
capital, and equitable funding of arts producing organizations, small
creative businesses, community cultural centers, and collectives.
In particular, focus on organizations that are led by members of and/or based in Black,
Indigenous, and communities of color and have served those communities despite chronic under-
funding, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19, the economic crisis, and historical inequities in
the arts and in all sectors of American society.
7. Utilize and provide resources to local-level Workforce Investment Boards
to develop and deploy creative entrepreneur support programs.
Support, in conjunction with economic development related organizations, holistic programs and
practices that support creative youth development and wellness and that allow young artists to
design, develop, and lead programs, initiatives, and community responses. This can minimize the
reaction time and create resources to intervene for both the dislocated workforce and the
incumbent workforce members of a community.
ADJUST EXISTING POLICIES TO RECOGNIZE CREATIVE
WORKERS AS WORKERS
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8. Through executive action and in partnership with Congress, ensure that
the creative economy is explicitly included in existing policy, rules,
and regulations.
Without requiring the authorization of any new spending, make targeted policy adjustments to
authorize access to federal funds for creative workers and businesses working in communities.
Examples include adjusting language in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to
authorize a Creative Economy Grants program within the Department of Labor and include explicit
support for creative enterprise within broader support of Native communities; integrating creative
economy apprenticeship and internship grants into the Public Works and Economic Development
Act; incentivizing the training and hiring of veterans in creative fields by altering language in 38
U.S.C. § 3116; and amending the Small Business Act to more explicitly include creative
businesses in its technical assistance and financial support programs.�'��
9. Overhaul outdated employment, insurance, food, and housing policies
to make them more inclusive of the more than 55 million independent
workers, including the bulk of the 5.1 million creative workers in the
country.
Focus on (1)the permanent extension of small business programs and unemployment insurance
benefits to self-employed artists, independent contractors, entrepreneurs,�13� and workers who
receive both W2s and 1099s, (2) universal access to portable health insurance for a constantly
moving workforce, and (3) explicit inclusion of independent workers in policies related to
affordable food and housing access.
INTEGRATE CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS INTO RESPONSE,
RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMS
10. Through executive action and in collaboration with Congress, direct and
incentivize the integration of creative workers and creative
organizations at the municipal, county, state, and tribal levels during
disaster relief and recovery efforts.
Through such action, support sustainability and resiliency, create a sense of belonging, improve
community and public health, document the moment, and engage the public in community
dialogue to process trauma. In addition, formalize creative work as an anchor of innovative
transportation initiatives, improve education, document the time, beautify and make sense of
places, develop media and awareness campaigns related to health and recovery, curate free and
low-cost cultural opportunities, and engage the public in essential community dialogue.
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11. Through executive action or policy modification, integrate artists and
culture workers into critical, long-term community recovery
planning.
Address FEMA's Emergency Support Function 14�14� and enable national cooperative agreements
with national, state, local, and tribal arts organizations and agencies to organize and deploy artists
as support mechanisms for localized recovery planning and community input processes.
12. Improve treatment of creative workers and businesses within the
federal disaster response structure for all declared disasters.
Ensure that creative entrepreneurs are treated fairly in terms of the federal add-on to state
unemployment compensation for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA); pursue regulatory
action to eliminate FEMA ineligibility for self-employed workers for Other Needs Assistance (ONA)
tool replacement and eliminate means testing; base the DUA for self-employed workers on
business receipts rather than net profit; and end the practice of counting gross receipts against
net profit when reducing DUA compensation.
SUPPORT ACCESS TO ARTS, CULTURE, AND ARTS
EDUCATION
13. Expand opportunities and lower barriers for public access to cultural
experiences and venues.
Support cultural organizations and commission free community entertainment, engagement, and
partnership opportunities, which can provide community cultural nexus points and valuable social
and mental health benefits to community residents. In addition, during recovery and as required,
incentivize local and state public and private investment to help cultural venues adapt their
facilities and digital platforms, and to generally provide safe settings for family learning,
performances, and wellness programs. These efforts will allow organizations to deliver on their
missions in new ways, such as by providing temporary alternate sites for public schools, provide
affordable cultural experiences, employ creative workers, and address community health needs,
while also reinforcing the essential value of cultural organizations to the fabric of the community.
14. Support and incentivize private, state, local, and tribal philanthropic
investment in arts-based education and educators.
Through federal funds distributions and guidelines, matching grants, forgivable loans, and other
available mechanisms, including possible extension of the universal charitable deduction, support
the arts in both schools and community cultural spaces, including arts-integrated teaching, place-
based arts and cultural practice, intergenerational education, oral histories, and the preservation
of folk traditions that elevate a community's history and culture, including on tribal lands.
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15. Prioritize digital training, access, and connectivity to enhance the
connection between artists and all Americans.
Direct and fund the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities
to underwrite the local- and state-level creation of digital job-training and skill-building support
programs for artists and creative workers in order to build digital capacity within the arts. Through
such initiatives, modeled on the Digital Strategy Funds currently active in England�15� and
Canada,�16� strengthen cultural workers' understanding and engagement with the digital world;
document and share creative work in new forms and with new audiences; stimulate the digital
transformation of the creative sector; and amplify voices responding to the cultural and social
changes of the moment. More broadly, invest in broadband access for all and prioritize digital
equity, particularly in rural and Native communities, which will improve creative connectivity and
access.
The United States' 5.1 million creative workers stand ready to do what they do best: build our
communities into better, more equitable versions of themselves. We are here and ready to create
essential civic dialogue that bridges people and communities, alleviates trauma, and centers equity;
document our history, tell the story of our present, and imagine our future; beautify our spaces;
improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation; drive innovation; develop media and awareness
campaigns; curate free and low-cost cultural opportunities for all; educate our children; and more. Put
creative workers to work alongside all of the others ready to help rebuild and reimagine our
communities and places, and the whole country will be made better for it.
If you are authorized to endorse this proposal for your organization, or wish to endorse as an
individual, p/ease visit and complete this form (/node/104803). Submissions are moderated for
content, so there may be a lag in appearing below. Endorsements are as of September 14, 2020 at 2
PM.
Organizational Endorsements
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