By Tom McClimon
February 6, 2006

For the ninth consecutive year, Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors joined together to present the 2006 National Awards for Public Leadership in the Arts to selected local and state officials and arts educators for their outstanding leadership in the arts. On January 25, during the Conference’s 74th Winter Meeting, awards were given to three arts advocates in recognition for their leadership and advancement of the arts and arts education within their community, and for their vision and leadership in providing heightened visibility to the value of the arts.

The winners were: National Award for Local Arts Leadership – Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell; National Award for State Arts Leadership – Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack; and National Award for Excellence in Arts Programs for Youth-New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, Chair of the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee, moderated the awards presentations. Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts thanked the mayors for their continued support of the arts and stated that the partnership between the arts organizations and the mayors was the “most important partnership” that his organization has. Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran recognized the mayors for their leadership in supporting the arts.

Three high school students from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts traveled to Washington, (DC) to perform a very special New Orleans'style jazz ensemble during the awards luncheon. As a result of Katrina, the school recently re-opened in January and two of the three students performing were displaced from their homes.

Since his 1999 campaign for mayor, Bill Purcell made a public commitment to support the arts in Nashville and its unique identity as “Music City, U.S.A.” Shortly after his election, the Purcell Administration sponsored an ordinance to establish a Percent for Public Art Program and the Nashville Metro Council overwhelmingly approved the program, now making public art accessible to the entire community. The public art installation of Alice Aycock’s sculpture “Ghost Ballet” is scheduled for completion in early 2007. Over the past six years, the mayor has increased city funding to local arts organizations by 61 percent. This year alone, the mayor’s budget provided grants totaling $2.3 million to 43 different arts organizations. Metro Nashville has donated property and provided substantial financial support for the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, a $120 million state-of-the-art concert hall, to open in downtown Nashville in September 2006.

Relations between the music industry and the traditional business community have never been stronger in Nashville, raising the profile of “Music City” as a place where all forms of music can flourish. Under Purcell’s leadership, Nashville’s Fourth of July Celebration now features top-flight music talent, the Nashville Symphony, and a fireworks extravaganza ranked as one of the top five in the nation. It is one of only four Independence Day concerts telecast nationwide. The mayor has successfully worked with the Metro Council to secure capital funding for the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Children’s Theatre, and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, as well as planning monies for a museum of African-American history. In 2005, American Style magazine named Nashville one of the top 25 arts destinations nationwide.

Governor Tom Vilsack was first elected Iowa’s 39th Governor in 1998. Through the Governor’s leadership, the state launched the Vision Iowa Program which has had a significant positive impact on 188 communities through investments in education, and cultural and recreational attractions. Vision Iowa has utilized $270 million in state funding to attract $2 billion in total investment, creating 14,000 jobs and attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists to the state. Under the Governor’s leadership and during a time when the state budget was stretched tightly, the state was able to establish the Iowa Cultural Trust, which will eventually provide dedicated general operating support funds for Iowa arts organizations.

Governor Vilsack was able to establish a program certifying Cultural & Entertainment Districts in communities across Iowa – these neighborhoods become mixed-use areas where a high concentration of cultural activities occur. The program is an acknowledgement that the presence of arts and cultural opportunities enhances property values, the property value of surrounding businesses, and the tax base of a region. The Governor also initiated the development of BuyIowaArt.com, which responds to Iowa artists’ requests for more opportunities to display and sell their work by establishing an online store, operated by the state’s arts agency, offering CD’s, paintings, crafts, and books by a juried list of Iowa artists.

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts|Riverfront (NOCCA|Riverfront) is Louisiana’s premier arts training center for high school students. Like many other schools in New Orleans, NOCCA suffered structural damage as a result of Katrina and until recently was able to reopen for class in mid-January 2006. With about 850 students attending annually, the Center provides pre-professional instruction in creative writing, dance, classical instrumental, jazz instrumental, classical vocal, media arts, acting, musical theatre, theatre design, and visual arts. Since becoming a state agency in July 2000, NOCCA|Riverfront is tuition-free to all Louisiana students who successfully audition. Students from more than 150 public, private, and parochial schools attend the Center on a half-day basis, after school, on Saturdays and/or during the summer. As a Louisiana treasure that marked its 30th anniversary during the 2003-04 school year, NOCCA made it possible for students to realize success in all arts fields. Many well-known and highly successful artists are NOCCA alumni. Some notable alumni include Harry Connick, Jr., musician and actor; Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis, musicians; Wanda Boudreaux, visual artist; Jeanne-Michelé Charbonnet, opera singer; Nicole Cooley, novelist and poet; Donald Harrison, jazz musician; Darren Bagert, Broadway producer; Wendell Pierce, actor; and Rosalyn Sanders, dancer.

Approximately 90 percent of NOCCA graduates continue their studies at universities and conservatories across the country. Recent graduates have enrolled in: the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Art Institute of Los Angeles, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Institute of Music, Juilliard, Berklee Conservatory, Fordham, LSU, Tulane, Loyola, Yale, The Cooper Union, Manhattan School of Music, Johns Hopkins, and many others. Students regularly win national awards in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search and National Merit Scholarship programs.