Arts Alliances: Networking, Advocacy, and Politics – Full Session
Denise Laurin | Olga Stefan | Ra Joy
Ra Joy is the Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Alliance. He is an artist and arts advocate with extensive experience in public policy and the congressional arena. As executive director for one of the premier statewide advocacy organization's in the nation, Mr. Joy oversees research, capacity building and communication efforts to advance widespread support for the arts and arts education in Illinois.
Prior to joining the Illinois Arts Alliance, Mr. Joy served for six years as a senior staffer for U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-9). Motivated by the belief that democracy is a verb and the instinct to be creative is universal, Mr. Joy serves as Chair of the Evanston Ethic Arts Festival and is a member of the board of directors for Mikva Challenge.
In this full-length session on arts advocacy held at the Self Employment in the Arts (SEA) Conference in February 2008, three panelists discuss how they got involved in advocacy, the types of advocacy that can happen politically at the local, regional, and national level, and how you can get involved today to advocate arts to government leaders.
