FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gavin Lodge, Executive Director

Phone: 844-4AArts1 (844-422-7871)

Email: press@4AArts.org

4A Arts (American Alliance of Artists and Audiences) Releases 2024 Agenda Including Studies and Resources Demonstrating the Outsized Impact of American Arts, Culture, Design and Craft on America’s Economy,

Well-Being, Communities, Technology and Democracy

New York, N.Y., January 1, 2024 —Today, 4A Arts (American Alliance of Artists and Audiences) revealed its 2024 Agenda issues, each of which forms a crucial building block toward fulfilling the organization’s mission to democratize, catalyze, and prioritize arts and culture for American society. This year, 4A Arts will illuminate research and advocacy efforts around five topics: the creative sector’s impact on the entire American economy, each individual’s well-being, our communities, advances in technology and preserving our democracy.

• Arts+ Economy – 4A Arts aims to help Americans realize the outsized impact arts, culture, design, and craft have on the entire American economy. The creative economy is the lifeblood of the American economic engine as arts, culture, design and craft together contribute 1 trillion dollars to the GDP. In so doing, the creative economy fosters the highly coveted and unique cultural identity of our country.
• Arts+ Well-Being – Increasingly, research proves the impact of the arts on both mental and physical well-being, and 4A Arts believes further investment is needed in this area to move our understanding beyond the existing isolated and anecdotal evidence. 4A Arts will show the industry-wide effect American creativity has on wellness that includes mental and physical health, and how greater support and investment at the intersection of creativity and medicine would help the entire American health system.
• Arts+ Communities – Cultural institutions are like suns in a solar system – they cultivate an economic ecosystem in ruralities, small towns, exurbs, and suburbs. In our increasingly distracted and detached society, these cultural institutions foster social cohesion, build belonging, and propel local economies. 4A Arts will work to inform and inspire Americans about the symbiotic relationship between creativity and small and midsize communities to bring greater appreciation and prioritization of American arts and culture.
• Arts+ Technology – Artificial intelligence (AI) brings both inspiration and trepidation to much of our society. 4A Arts will comprehensively explore arts’ impact on AI and the impact of AI on the arts, helping separate fact from fear in order to forge a path into the future for mutually beneficial growth and development.
• Arts+ Democracy – 4A Arts will help bridge societal divides in America by illustrating the importance of our freedom of creative expression and mutual understanding which leads to greater civic engagement, cooperative communities, and the dissemination of truth and facts.

   

  By focusing on the economy, well-being, communities, technology and democracy, 4A Arts will best succeed in its mission to change the narrative around the American creative economy,” said 4A Arts Executive Director Gavin Lodge. “While vast, they are also the areas most likely to – once illuminated – produce immediate impact and influence on the American public’s perception of the outsize influence of arts, culture, design and crafting over American society. We are excited to tackle these issue areas as we stake our claim as an opinion leader in the national arts advocacy field. Watch us as we share eye-popping stats and momentous facts demonstrating why our American elected officials at all levels should fund the creative economy at the levels commensurate with its impact on the entire American economy.”

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4A Arts is a 501.c.3 nonprofit that believes that arts and culture are basic human rights and powerful tools for building a whole and healthy society. 4A Arts will work to democratize, catalyze, and prioritize arts and culture in America.

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