[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 172 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page S 16633]]


       THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, 35 years ago, the American 
Council for the Arts [ACA] was established under the name Community 
Arts Councils, Inc., as an organization supporting the arts and artists 
in this country. Over the three-and-a-half decades since its founding, 
the American Council for the Arts has played a major role in the 
dramatic increase in the availability of the arts to the American 
people.
  In the early 1960's, ACA served as one of the earliest advocates for 
the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National 
Endowment for the Humanities. Nancy Hanks served as one of ACA's first 
presidents before becoming Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts 
in 1969. Over the years, ACA board members have included David 
Rockfeller, Jr., Joanne Woodward, Jane Alexander, Harry Belafonte, 
Ralph Ellison, Colleen Dewhurst, Joseph Papp, Lane Kirkland, and Kitty 
Carlisle Hart, among others. In the 1970's, due to the broadening of 
ACA's objectives and the increasing demand for special constituent 
services, two separate organizations were spun-off from ACA: the 
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the National Assembly of 
Local Arts Agencies.
  From arts advocacy to publishing, from founding the National 
Coalition of United Arts Funds, to working on behalf of arts education 
initiatives, ACA has worked tirelessly on behalf of the arts and 
culture of this Nation. Every spring, ACA mounts Arts Advocacy Day and 
the Nancy Hanks Lecture on the Arts and Public Policy in Washington, 
DC. Advocacy Day brings together arts advocates from across the country 
to work on behalf of a strong Federal role in funding the arts and 
culture, and the Nancy Hanks Lecture, now in its 9th year, has quickly 
become one of the most important public forums on the relationship 
between Government and the arts. Nancy Hanks Lecturers have included 
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.--1988, Leonard Garment--1989, Maya Angelou--
1990, John Brademas--1991, Franklin Murphy--1922, Barbara Jordan--1993, 
David McCullough--1994, and Winton M. Blount--1995. The 1996 lecturer 
will be Carlos Fuentes.
  ACA's National Arts Clearinghouse contains a wealth of arts policy 
information, and other arts studies, magazines, journals, and 
documents--an invaluable resource for the study of arts policy. Over 
the years, ACA has commissioned studies and produced books for artists, 
arts administrators, policymakers, students, educators, and others. ACA 
commissioned the first Lou Harris poll on ``Americans and the Arts'' in 
1973 and has recommissioned the poll five times.
  ACA has made an enormous contribution to the wealth and vitality of 
our great Nation. Please join with me in celebrating ACA's 35 years of 
service to the arts.

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