Interview with the only Full-time Grassroots Arts Advocacy Coordinator in the United States

“Here at the Cultural Alliance, we’re working on a new organizational messaging framework that emphasizes the impact that arts and culture have on community and personal growth.  The more you can connect arts and culture to how it shapes our lives, the more legislators and “everyday people” can connect to our work.”

                        --Sara Cederberg

What has been your career path to step into this exciting role as a full-time arts advocate?

I began my journey studying religion at Bryn Mawr College, outside of Philadelphia, PA.  Like many other peers, I was not quite sure where I wanted to be professionally, but I know I had a strong interest in politics.  My first gig – and probably what set my career path into full motion – was with the Prometheus Radio Project based in Philadelphia – an advocacy and service organization that sought to expand not-for-profit community radio throughout the US.  As a legislative coordinator there, I spent my time building support and lobbying both constituents and legislators for a piece of legislation in the US Congress that would allocate more radio stations to be used for non-profit community groups.  When I left Prometheus, I spent the fall before joining the Cultural Alliance to work on President Obama’s presidential campaign.  Applying – and eventually accepting! – my position at the Cultural Alliance was exciting, as I had always had a passion for the arts and doing advocacy work for that cause seemed like a dream come true.

Are you aware of any other full-time grassroots arts advocacy coordinators in the United States?

At the moment – no!  I know many regional arts organizations have a policy manager or coordinator – but I do not know of any other organizations that have an employee to work solely on grassroots advocacy initiatives.  Particularly in these times, it’s not uncommon to meet staff from other organizations that wear multiple hats.
 

How do you distinguish grassroots advocacy from other types of advocacy work? What is the value of coordinated grassroots efforts?

While it’s important to mobilize support for the arts at the grasstops (grasstops being legislators, business, etc) – it’s even more important to mobilize the grassroots, which comprise of everyday people that give those very legislators their jobs.  Often when we ask a legislator to support, say, a funding increase in Pennsylvania’s state arts agency (the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts) they ask for a demonstration of support from their constituents.  This is where I come in.  I not only encourage constituents in Southeast Pennsylvania to write their legislators on a particular issue, but how arts and culture impacts or changes their lives and communities.  We’ve seen a common, shortsighted misconception among legislators that arts and culture is just a frivolous expense for the wealthy – when we know that it’s so much more.  It’s up to us to prove them wrong.

Can you share an advocacy victory or success where your efforts and the grassroots component of the advocacy campaign made a difference in the outcome?

Pennsylvania, like many other states, has had its fair share of budget woes.  Last year, legislators sparred on ways to balance the budget – cut spending?  Increase revenue through new taxes?  Legislators came up with one budget proposal after the other – many of which sought to cut cultural funding in Pennsylvania entirely.  In September 2009, legislators finally reached a budget agreement without cutting cultural funding – but they decided to lift a tax exemption on nonprofit arts and cultural tickets.  This meant that small theater companies would have to add a tax to their tickets – when many organizations are already experiencing declines in revenue and attendance. 

At the outset, we were told by insiders in the State Capitol that the budget agreement with this unfair tax was a done deal.  And yet, we mobilized many constituents and organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area to swiftly to put the pressure on legislators through phone calls, emails, and faxes.  We organized two rallies in Center City Philadelphia, where legislators, actors, arts administrators, and audience members spoke about the impact of their work and how jarring an additional tax would have been to their audiences and organizations.  With the help of our communications and marketing department, we strategically hit the media with press releases and editorials.  A few weeks later, the Governor and legislators took what we had called the “arts tax” off the table.  There’s no doubt it would have remained without all of that public pressure.

How do you help empower arts advocates? 

First things first – it’s important to remind both arts administrators and the general public how important arts and culture is to our lives and communities.  With the threat of cuts to cultural funding and organizations having to close their doors, I think we’ve found building momentum to be easier in times of crisis.  What’s important is to keep up that momentum even when things seem “normal.” Asking people to tell stories of how a creative moment changed their life is a great activation point – and the collection of these stories is a current focus of ours here at the Cultural Alliance.

What, in your experience, prevents people from being more engaged and active as arts advocates?

Many people, not just arts advocates – get complacent about politics.  “How will sending a lone email to a legislator impact their outlook?”  “Nothing ever gets done in politics.”  When I hear that, I tell them that arts tax story.

Believe it or not, I’ve found many people to be scared of contacting their legislators.  That never helps, either!

We know that people will mobilize around a crisis. How can we get arts advocates into a proactive mode?

That’s certainly the big question I ask myself every day.  Here at the Cultural Alliance, we’re working on a new organizational messaging framework that emphasizes the impact that arts and culture have on community and personal growth.  The more you can connect arts and culture to how it shapes our lives, the more legislators and “everyday people” can connect to our work.  We have to get people away from that misconception that the arts are just a commodity.  It’s going to be a lot of work – but we’re excited.

Where do you go for inspiration and ideas related to your work?

In Philadelphia, it’s not hard to find inspiration.  Every day, I pass beautiful murals created and painted by artists from the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project.  My inbox and Facebook news feeds are constantly cluttered with news of museum and theater openings.  I walk through neighborhoods once considered to be dangerous and ugly filled with galleries, boutiques, restaurants, theaters, and music venues.  Artists are pioneers – and even our own Mayor can’t deny the impact the cultural and creative industries have had on community redevelopment.

What are some of your favorite advocacy websites or resources?

Americans for the Arts (http://artsusa.org) – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go to their website constantly for updates on national arts advocacy news and initiatives. 

I also find Arts Journal (http://artsjournal.com) to be my go-to resource on news and editorials on culture around the world. 

What other sectors can the arts take lessons from with respect to advocacy? Can you cite any specific examples of strategies, approaches, or campaigns that might be useful to consider/learn from?

I’ve signed up for e-alerts from legislative campaigns, unions, environmental cause organizations, social services – you name it – I’m probably a member.  I learn best by experience and seeing what others in the field are doing.  I think the most obvious example to take multiple lessons from was Obama’s presidential campaign.  As a 501 c (3) we’re limited to non-partisan advocacy, but the means by which Obama engaged the grassroots both on the streets and online is a model we’ll be using for years to come.

How can we widen the circle of people who are engaged arts advocates beyond people who make their living by working in the arts?

I think this question goes back to what I mentioned about our drive to turn arts and culture into a cause.  How does arts and culture help us, our children, and our communities grow?  I think we have to think outside of the box – we’re not just advocating for the immortality of our sector, but how our sector is constantly evolving and changing the very parts of our lives that matter to us the most.  That is what I, and my colleagues, think can bring the Joe the Plumbers into our corner.

Is there anything else that you would like to share? Advice to arts advocacy organizations and/or arts advocates?

Don’t fall into the trap that you don’t have enough time for writing your legislator.  Always make time to tell key decision makers why your job, your organization, or the organizations you support matter.  Building a relationship with legislators at the municipal, state, and federal levels will turn them into arts advocates.  Why wouldn’t we want that?

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Sara Cederberg joined the Cultural Alliance in February 2009. As the Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator, she works on implementing grassroots initiatives to advance the public policy positions of the Cultural Alliance and its member institutions through online advocacy initiatives; building and engaging the list of supporters; writing advocacy alerts outlining current legislative action at the municipal, state, and federal levels; and researching issues which have an impact on the Cultural Alliance's mission and public policy priorities.