Lynn Ahrens

"Your sword can be a sermon, or the power of the pen.” Thankfully, “the power of the pen” is now in your hands. And I hope with all my heart that you will use it for the good of our devastated, courageous and irreplaceable Arts community. Make them hear you: Recognize the importance of an industry that pumps hundreds of billions of dollars into the US economy each year.

Zakiyyah Alexander

“As a playwright who has worked in theater for twenty years, it’s imperative for you to make arts and culture workers a legislative priority. I urge you to not forget the arts who make the world a better place, who have lost their work due to COVID 19. Please don’t forget about us. Please let us know that our work is necessary in this administration. We are truly the lifeblood of America.”

Donna Gay Anderson

“In the words of John F. Kennedy, “I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty.” I might be so bold as to go even a step further by hoping that we won’t simply quell the fear of that but as a nation we will fully support and cultivate that grace and beauty through the arts. Will you lead us in that quest?”

James Armstrong

“As Senator Mitch McConnell said, self-government requires a shared commitment to the truth. This includes not just the truth of individual facts, but also larger truths about who we are and what we stand for in the world. We find ourselves in a crisis largely because the United States of America no longer has a shared vision of who we are as a country.”

Kristin Bair

"And these are desperate times. All of us need joy. We need beauty. But we also need art that helps us to engage in the pressing issues that our country faces: division, racism, inequity, intolerance. We artists stand at the ready. We just need financial support – for ourselves, for our arts and cultural institutions – so that we can do what we do best: CREATE.”

Samantha Baird

“I, along with many other arts workers, plead with you to consider expanding the presidential cabinet to establish a United States Department of Arts and Culture. President Elect Biden, Vice President Elect Harris, if you are truly fighting for the soul of our nation as your campaign proclaimed, we must remember that the soul of a nation rests on the humanity of its citizens.”

Sharon Baker

“We, members of The Dramatists Guild of America, offer you our Boundless Energy, Fierce Enthusiasm, and Unlimited Imagination to Heal our Nation. We ask that you create a Department of Arts & Culture, and appoint a Secretary of Arts & Culture. You know the Power of Theatre! Drama, Comedy, Music, Dance....the beauty of expressing the Human Spirit and Soul.

Stephen Baltz

“It is my hope that by writing this letter, you will see the importance of taking action for our Arts community. Ever since taking U.S. Government during my senior year of high school, I’ve always been fascinated by the role of government in American society and the power we the people have in shaping the decisions made on our behalf.”

Neil Bartram

"I write stories. If I’m doing my job well I provide context, I put a mirror up to society, and I somehow illuminate the experience of being human. Never has that been more important. My hope for your administration is that the arts will become valued again. That culture will be supported - not just financially but acknowledged as a beacon of the country’s soul.”

Hunter Bell

“Not far from our Nation’s Capitol, which bore the recent horrific attempted coup, there is a quote from President Kennedy etched in glass at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that reads, “I see little more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.” I hope you both agree and will shop up for us. We Artists will continue to show up. “

Lenore Bensinger

“As I hear the names of your proposed Cabinet positions and marvel at the breadth and depth of your candidates, I feel a heightened hope you will be the Administra<on to revitalize our national legacy by crea<ng and generously funding a Department of Arts and Culture with its own Secretary.”

Marjorie Bicknell

“I see state legislatures vote to cut arts funding. Even a penny towards the arts seems to be “too much.” Yet people flock to museums, to theaters, to concerts to art fairs. And today, when we are locked in our homes attempting to survive a deadly pandemic, it is the arts that are saving us. It is the arts that are entertaining us, giving us hope, keeping us sane.

Rachel Bonds

"The Arts has never, never had a seat at the table. And in this time of crisis, when we are watching our museums, theaters, opera houses, dance studios, movie theaters, concert halls and amusement parks disappear, and the 5.1 million Arts workers who staff these institutions face financial ruin, shouldn’t this be the moment to create a space, a voice, for the Arts in your government?”

Suzanne Bradbeer

“The arts enlarge our hearts, expand our capacities for empathy and they deepen our sense of the possible. We need imaginative thinking, especially now. A Cabinet-level commitment to the arts industry could help us make surprising connections between sectors and seed new ways of problem-solving.

Jo Brisbane

“I ask you to make Arts & Culture a legislative priority. The social impact of the arts is profound. It knits our communities together, increases voter participation, broadens our ability to create friendships from different racial groups, even dramatically reduces dementia. When we are involved in the arts as creators and educators, the statistics are astounding.”

Bekah Brunstetter

“I don’t believe that plays can change policy, necessarily, but I do believe they can change hearts and minds in small and meaningful ways. They can shape and restore families, communities. You can’t pause a play. It requires you to be present, vulnerable, and ultimately, to consider other points of view, other life experiences. Most of all, it demands empathy, which we need buckets and gallons of, now more than ever.”

Granville Burgess

"The arts reach the soul and they have a unique ability to connect us across race, religion, creed, and political credo. If anything addresses the higher purpose of our existence, it is the arts. With all the practical problems you will face and must address, elevating the arts higher in the hierarchy of our soul will only aid you in their solution.”

Tyler Calhoun

“Did you know that the Arts & Culture sector added $877 billion to the US economy in 2017? Did you know that 5.1 million jobs across the United States are Arts & Culture jobs? Did you know that the pandemic rendered at least 2.7 million Arts & Culture workers jobless? In 2021 What will Biden and Harris give us? SOS RESTART CALMER PLACE DAWN.“

Rachael Carnes ( and Oregon Arts Workers)

“We implore you to consider the impact that these unprecedented times have had on our entire sector. Theatres are dark, and the many professionals tied to those places of business, both front of house, administrators, performers, and crews, designers, directors, find themselves out of work, to no fault of their own.”

Barbara G. Cassidy

“We must not only save our arts organizations, but we must make them heartier so that they can take more chances with the art they support and produce and support more artists. We must especially think about groups that have been underrepresented.”

Carla Ching

"But in light of the events of the last week, when our very democracy was at stake, I want to say that the arts can change hearts and minds. I believe you know this. But as the last year has shown, our country is in need of healing. Of understanding other people’s points of view. Of becoming a community and family again. And that is what the arts is so good at doing. Gathering people.”

Sean-Joseph Choo

“Reading James Baldwin alternatively brought me to tears, and to anger, and to hope. I wondered what that meant here in Hawai'i, these conversations around race, and privilege. I'm writing a play translating my thoughts in creative form around it. I've benefited immensely from other artists like Idris Goodwin and Richard Nelson, writing on racism but also just the weird year we have had with adjusting to the pandemic. We must work with our artists.”

Jenna Chrisphonte

“Theater is the ground where the healing of this nation can begin to take place. Theater needs a visionary level of federal support to bring towns, cities and states back to life.”

Vichet Chum

“I am worried about the 63% of Arts Workers that report being unemployed due to the pandemic. I am particularly worries about the Black and Brown Arts Workers who sit at the center of two national crises.”

Cheryl Coons

"Unity requires a critical change in the nation’s current culture. President Biden, in your victory speech you said, “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify.” I believe that investment in the arts, especially the art of theatre, fosters the very qualities of collaboration, empathy, and community- mindedness that can precipitate systemic shifts in our country, and will support the two of you in your mission.”

Argia Coppola

“The healing process of a nation such as ours -- an intersection and melding of cultures, races, ideas, dreams, hopes, visions -- is fundamentally related to our job as artists of the stage, writers, playwrights, composers, lyricists. We heal the wounds and build a new vision of our culture through our stories. We come from all over the world to participate in this great American story. We’ve chosen to take on this responsibility, to open new paths for change.”

Kevin Coval

“the country inclusive and just

the country fair and equitable

the country we hope for

is a dream

we can realize

if bridges are built

between the most disparate

of ideas and people.

and what better bridge than a story"

Chris Cragin-Day

“Here's what the arts community has done for me. It has put me in a room with people who are, on some levels (race, politics, background, sexuality) very different from me, and on other levels (love, suffering, fear, joy, humiliation) very much the same. The arts community in NYC has made me into a better artist, a more involved citizen, and a better person. It has strengthened the best parts of my upbringing, and given me the courage to question the worst parts.”

Emily Davis

“Aside from the substantial economic benefits that the Arts bring to our country, the arts are the best of us. In a time where, around the world, people are seeing the worst of our country, the Arts show us at our best. In a country so painfully divided, the arts have the power to bring people together. This is not a platitude. The Performing Arts, for example, literally put people from all walks of life together in one place and give them a shared experience.”

Mindi Dickstein

The Biden-Harris administration is already emerging— in its appointments and its rhetoric—- as the administration that is FOR an equitable society, FOR economic justice, FOR a seat at the table, FOR a working democracy, and FOR the very soul and spirit of our nation.

Sloane Drayson-Knigge & Alicia Whavers

"Theatre is a cultural articulation and as such these presentations and productions should be documented in the Library of Congress Archives. Additionally, this storytelling theatre should not be limited to presentations and productions only in their own communities, but should be accessible nationwide.”

William Duell

“The plays and musicals I have seen all across this country have introduced me to characters representing people from all walks of life, facing all sorts of challenges and suffering myriad joys and losses. They have made me a better person, and a better citizen. This is what theatre does for us all.”

Nora Dunn

“Our governments participation in its support, in the writing of plays, performing in a play, or watching a play could be a great step toward a larger understanding. If we can hear each other through a play, laugh at ourselves, cry for our losses, understand our history we might be able to come to a greater understanding. Playwrights are important and deserve our attention.”

Rick Elice

“The heart of this country, and the real power of its imagination, rests in the power of Art. Yes, Art. Vaccines are great, and essential for prolonging life. But Art is life. Art locates our hearts and minds with the precision of a laser, exercising the muscles of imagination with the devotion of a personal trainer.”

Jessica Feder-Birnbaum

People from all over the world and different walks of life connect when seeing their lives and the lives of others enacted on stage. Often, playmaking and song are the only way to get through to marginalized learners and communities. A theatre maker should have a steady salary, health and care benefits to continue making and leading art to impact the lives of others.

Peter Anthony Fields

“The Arts are an essential part of any culture and society. The Arts reflect our lives by presenting our dreams, hopes, and our reality. The affect artists have on society is undeniable. We show the world who we are—the good and the bad—and our work inspires the members of our society to always strive to be better and to do better.”

Wayne L. Firestone

““I personally benefited from investments from educators and artists and believe it is time we stop taking them for granted. Currently, the unemployment rate among creative artists is estimated at a staggering 63%. At the same time, these are the people who are capable of stepping forward with visions and manifestations of hope.”

Carolyn Gage

“The arts can provide an escape that is not denial but an exploration and celebration of the best of what we can be. The arts can help us achieve balance and integration in a world of chaotic change. The arts are a place where we can speak the unspeakable, accept the utterly unacceptable, where we can show up for things we otherwise could not assimilate.”

Rebecca Gilman

"The theaters, music halls, museums, and auditoriums that stand empty now also stand silent. And that silence means that the stories that are normally told in those spaces aren’t being heard. The stories we tell become the world we live in. The world we live in right now is one that is consumed by immediate concerns like protecting our health, our shelter, and — sadly — our hate. We’re not hearing stories of healing, love, inclusion, reparation, or restoration. We’re not hearing stories that challenge the status quo and make us ache for change.”

Terry Glaser

““As a college theatre educator for 30 years, I have taught thousands of students from all different backgrounds. Almost without exception, they came into my classes with the belief that once upon a time they had an imagination, that they were creative, but that they had lost these abilities when they became young adults. Through the teaching of theatre, I rekindled their belief in themselves as creative individuals with unique gifts to give the world, in whatever field they might choose.”

Idris Goodwin

“As we talk about tomorrow, the artists must be at the table. Not just because an artisan made the table but because we are the tomorrow people. The creators, the craftsmen and women, the artisans, the performers, the vocalist, the writers, the educators. Essential workers. Essential to our mental health. Essential in helping repair a divided country."

Sandra Grassi

“Given the tremendous contributions of Arts & Culture to the very soul, the very essence of our being, it boggles one’s mind that there is no Secretary of Arts representing this community at the highest level of the land. Yet another area in which the rich diversity of our society is not properly represented.”

D.W. Gregory

"“Through film, theatre, fiction and poetry, through dance, music, and the visual arts, we make sense of our shared history by telling our individual stories. In this way, we rediscover our common humanity—something that is often lost in the bitter vitriol that dominates our politics today.”

Stephanie Griffin

““According to a 2017 study by the National Endowment for the Arts, arts & culture contributed $877.8 billion, or 4.5% to the gross domestic product of the United States. Over 5 million wage and salary workers were employed in the industry, earning a total of $405 billion. Those are the economic facts. But the impact of the arts cannot simply be reduced to dollars and cents. The arts deal with a community’s soul.”

Lauren Gunderson

“The Arts are the beating heart of our hopefully nation, the glowing core of our common humanity, and the ever-burning fire around which we gather to seek clarity, to bridge into understanding, and to feel the fullness of our human force of being. American creativity is not optional decoration, it is essential. The Arts are essential to a thriving economy as well as to an enlightened and caring society. The Arts are inspiring, unifying and emotionally rejuvenating. The Arts are also work.”

April Dawn Guthrie

“I am only one of so many artists in this country that strive to connect to the world, to connect people from differing communities, to find paths that bring us together through art. I truly hope that this new administration will embrace artists and their art as necessary tools of communication and understanding amongst all Americans.”

Bryan Harniteaux

"I’m familiar with the Save Our Stages Act proposal pending before Congress and consider it critical to the continued health and well-being of live theatre in Spokane and throughout our country. country. I strongly encourage best efforts by your administration in support of this bill.”

Aleshea Harris

“Arts workers contribute to our nation’s mythologies, the beauty of its public spaces and the efficacy of its classrooms. We are vital to this country’s understanding of itself and absolutely indispensable to the project of addressing and healing collective wounds."

Dave Harris

“The arts are one of the only things that the United States of America does competitively, second only to war. Without the arts, there is no history. Without the arts, there is no country."

Jeremy O. Harris

“Although it comes as no surprise seeing as the National Endowment of the Arts has been slashed consistently for most of my American life. If, as many have suggested, this administration is primed to have an FDR like revival of the American way of life I hope this a priority for this administration. "

Andrew Heinrich

"We need your administration to bring back the Federal Theatre Project from the era of the New Deal in a form that respects and elevates diversity and social justice. Theatre artists are patriots and scholars, and we help people experience empathy. We must bring theatre to underserved communities as surely as we must bring health care."

Brian Hill

“I am even aware of one instance in which my words saved a life. I know that my art can’t directly end wars or boost the stock market but it does affect those who can. It questions, provokes, cajoles and gives people new ways to see. My art, which allows a glimpse into the minds and hearts of strangers is a bold form of empathy, something this country is sorely lacking.”

Anita Hollander

“Arts are what keep us alive. Other countries I’ve performed in know this and make Arts & Culture a Priority. With both of your deeply compassionate souls, I know you will follow the wisdom of Great Cultures throughout the world and make Arts & Culture a Priority in your great administration of this beautiful country.”

Hope Hommersand

“Imagination and intellect are gifts enabling artists to make marvelous creations that contribute to every area of our culture. In democratic societies the Arts flourish. Our country is a beacon of democracy and the freedom for which it stands. It remains a shining example and hope to the world and, as such, it is time for the United States of America to have a Department and a Secretary of Arts and Culture.”

Kyle Jarrow

"Think about all the livelihoods at stake. Please stand up for the U.S. Arts and Culture industry and protect the future of the country’s arts workers. We are in a dire situation right now. We need your help. And we have every confidence that the assistance you provide will pay back tenfold, helping fund works of art and culture that will resonate for decades to come.

Christine Toy Johnson

“The arts have a unique opportunity to shift perceptions of who we are and what we can do, to reflect the world as it is and how we want it to be, to create and foster empathy by illuminating worlds other than our own, to spark imagination for a better tomorrow.”

Greg Jones Ellis

“Young people need activities where they learn to collaborate in creating something greater than themselves… I teach young people and I despair at so much isolation and its effects on young people: depression, social anxiety, low self esteem, lack of ambition and desire for independence. This can be mitigated if we return to funding live, collaborative arts from preschool onwards.”

Rajiv Joseph

“The Arts Sector in the U.S. accounts for $877 billon, more than Agriculture and Mining combined. It is in the economic interest of this country that the Federal Government support the Arts and one of the surest ways to help this country rebound economically is by immediate and sustainable relief to the Arts Sector and its community.”

Kait Kerrigan

"We are not a frivolity. We are not a charity. We are a vibrant and essential part of the American economy. Before the pandemic, Arts and Culture’s growth was 4.16%, which is nearly double the national average of economic growth. That is in spite of the slashing the budget of the NEA over and over again. We deserve to have a seat at the table.”

Jeffrey James Keyes

“Everything on the radio, every book, every television show, and every film has dozens, hundreds, sometimes even thousands of artists that used thought, skill, practice, and revision to create or curate the experience you have embarked on. Art is life. Art is essential. Art is also big business, whether you realize it or not.”

Jeremy J. King

“You see, being an Arts worker isn’t about making money or getting produced or exhibited. It’s about a dream to one day be produced or exhibited, helping others get produced or exhibited, and supporting those productions and exhibitions. This all creates CULTURE, and culture sparks imagination, thought, conversations...empathy.”

John J. King

“A nation strong in the arts is strong in citizenship, community, empathy, and connection. I don’t think I need to tell you how much we need that right now. Making a comprehensive, multi-tiered and long-term commitment to supporting Arts & Culture a priority of your administration will go far to making this possibility a reality. Thank you for your time, consideration, and most-importantly: Your Action.”

Rita Kohn

"Together, let us find a way through a mix of public and private funding to keep the arts and the humanities flowing as the rivers of life to succor our reason for living...our reason to awake each morning with a destiny of joy to build a good world full of justice and love of humanity in its finest.”

Jenny Koons and Rachel Chavkin

"Arts and culture are the heartbeat of our nation. We re-discover ourselves by the stories we tell about ourselves, both as individuals and as a society; this is a time for transformation and recovery, and we will need vibrant new stories told by a diverse range of voices in order to move forward."

Lisa Kron

“I know you both care deeply about rebuilding our ravaged civil society. I offer you this story as evidence of the role of the arts, culture and craft in that rebuilding and urge you to invest substantially and meaningfully in the civic soul of our nation.”

Barrie Kreinik

“So we are calling on you, our newly elected President and Vice President, to help us in our hour of dire need. We want recognition. We want representation. We want relief. We want respect. We want you to establish a Department of Arts and Culture.”

Philip LaZebnik

"Theater is the heart and soul of a country. Without a living theater, our country will be sadly diminished. I urge you to support our vital industry economically through this terrible time."

Michael Lederer

“24/7 hardly seems enough to meet the urgency of this moment. Indulging a little poetic license, the Artists of this country are ready to struggle 25/8 to continue, as we do, expressing the soul of this nation, and in expressing it, help to find it."

John Levine

“The task ahead of you is great, and I realize that you have many battles to fight and projects to attend to. Please make the arts and arts education a priority in the coming year. The soul of our nation is at stake."

Mike Lew & Rehana Lew Mirza

“This is a story of survival. We are all the heroes and heroines in this story. And we must all do our part to write it. Now that we have seen the true value of science, can we recognize that the arts need to be valued equally? Will you tell a story that saves and prioritizes the arts?”

Michele Lowe

“We are experiencing a cultural shut down that started last March and hasn’t abated. Though we try to weather it as best we can, we are dying out here. Loss of income, loss of connection to each other and to audiences, loss of spirit is monumental, especially among artists who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Which is why I’m asking you to create a new cabinet position as soon as you take Office.”

Craig Lucas

“Dramatists are essential to creating a shared narrative of who we are as a nation. It’s part of our job. Please include artists in all of your plans for protecting and reigniting our economy. We need your help desperately.”

Ken Ludwig

“In the musical My Fair Lady, Alfred P. Doolittle makes a plea for financial relief to Henry Higgins by emphasizing that he is part of the “undeserving poor” who need “a little bit of luck” to survive. Unlike Alfred, we are not undeserving; we have worked all our lives for a fair outcome. But what we share with Alfred is hope for the future and confidence that your administration will restore our industry to its proud place as a moral and economic center of the conscience of our country.”

Jim Lunsford

“On a personal note, art, in the form of theatre, literally saved my life. As a young, closeted Catholic, I first found acceptance and hope in a community of artists. It was there that I eventually found my voice and discovered my potential viability as a meaningful contributor to this country, to this planet, and to its people. It is in this spirit that I ask you to please consider the creation of a Department and Secretary of Arts and Culture.”

Julia Rae Maldonado

“The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of arts professionals in this country. When most people think of artists, they usually picture the small percentage of us who have become famous and wealthy. They don’t consider the average professional stringing together one gig to the next. They don’t consider our ongoing struggle to secure health insurance.”

Emily Mann

“Nothing short of a bold move will save the American arts sector and bring it not only back to life but give it new meaning in a new age, an age dedicated to economic and social justice under your leadership. The arts can be a beacon and a pillar in your new administration.”

Santo Marabella

“Being visible, as most previous Administrations have, at Arts & Culture activities, advocating for them through the bully pulpit; and, lending your voice (literally and figuratively) to the public’s awareness of their value and impact will shine a bright light on a “stage” that has been too dark for too long, even before COVID.”

Samantha Marchant

“As a playwright, and as simply a person, I strongly believe that the U.S. should have a secretary of arts and culture. We need someone in the room speaking on behalf of the arts and artists. Without art, we are sunk.”

Susan Miller

“Every branch of the arts is an occasion to express who we are. Illuminating and representing difference. Responding to difficult truths. Giving us pleasure and release. The arts feed our economy and the nation’s aspirations to achieve equal opportunity for its citizens.”

Patricia Milton

“The Arts and Culture sector is a massive and massively important sector. Aside from its economic impact, it saves children's and teen's lives by giving them a voice when they need it most. It enriches the lives and soothes and inspires the souls of countless US citizens.”

Anaïs Mitchell

“Coming up as an indie folk musician, and later in the competitive world of New York theatre, I’ve seen artists struggle through all kinds of hardship. No one does it for the money; it’s too hard. We do it because of a passion for creativity that can’t be denied. Creativity—the desire to make something out of nothing, a new thing out of an old thing. A beautiful thing. A better thing.”

Ann Mary Mullane

“The Arts represents almost $900 billion in value in our economy. With more than 5 million people Arts and Culture related jobs, it’s time to create a Department/Secretary of Arts and Culture. This new Department/Secretary would lead the effort for a more deliberate investment in Arts and Culture.”

James Nicholson

“Yet Arts and Culture have absolutely no representation in Washington, which is shameful. Countries as varied as Estonia, Thailand, Ghana and Mexico have Ministries of Culture. The United States, in contrast, merely has the consistently underfunded and constantly shrinking National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities. By choosing to ignore an $877 billion Industry the United States is putting it at risk."

Patricia Noonan

“Now, more than ever, the artists need a voice in how we move forward as a nation. Yes, we need to invest in our arts institutions, but, perhaps even more than that, we need to do something that we are not used to doing as a nation: invest in the artists themselves. From adapting the measures set forth in the Americans for the Arts’ Creative Workforce Proposal to finding ways to invest in and amplify the voices of the artists we are at risk of losing right now, it’s time to prioritize the creators who can help do the work of re-creating America’s soul.”

Marsha Norman

“Without writers saying what it has felt like, there will be no warnings for the people who come after us. …. we would have no idea how it felt before we started living our lives.

So clearly, we matter to the history of our country, especially what is happening now. Please. Help us. We are as essential as workers get. Because we write it all down. Help us.”

Azzurra Nox

“Many times the Arts are seen as what defines a culture and society. In a way, it's the heart of a nation, and when a government doesn't support its artists or help new ones from emerging, you're not only denying talent from being nurtured, but you also stunt the emotional and cultural growth of a nation. Now, more than ever, do we need a robust Arts movement.”

Robert O’Hara

"We were told very early on in this pandemic that our industry would be the very LAST industry to be brought back. No one in our government has made my sector a priority, and I’m asking you to be the cure.”

Lizzie Olesker

“The arts generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year but beyond being an economic boon, cultural work and its institutions bring tremendous life, meaning, and richness to each and every community across America. Just like jobs, food, housing, healthcare and education, the arts contribute an essential component of our national public health.”

Daniel A. Olivas

“As an American writer of Mexican descent, I urge your administration to make arts and culture workers a legislative priority. Not only do the arts generate billions of dollars for our economy, but the arts also have tremendous and important social impacts on our youth who, when exposed to the arts, are: 40 percent more likely to have friends from different racial groups, 50 percent more active in communities, 2 times as likely to graduate college, [and] 5 times less likely to drop out”.

Matthew Paul Olmos

“However, as I have had to explain to my own family numerous times, being an artist and having art in my life has been the most generous tool in helping me find empathy for those different from me, in guiding me into seeing other perspectives and ways of life.”

Paz Pardo

"The arts are our dreaming arm—our space to imagine how the impossible becomes possible. Because of this, I am asking for a position at the federal level to advocate for our arts industries. Who of us made it through lockdown without reading a novel or tuning into Netflix?”

Glenn C. Paris

“Please help us build the programs and policies, funded fairly and properly, that we are advocating to advance the country and improve people’s lives. Please put hearts and minds first. There is no American economic recovery without a robust arts and culture economic recovery. Art changes people’s lives. The Greeks taught us that.”

Jiehae Park

“Abandoning them [artists and arts workers] now would be a declaration, as a society, that we do not value their enormous contributions to our communities—both the monetary and the far more vital intangibles that make these same communities places we want to live. Our society will need these workers more than ever when we come back to rebuild; an extension of the $600 PUA would help ensure they’re still there when the long-awaited time comes.”

Thor Perplies

“I am asking that you make Arts & Culture a priority in the Federal Government. Specifically, please immediately start your new administration with a Cabinet-Level agency dedicated to Arts & Culture.”

Juan Ramirez, Jr.

"Mr. President, poetry has saved your life. Madam Vice President, music has saved your life. For all artists, we want to continue to inspire hope because for all Americans, art saves lives.”

Theresa Rebeck

“The trauma of America’s current moment needs to be recorded for posterity. The stories of what we are living through need to be told. We need our artists telling these stories, about America, who we are, who we have been, and who we hope to be.”

Douglas Rees

“We in the arts have already demonstrated the same strength, creativity and determination that small business owners across the nation have shown and are showing. Like them, we are ready to get to work strengthening and rebuilding our damaged land. We will do our best in any case. With a well-considered program of assistance, we will accomplish much more.”

Jared Reynolds

“Our work supports the American economy, breaks new ground in innovation and technology, and inspires hundreds of millions of citizens across this great Nation to be their best self and to work towards the betterment of their community, their country, and our world.”

Elaine Romero

“A stirring case can be made for the centrality of the arts in our economic recovery, and others will supply you those statistics, but President Biden and Vice-President Harris, you have always said your fight was for the Soul of America. That’s what artists give their lifeblood for every day. We speak your soul to you from small and large stages, from tiny theatres in Idaho to those on 42nd Street in New York.”

Joan Ross Sorkin

“All arts workers are important, but since I am a writer, I want you to know what is special about what we do. We create, we tell stories, and it is these stories that help others make sense out of life. We teach and we entertain. Now there are so many mediums: stage, television, film, internet, music, the list goes on.”

Sarah Ruhl

“The theater helped give birth to democracy in ancient Greece, creating a common cultural experience that could represent, through a chorus and a protagonist, competing points of view, leading to non-violent catharsis. After the events of this week at the Capitol, it’s clear to me that our country desperately needs catharsis that is peaceful and collective, offering a corrective to hateful mob violence.”

Adryan Russ

“So many countries around the world value Arts far more than we do. Ask people anywhere the kinds of things that have gotten them through the pandemic so far, and they will tell you – music, TV shows, films, radio music, concerts online.”

Nikkole Salter

“So if you believe the soul of this nation needs to be healed, if you believe that the complicated Truth needs space to take root, you’d better INVEST in us NOW. NOW. Otherwise, the chance of us healing and evolving from this mayhem, the chance of us coming out of this together and strong (e pluribus unum) is bleak.”

Eric Henry Sanders

“But the value of the Arts is not simply one for posterity. Children who are exposed to the arts in school become better citizens, more productive adults, better thinkers, more humane and more attached to a cause beyond themselves.”

Karmo Sanders

“How wonderful to understand and write language through music, learn history through the brilliant colors splashed on our city walls to throw open the universals of our human nature, igniting hearts to flame. Art proclaims the colors of our universe and makes us holy. I firmly believe when we as a people, begin to support Artists and give Art a seat at the table ~ this Nation will thrive and survive.”

Tina Satter

“It stays alive because of this blood, sweat, and tears of dedicated workers—but this is not a sustainable dynamic in current economic conditions—and how much more the Arts could provide to our country with the codified recognition and support of the industry you two can make happen is immeasurable.”

Pandora Scooter

“We must re-establish a highly esteemed place in our society for arts and artists, where these artists can thrive and reflect back to us what confuses us, what challenges us and what favors us. Please make the arts a high priority for your administration.”

Jordan Seavey

“I don’t know how to balance my broken heart and my hopeful heart. My only option is to have faith. Faith in politicians who I believe are on the right side of history (i.e. you), in my Judaism, in my LGBTQIA+ family, in my BIPOC brothers and sisters whom I believe to be the future, and faith in Art.”

Shelby Seeley

“The immense financial, emotional, psychological pain of watching my career, my four year degree, my greatest passion and love, and my hope for the Arts in our nation, deteriorate and vanish before my eyes is a daily struggle to cope with and endure. But there are solutions your administration can put into action to relieve and prevent the continued mass decline of one of the greatest financial and social assets to this nation before it is too late.”

Makaela Shealy-Sachot

“If art can be the entry point of excitement around learning more about how we can be better global, national and local community members, I want to create that pathway. I want to give folx who’ve felt like a conversation was over their head, or far beyond their ability to understand, the access point to engage. There is power in what we choose to create, because there is power in what we choose to consume. Now more than ever, we are consuming art at an unprecedented pace.”

David Shire

“It’s time that our country be a shining example to other nations of how a grateful government can generously support, both creatively and financially, the art and culture that has permeated the rest of the planet like no other.”

Rona Siddiqui

“Artists are the harbingers of danger, the speakers of truth, the connectors of generations and cultures, the voices of the marginalized and forgotten. We are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us. We are here to remind you.”

Jeanmarie Simpson

“Today, the United States federal government spends $4320 on “defense” for every $1 we spend on the arts. Is it any wonder we’re in such a mess? I implore you - listen to the artists. Give us a seat at the table.”

Tom Smith

"The stakes to support Arts and Culture have never been higher. We need your administration to take an active stand to support Arts and Culture in the United States. This must be a priority in your first hundred days."

Dianne M. Sposito

"Art, in its myriad expressions, is needed now more than ever, as citizens of our country and indeed the whole world will need to heal and rebuild their lives. Art humanizes us and is an economic engine."

Aurin Squire

"My parents worked white collar jobs and expected me to do the same. It was a chance encounter with a small production of a Shakespeare touring company that changed my life. I didn’t know people could just ‘be an artist.’ No one told a black boy in a small dusty town that you could create something that lasts for centuries."

Gwydion Suilebhan

"Help us keep the country dreaming and seeing new possibilities, examining and improving itself, engaging and entertaining itself, in times of both grief and joy. Give us the leadership we need: someone to look out for us in your administration."

Caridad Svich

“We are an arts economy. Our work also significantly impacts related industries – hospitality, eateries, bars, pubs, gift shops, bookstores, cafes, transportation, custodial, and other areas of the economy. We are economic drivers, in other words, and also, of course, represent the soul of the nation, in all its facets.”

Justin Taylor

“I call on you to build on the Save our Stages Act and support our individual artists with sustained artist welfare, so we can do our independent work that supports our communities - create and rehearse and write and organize. If you were treating a patient whose soul had curdled, what sort of medicine might you prescribe? The tools of artists can deliver this medicine.”

Csaba Teglas

“I especially appreciate the need for cultural events that keep us reminding of what we are, what we were, and what we may become.

Facts and just stories of our past, present, and future which make us and our audiences to freely laugh, cry, and think.”

Diana Rosebud Thompson

“The Department of Arts and Culture can work with other federal agencies, such as the Department of Education, to improve the understanding and appreciation of various art forms and many cultures. This will lead to higher grades, enhanced inter-cultural harmony, and greater employment opportunities.”

Jonathan Tolins

“For the arts to thrive, it demands robust public investment. We must fund education that exposes all of our children to work that inspires and unleashes their own creativity. We must nurture new and struggling artists so they have the economic freedom to develop their voices and skills.”

Ken Urban

“But I urge you to give the matter of the arts and culture serious consideration. We will be one of the last things to re-open after the pandemic subsides. We have so many skills and bring so much to the table, but we need help. Let the days when art and culture is seen as unnecessary and unimportant be a distant memory.”

V (formerly Eve Ensler)

“In a deeply atomized and lonely society, theater is one of the few places where we come together. It has the capacity to get us to see and acknowledge what is right in front of us. It breaks the binaries of right and wrong, left and right and asks us to dig deeper. It invites questions and debate, challenges the status quo. It makes us uncomfortable and it breaks us out of our numbness by getting us to feel. It opens our hearts.”

John Verderber

“Art should not be a luxury. Theatre should not be a luxury. Especially after the dark days of this pandemic slowly wind down, it will be more vital than ever for us to come together as an American community and see a play or musical again.”

Richard Vetere

“Artists are heroes of our time... artists can dedicate a lifetime to revealing the truths, the light and dark secrets of human nature.”

Pamela Weiler Grayson

“People need their jobs back, and our audiences desperately need the transformative power of the arts to sustain them and help us build a better, more equitable, and more humane future. Without our cultural institutions, what are we fighting for? What kind of country will we have without our arts?”

Karen Wescott

“If the arts were merely a distraction from our daily woes, they would still be of value, but they are so much more. They are signposts of where we are as people of the world, and where we still need to advance to in order to realize our potential as full members of the human race. To this end, I implore your administration to create a Department/Secretary of Arts & Culture.”

Elizabeth West Versalie

“The biggest nightmare of all to an artist is a dream slashed due to long term unemployment and the rug pulled from under them. Imagine the performers, musicians, stagehands, and the front of house workers, management who all received the big break on a Broadway musical before the shutdown, suffered the loss of work, a home, health insurance, and then had to move elsewhere to find a job to make ends meet.”

Alicia Whavers

“The Arts are a tangible rendering of who we are as persons. They document our history. They chronicle our social and cultural lives. They speak to our diversity and to our divisions. The Arts can tear down barriers and allow for connections to be made.”

Bess Wohl

“The cost to our culture of the work not made, the performances never seen, the dances never danced, the songs unsung--it's incalculable. Depression, paralysis, and sheer terror are rampant. People are leaving and not coming back. This horrific virus has stolen our livelihoods and, in the most tragic cases, our lives.”

Nicole Wood

“But whether or not we could pay our bills during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic should not depend on what state we happen to live in or having a spouse’s income to rely on. Many arts workers are freelancers or work short employment contracts, and so, qualify for little to no unemployment. They are at the mercy of clunky state systems and Congressional bills allowing them any benefits at all.”

Yuri Worontschak

“My letter is a video”

Patti Wray

“I’ve experienced the effect of art: felt it move my heart and change my thoughts, feelings and actions. I have become an artist, a playwright writing for the stage. Creating art, and experiencing the art of others, motivates and inspires me every day – to get up and do the work, and keep the faith that my work will positively affect others.”

Sara Wunsch

“The work of the artist is the only way to show that we all belong, You have the power to empower the writers, who can change the world with a song. To inspire our people with love and faith until all are understood. The arts must be a priority if we want to save our soul for good.”

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

“The intrinsic value of arts to individuals and communities cannot be quantified. However, its economic impact is clear. The Arts & Culture Economy contribute to 4.5% of the U.S. GDP, more than Agriculture and Mining combined, and more than either Transportation or Tourism.”

Emily Zemba

“There is no American economic recovery without a robust Arts & Culture recovery. Our sector as a whole needs massive relief and investment before it’s too late.”

Tita Anntares

“I hope you can support: the funding of a Department and Secretary of Arts and Culture, investment in museums, galleries, theater, musi[c], film and digital entertainment centers and educational programs as well as individual artists who support the American spirit and establishment of a new WPA program for the arts. This support is not a luxury or an elitist side issue.”

Kate Benson

“Artists allow us to hear and to see lives we do not live ourselves. Artists are fundamental actors in local economies and global economies. Artists are problem solvers, and we as a nation have some enormous problems to solve. I am not arguing that artists will fix the world; I am arguing that without atists, we may not—will not—be able to navigate the treacherous waters in which we now find ourselves.”

Emily Bohannon

“I dream of a day when my experience of the arts in America isn’t limited to the five boroughs of New York City. I dream of a day when I can walk into a theatre in my hometown of Sparta, Georgia and see a production of a Katori Hall play. Or a new musical created by the community. … I long for more Americans to be nourished by this same close, vital relationship with the arts, and in doing so, to form a close, vital relationship with our shared humanity.”

William Bremer

“At this critical time, stronger support for the arts – and for Arts and Culture workers – would be a win-win situation for the country. In addition to boosting the economy (more on that in a moment), the arts refresh our national dialogue by doing what artists do best: expressing our diverse cultural heritage, celebrating our national character, and creatively exploring possibilities as we struggle toward a more perfect union.”

Kirsten Childs

“Riddle two: What happens when a nation can longer watch/read/listen to art, what happens when a nation can no longer be outraged/inspired/comforted by art because artists can no longer afford to create it? The answer lies in your hands.”

Paul Downs Colaizzo

“A national theater would become a home for a wide range of American voices, could present innovative and daring works to the public that are actually affordable, and should have enough support to tour their works to big cities and small towns across this country, so Americans from all walks can see stories about themselves and their neighbors, live and in person and in a new light.”

Lear deBessonet

“I write today because we need a new Federal Theatre Project. As you answer the call for relief in the arts and culture sector, whose 5.1 million workers have been crushed by the pandemic, I urge you to consider more than keeping afloat what was. We must use this moment to lay groundwork for a new arts ecology in which the wealth of the arts reaches every American, regardless of where they live, how much money they make; regardless of race, class, gender, or political affiliation.”

Troy Deutsch

“As we stand upon the precipice of possibility that your administration represents, I urge you to listen to the pleas of our country’s arts workers and provide much-needed relief to artists like myself who are struggling right now. We need a Department and Secretary of Arts & Culture. We need to pass the DAWN Act. Our film productions are shuttered. Our stages are dark. But we are ready—armed with stories, optimism, and commitment to a better world that can only be brought into existence with your leadership in Washington.”

Halley Feiffer

“When kids tell their parents they want to grow up to be an artist, the response is often: “What about a real job?” And this dismissive, insulting and fallacious ideology is prevalent in the government allocation of funds for the arts too. It’s as if we have forgotten or are simply unaware that the arts create 5.1 million jobs and generate $877 billion every year, accounting for 4.5% of the U.S. GDP - more than Agriculture, Transportation and Tourism. And that Arts and Culture has an economic growth rate of 4.16%. So investing in the revitalization of the arts post-pandemic isn’t just a nice thing to do for struggling arts workers - it’s a nice thing to do for everyone.”

Stephen Flaherty

“I am asking that you create a Department of the Arts, with a Secretary of Arts & Culture, and to create a more robust plan of relief for those currently struggling to create in America during these difficult times. Help keep the doors of our American theaters, our concert halls and our Arts institutions open. Without your help, our once vibrant cultural scene will not be able to continue, nor will the millions of artists and writers who have dedicated their lives to the Arts.”

Sarah Gancher

"I hate how the arts always have to argue for their value, which should be obvious. I could talk about the vital importance of stories, how theater teaches us to see the world through new eyes. I could talk about how our heartbeats synchronize when we sit together in a dark theater, how since time immemorial people have considered theater civic magic, even a form of medicine. Instead, I will say that our country is at serious risk of slipping into a depression, and the arts are a massive business."

Pamela Weiler Grayson

“People need their jobs back, and our audiences desperately need the transformative power of the arts to sustain them and help us build a better, more equitable, and more humane future. Without our cultural institutions, what are we fighting for? What kind of country will we have without our arts?”

John Leguizamo

“We can talk about diversity, and urge companies and administrations to push for more people of color in working environments, and we should. But that is not dealing with the root of the issue. How many would-be artists have ignored their calling because they needed insurance for insulin? How many playwrights have thrown away their magnum opus because they needed a desk job to pay off their student loans?”

Jennifer Maisel

“But in the same way that artists and the arts have always moved into ravaged neighborhoods and started a transformation, artists and the arts are needed to transform our ravaged beings and communities after the pandemic. In fact, they have already started with thousands of arts makers providing content to help people connect and to raise money for charities - most of whom have not been paid to do so. Artists have not been able to make a living wage during this time yet they still bring their artistry to the world because they are about community and beauty and connecting with their fellow human beings and they know that they are essential to us all moving forward.”

Ronnie Marmo

“Without the theatre, we lose a medium to illicit change. I have sat in the theatre and watched people’s faces change and their hearts soften between the moment the lights come up and all the way through the curtain call. The reality is, in this turbulent time our country finds itself in, theatre and storytelling is more important now than ever. People don’t come to the theatre to see actors perform. They come to see themselves in every character whether they are conscious of it or not.”

Patricia “Patty Dukes” Marte & Amilcar “Reph” Alfaro-Martell (CIRCA‘95)

“The Arts brings $877 Billion dollars into the U.S economy, creating 5.1 million jobs. Young people of color should not be forgotten in this equation. We don’t need any more prisons we need schools, loan forgiveness and opportunities. We need your administration to care about the future, the environment, homeless and poor. The arts has the potential to make the world a better place. Please support our efforts and continue to fight for the people. We are counting on you.”

Mary Beth McNulty

“The truth of the matter is that while artists have to eat just like everyone else, it is their creations that nourish our country. Feed our painters, our dancers, our jazz musicians, and our playwrights in the coming years and we will make art that feeds our nation’s soul for decades to come.”

Scooter Pietsch

“With the growing inclusion of ALL Americans in our diverse culture, we have an incredible opportunity to include even more voices and ideas in music and theater. But we have to act on it at all levels. From kindergarten to grad school. From Little Rock to Broadway. We have to let these previously unheard voices, and the voices too young to have yet spoken, know that we are not only ready but eager to listen. To HEAR. And to SEE. That we want and need their voices in society. We cannot move this world forward without them because the future of the world IS them.”

Sarah Safford

“I urge you to raise the level of support and relief for the arts and culture in our national budget. And to ensure our place at the table I ask you to appoint a Secretary of Arts and Culture, an important role in the work needed to unify, educate and propel ourselves out of the mess we are in.”

Jeanne Sakata

“When this devastating crisis is past us, my dream is that we will once again marshal all our power to create a new and thriving American theater scene. That we will resume production with a renewed sense of passion for sharing stories that show the best and worst of our country---both what we are proud of-- the nobility, courage and heroism that Americans are capable of, but also what we must repudiate and reject--the cowardice, ignorance, and hatred that threaten our democracy. In sum, the entire spectrum of the American experience, and more universally, of the human experience.”

Heidi Schreck

“We need art because... Well because we’re human. We need art to delight us and to make us laugh. We need art to remind us of our mortality. We need art that doesn’t do anything useful at all. We need art that tells us the stories of our ancestors and art that helps us imagine our futures. We need art that shows us how the hell we ended up in this terrifying predicament.”

Gwenn Seemel

“Art nurtures imagination. When you fund art, you send a clear message to those who work tirelessly to squash imagination’s power that you value the ability to see what isn’t right in front of you. Fund the best future we can imagine! Fund art.”

Thelma Virata de Castro

“As a playwright, teaching artist, and Dramatists Guild member, I implore you to make Arts and Culture a priority. Arts and Culture determine our national identity, make a positive social impact, and contribute $877 billion to our economy. As a Filipinx writer and instructor in arts-in-corrections, I have experienced the power of the arts to transform and empower underserved communities.”