NAMAC co-sponsors Artists and Digital Rights blog series on ArtsJournal.com

From July 19-23, NAMAC, the Future of Music Coalition, and Fractured Atlas brought together 22 arts and media policy leaders to discuss the topic of “Creative Rights and Artists” on ArtsJournal.com. Helen De Michiel, as well as NAMAC board members, David Dombrosky, Nettrice Gaskins and Nathaniel James, were among the participants.

The ArtsJournal blog provided a great opportunity for leaders to brainstorm strategies for engaging artists and arts organizations in media policy issues, especially issues concerning technology and creative rights.  Casey Rae-Hunter from the Future of Music Coalition, offers a useful breakdown of potential areas of reform that the conversation touched upon: Education, Communication, and Representation. Vicki Callahan and Bill Ivey talk about the absence of media policy discussion from the art school and arts management curriculum. Nattrice Gaskins calls for a “nationwide public arts movement” using new media technologies. Helen De Michiel and Jean Cook talk about sharing stories as a form of advocacy. Brian Newman suggests that large arts service organizations such as NAMAC can play a major role in advocating for artists and arts organizations. Justin Karr and Yolanda Hippensteele talk about more specific policy issues such as Net Neutrality and lack of funding for cultural policy advocacy.

The entire discussion thread can be found here.

Nathaniel James’s post “Policy Ain’t the Only Way to Change the Game” is in our Idea Exchange.

Also in the Idea Exchange: Our intern Daniel Linver talks about how the ArtsJournal blog series relates to the work he’s been doing on NAMAC’s ten-year old planning document “Digital Directions: Conversion Planning for the Media Arts.”