Page 37 - Arts Management Magazine Iss 1

AMM Robert Lynch
President and CEO of Americans for the Arts
talks
with
On Appreciating the Art of Business
and the Business of Art
Robert Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the
Arts, the national organization dedicated to advancing the arts
and arts education in people’s lives, schools, and communities.
He was executive director of the National Assembly of Local
Arts Agencies for 12 years, and managed the successful merger
of that organization with the American Council for the Arts to
form Americans for the Arts in 1996.
Arts Management Magazine: Give us a snapshot what Ameri-
cans for the Arts is.
Robert Lynch: Americans for the Arts is the national organiza-
tion for the advancement of arts and arts education in America,
advancing the concept of having the arts and arts education in
the lives of every American and every child. It also of course
advances support – that is, funding - to keep the arts in every
community and, we hope, someday, in every school in America.
AMM: Why are the arts so important?
RL: The arts are critical from a number of points of view. But
as a person, just as a human being, the inherent value of the
arts is that they provide beauty and interest, challenge, ideas,
things that are told to us in a different language. The language
may be movement, it may be music, or it may be theater. But,
in essence, it is something that helps us to enjoy life better, and
have that pursuit of happiness that is promised. At the same
time, the arts are important because they also help make better
schools and better communities for a better America.
AMM: Let’s talk about that one by one. You mentioned schools;
how do the arts help education?
RL: Interestingly, there was an article recently in the New York
Times that talked about problems in America concerning sub-
jects like science, math, and verbal skills. The article in this case gency Relief Fund, the Arts Extension Institute, and the Uni-
was discussing how kids didn’t have any interest in these sub-
jects either and weren’t interested in learning them.
So at least one of the things that the arts do is animate a school,
making it more interesting for kids to be there. They provide
kids with the opportunity to enjoy being in school and therefore
better learn all the other subjects, too.
We have all kinds of studies that show that recidivism rates are
down for children at risk when the arts are in those kids’ lives.
Verbal skills and communication skills are up when the arts are
in kids’ lives.
Ultimately, kids do better on their SATs if the arts are part of
their education. And SAT scores are critical for getting into
college. We’re seeing today that more and more kids who are
getting into college are kids who have had a four-year arts cur-
riculum in their school, too.
So, there are a lot of reasons for the arts to be in the lives of chil-
dren both for their advancement and for a better school experience.
AMM: What is the future of the arts?
RL: The arts are here to stay even though we mostly hear bad
stories about there not being enough funding. There is never
enough funding. And it is about innovation. How do you get
innovation? Well, sometimes you turn a thing on its head and
ask questions in a different way. That’s one of the things that
artists do well. I would say that is their primary function, to turn
things on their head and see them in ways others don’t.
“Ultimately, kids do better on
their SATs if the arts are part
of their education.”
In 2005, Mr. Lynch oversaw the merger of the Arts and Busi-
ness Council, Inc. into Americans for the Arts. In the same year
he also created the Americans for the Arts Action Fund and
its connected political action committee to engage citizens in
advocating for the arts and arts education to ensure arts-friend-
ly public policies. Under his 25 years of leadership, the ser-
vices and membership of Americans for the Arts has grown to
more than 50 times its original size in 1985. He has personally
reached audiences in 49 states and 12 countries, ranging from
Native American tribal gatherings to the U.S. Armed Forces in
Europe and the President of the United States.
Mr. Lynch currently serves on the board of the Craft Emer-
versity of Massachusetts-Amherst College of Humanities and
Fine Arts Board. He is a member of the Executive Committee
for United Voices for Education and is on the Advisory Council
of the National Museum for Children in the Arts. He earned
a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massa-
chusetts-Amherst. Mr. Lynch plays the piano, mandolin, and
guitar, and lives in Washington, DC. ?
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