Last year, the National Endowment for the Arts announced an ambitious new leadership initiative called Creativity Connects. Closely tied to the federal agency’s 50th anniversary, the initiative has three objectives:

  1. show how the arts contribute to the nation’s creative ecosystem,
  2. investigate the ways in which the support systems for the artists are changing,
  3. and explore how the arts can connect with other sectors that want and utilize creativity.

This week, the NEA launched the latest component of Creativity Connects: CREATIVZ.

According to the NEA, “CREATIVZ is designed to inspire a conversation about what artists in the United States need to sustain and strengthen their careers.”

Over the next few months CREATIVZ will publish a series of essays by a variety of artists and arts thinkers. Three have already been published to the site.

“What we’ve launched is not a summary of research findings, but rather an integral part of the research process itself,” said the NEA’s Laura Scanlan in a message to state and regional collegues. “Our goal is to hear from as many artists and artist support providers as possible.”

The Arizona Commission on the Arts joins the NEA and the Center for Cultural Innovation in extending an invitation to Arizona artists and creatives to add your voice to this conversation. You can do so in a variety of ways:

  • You can share and join the conversation on the CREATIVZ website with your artist friends and supporters.
  • You can add comments to any of the essays on the website or use your favorite social app to say something. (Be sure to use the hashtag #creativz.)
  • You can also share or follow Creativz on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr / Creative Commons