What is Arts Congress?

Arts Congress is an annual event sponsored by Arizona Citizens for the Arts (AzCA) at the Arizona State Capitol. It is designed for arts and culture supporters to meet with their state legislators about the importance of public policies that support arts and culture and increasing public funding for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Who should attend Arts Congress?

Anyone who is passionate about and been affected arts and culture. This is an opportunity to discuss the importance of arts and culture to your community and to our state.

For sponsoring organizations: Ideally a mix of executive staff, board members and patrons who are passionate about your organization and arts and culture in Arizona should attend.

Attendees should be willing to share their personal experiences and stories about the impact of arts and culture in their lives when they meet with their legislators.

Who will I meet with during Arts Congress?

Attendees usually are assigned to meet with legislators who represent them in the legislative district in which they live or work. However, in an effort to make sure all legislators interested in Arts Congress participate in meetings with arts advocates, you may be asked to meet with a legislator in another district. We will contact you the week prior to Arts Congress if we would like you to assist in another district than your own.

What should I say during my meeting?

So that everyone delivers the same message to the legislators, you will be provided talking points about the specific arts and culture issues at stake in the 2018 legislative session. In your meeting(s), the Team Leader for your group(s) will help steer the conversation and keep the meeting on track. However, it helps make the meeting more effective if you are prepared to “personalize” the talking points with your own experiences. Legislators hear facts and figures all day long, so providing them with a meaningful story will resonate with them.

Will all legislators meet with arts advocates during Arts Congress?

Not all legislators are able to schedule meetings during Arts Congress. We contact each legislator but some are not able to meet. Most legislators prefer meeting with a small (2-3 person) group in their office. We sometimes receive a large number of attendees from several districts, and in those cases, we will try to schedule larger group meetings.