The story of our nation is in critical condition. It needs big ideas. It needs bold vision. It needs a critical mass of voices going to where the silence is, making the invisible, visible — and the impossible, roar to life. That is why Be An #ArtsHero and The Dramatists Guild of America are calling on you to incite a monumental reimagining and help steer a crucial course redirection in 2021.
Together, we invite you to a historic letter-writing initiative titled "Dear Mr. President and Madam Vice President" urging the incoming Biden Administration to make Arts & Culture Workers a legislative priority.
Your letter should chronicle your hopes, dreams, and vision for what America can become with the arrival of a new administration. To that end, we are providing a simple but valuable toolkit (here) of resources and data demonstrating the colossal socio-economic impact of our sector, which is valued at more than $877 billion (more than Agriculture and Mining, combined). Your letter may include a message about current relief and recovery policies as detailed in the toolkit. Additionally, your letter may insist on the importance of establishing a Department and Secretary of Arts & Culture. More than anything, we ask you to wordsmith a letter you believe the new administration most needs to read, in order to best write this next chapter and meet this pivotal and unprecedented moment in American history.
We look to our nation’s dramatists to help us understand where we have been, who we are, and what is possible. Let us set the stage and rewrite the story. For a better, more equitable society. For economic justice. For a seat at the table. For a working democracy. For the very soul and spirit of this nation.
Dear Esteemed Dramatist, this is your moment. The script of this nation is in your hands. Submit all letters to info@beanartshero.com. Then post your letters to social media, using the hashtags #ArtsWorkersUnite, #First100Days, and tag @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris, @WhiteHouse, @BeAnArtsHero, and @DramatistsGuild.To learn more about our mission, visit: BeAnArtsHero.com.
Be An #ArtsHero was founded by Brooke Ishibashi, Carson Elrod, Jenny Grace Makholm, and Matthew-Lee Erlbach.