Alabama Arts Alliance
The Alabama Arts Alliance (ALAA), formerly known as the Alabama Alliance for Arts Education, is an initiative dedicated to arts education for Alabama students. The ALAA provides professional development for educators, fosters partnerships among schools and communities, and advocates for policies that recognize the importance of arts education. It is a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a member of Americans for the Arts, the Southeastern Arts Advocacy Group, and a partner with the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE).
The Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education (KCAAEN) was a national initiative created in 1973 under Public Law 85-874 as a joint project of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. Office of Education, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). (These agencies were later reorganized, with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emerging in 1979.) The law directed the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to develop programs in the arts for children specifically designed for participation and engagement. After a series of regional meetings identifying common national goals for arts education, KCAAEN developed a broader scope beyond the congressional mandate. By 1975, KCAAEN began awarding small contracts to the state committees for activities and programs. From this alliance, the Alabama Alliance for Arts Education was born.
In 1976, the newly formed Alabama Alliance for Arts Education Committee held its first organizational meeting in Montgomery, Montgomery County. Representatives from various art fields, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the Alabama Congress of Parents and Teachers attended the organizational meeting. After selecting David Delisle Black Jr., instrumental music specialist and music consultant for the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), as chair, the committee applied for federal funds “to bring together artists and arts educators in an effort to encourage and expand arts programs” in the schools.
Initial efforts by the organization were uneven, and a national “back to basics” movement in education in the late 1970s threatened arts funding. A series of proposed tax cuts concerned Alabama Alliance members, who understood that arts funding is often reduced in favor of reading, writing, and arithmetic during periods of scarcity. Schools that got a head start on implementing arts in education programs at the initiative’s onset built a strong foundation. By securing the early support of local boards of education and community members, the programs became less vulnerable to proposed budget cuts. On November 17, 1978, the committee gathered at the headquarters of the Junior League of Birmingham to discuss their plan to improve arts programs in schools, integrate the arts into ongoing curriculum, and use community resources to develop the programs.
In 1979, the U.S. Office of Education announced funding for the Alabama Alliance for Arts Education to assess the status of arts education in Alabama and to develop a comprehensive statewide arts education plan. Following the announcement, the Alliance encouraged Alabamians to submit their ideas for making the arts a part of the state’s educational plan. With the help of the Junior Leagues of Alabama, the Alliance gathered educators and others who worked in the arts to develop a plan to be implemented by 1982. The Alliance advocated for daily arts experiences in the classroom and opportunities for students to attend concerts, plays, and museums. In particular, the Alliance encouraged students to engage with local artists to foster an appreciation for Alabama’s cultural heritage.
The following year, the John F. Kennedy Center selected Birmingham as one of two sites for the 1981 Imagination Celebration. The events included dance and acting troupes, high school bands, singers, and clowns, and promoted the statewide adoption of arts education in schools by the ALSDE. U.S. senator Ted Kennedy Jr., a long-time supporter of the arts, attended the celebration, hosted in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (now known as the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, or BJCC). At the time, Kennedy was ranking member of the present-day Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which overseas arts and humanities issues in the U.S. Senate. In addition to the Birmingham festival, the “Imagination Celebration” partnered with county art alliances to host art festivals throughout the state. By 1982, the ALSDE adopted a statewide plan for arts in education.
Throughout the ensuing decades, the organization has continued to play a vital role in providing professional development opportunities for teachers, forging community partnerships to provide students with better enrichment opportunities, and advocating for policies that promote and expand arts education in the state. Since 2005, the Alliance has held its annual Alabama Arts Summit in Birmingham, for arts educators as well as others who value arts and arts education in Alabama. In addition, it holds a summer workshop known as SAIL (Sustaining Artful Instruction and Learning), in Montgomery.
In 2017, the program changed its name to the Alabama Arts Alliance (ALAA), while maintaining the legal name Alabama Alliance for Arts Education. In 2019, the artlook Alabama program, a joint project of the ALSDE and the ALAA, launched as a mapping platform to track student access to the arts across communities, ensure greater equity in arts opportunities for students, and connect schools to programs and resources. The ALAA contends that the arts are integral to the development and education of young people and regularly advocates for the continued funding of arts programs in the state.
