Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors Presents 2016 Leadership in the Arts Awards
WASHINGTON, DC – January 22, 2016—Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, and The United States Conference of Mayors presented the 2016 Public Arts Leadership Awards at the mayors’ Winter Meeting.
Buddy Dyer, mayor of Orlando, Florida, received the National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more.
“In Orlando we have worked hard to incorporate the arts into everything we do as a community and increase arts and cultural opportunities for everyone, no matter their income or age,” remarked Mayor Dyer. “This award belongs to every resident, business owner, nonprofit and educational institution who has partnered with us to advance the arts in our community, bringing to Orlando world class community venues like our new performing arts center, iconic public art and growing our burgeoning Downtown sports, arts, and entertainment district.”
Since taking office in 2003, Mayor Dyer has worked tirelessly to grow and expand the arts in Orlando. Under Mayor Dyer’s leadership, last year Orlando opened its new $500 million, 330,000-square-foot performing arts center, which had been a dream of the Central Florida community for more than two decades. A private-public partnership in its truest form, the performing arts center was made possible due to approximately two-thirds public and one-third private funding. Having recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, the performing arts center welcomed more than 300,000 guests in its first year.
Each year, Mayor Dyer commits more than $1.8 million of the city’s budget to local arts organizations. More recently, he supported the arts by providing a new home for the Orlando Ballet, which now leases the city’s Loch Haven Community Center at the rate of $1 per year for 99 years. Other local arts groups like the Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Science Center, and Shakespeare Theater benefit from similar partnerships with the city.
Mayor Dyer has also expanded the city’s public art program. One percent of the city’s capital improvement project budget is spent on public art that is placed throughout the city. From community-branded bus shelters and electrical boxes to garbage dumpsters and bike racks turned into works of art, Mayor Dyer has tasked staff with finding ways to turn all the city’s infrastructure into art.
“The arts are alive like never before in Orlando thanks to Mayor Dyer. He truly embodies the best of what a civic leader can do to promote the arts,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “Mayor Dyer understands the important role the arts play in advancing the economy and uniting communities. Americans for the Arts applauds Mayor Dyer’s accomplishments and the efforts made by all civic leaders to support and promote arts and arts education nationwide.”
“Every year, The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes the exemplary efforts of local leaders who believe as much as we do that the arts are the heart of our society,” remarked Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Arts and culture help shape a city’s quality of life, but mayors also understand the connection between the arts and business, and the arts’ significant impact on the local economy.”
Additional honorees included Jerry Brown, governor of California, for the National Award for State Arts Leadership; Helene Schneider, mayor of Santa Barbara, California, for the National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population fewer than 100,000; and Ledisi, nine-time Grammy nominated R&B and jazz recording artist and song-writer, for the Artist Advocacy Award.
