May 26, 2022

Today we share the bittersweet news that after over 15 years of service, Heather Ikemire will be leaving the National Guild to pursue the next chapter of her arts education career as Deputy Director of Lifetime Arts, a national leader in creative aging (and beloved partner organization of the Guild). Heather’s last day at the Guild will be June 1st. 

During her Guild tenure, Heather worked collaboratively with Guild staff, board, and practitioners across the country to responsively and equitably reimagine Guild programs and practices to build the future of community arts education. Heather shares: “For me, the integration of creativity, knowledge-sharing, and relationship-building is at the heart of imagining and developing a more just and sustainable future.” 

Wearing many hats over the years, Heather has led in the areas of programs, communications, research and publications, and membership, and has served in her current role as Deputy Director of Learning and Engagement (formerly titled Chief Program Officer) since 2014. In her prior role as Director of Communications, Heather successfully led the Guild through a name change and rebrand that resulted in an increase of new memberships by 88%. She also worked alongside the board and staff to develop the Guild’s first-ever organizational values.

Over the years, Heather has played a crucial role in organizing and sustaining broad-based coalitions to advance the field of community arts education and raise its visibility and impact—particularly in the areas of teaching artistry, creative aging, and creative youth development. Heather led the Guild’s role as a backbone organization of the Creative Youth Development National Partnership and the creation of the CYD National Action Blueprint, developed in concert with more than 650 stakeholders. She also led the Guild's large-scale, multi-year investment in Catalyzing Creative Aging, which has contributed to a 37% increase in Guild member organizations serving older adults during just the past few years. 

   

Heather helped to reduce barriers to participation in Guild membership and make changes to programming, which resulted in the Guild’s national network becoming broader and more diverse. We particularly saw growth in engagement with program staff, teaching artists, young creatives, and BIPOC leaders, as well as more diverse types of community arts education organizations and programs. During Heather’s tenure, the Guild integrated racial equity as a focus throughout all of its programming, and shifted policies and processes related to program applications, registration, and design in order to increase equity and accessibility for independent artists and practitioners, small-budget organizations, BIPOC leaders, youth, and people with disabilities.

The Guild primarily served executive leaders at the time when Heather first joined staff, and she led efforts to amplify the critical role of leadership at all levels (e.g. teaching artists, program staff, youth, etc.). Heather developed the programmatic vision for the Guild’s comprehensive Leadership Campaign (2017–2020) which raised $3 million to support leadership development work through this lens. In 2015, Heather led the Guild’s transition to becoming a “network of networks” with the introduction of its Member Networks structure (currently on pause). Member networks aligned to the Guild’s key initiatives (e.g., Arts in Education, Creative Aging, Creative Youth Development) and also provided affinity groups (e.g. for leaders of color; for similar organizational types).

Heather has made significant contributions towards building a strong internal team and an adaptive organization. From Summer 2020 to December 2021, she was an integral part of the Guild’s Interim Management Team (IMT) as the organization searched for its new Executive Director. Alongside Ashley Hare and Adam Johnston, the IMT built a strong, human-centered, and adaptive team and work culture able to nimbly respond to the incredible challenges of a global pandemic, while continuing to ask difficult questions and build a foundation for the Guild’s next chapter. 

“As I transition out of my role with the Guild, I do so with tremendous gratitude to the National Guild community,” says Heather. “Throughout the years, I’ve heard many Guild members and conference-goers refer to the Guild as their ‘home,’ and it has been my home too. The staff and our collaborators across the country have felt like family. I’m so proud of the many things we’ve accomplished together, and very excited for Quanice Floyd’s leadership and the work underway to collectively reimagine a Guild that fully aligns all that we do, internally and externally, to our core values and racial equity principles and policies. I will forever be a champion of the Guild and our field, and look forward to being an active participant in Guild programming for many years to come.” 

Heather has been a fierce advocate for creative aging, and we are so excited to see her continue to build on this at Lifetime Arts. We thank her for all she has contributed to this organization, and wish her all the best in this next step of her journey!
 

May 19, 2022

On May 3rd we announced our plans to slow down, learn how we can better support you, and put our values and principles into practice by entering what we're calling a Portal of transformation. In this spirit, we’ll be holding off on producing our long-established programs from July 2022 through the completion of our strategic planning process (which begins in 2023). You can read more about this here.

Why are we calling it a “Portal”?

A portal is a way of getting somewhere new—a gateway to the world we want to build together. We're inspired by the ways that science fiction, speculative fiction*, and afrofuturist* artists and writers are able to bend the oppressive and limiting constructs of our reality through their art. This work often uses concepts like portals and time travel to imagine new ways of reconciling and healing the past, as well as creating new paths forward into the future. 

In articulating the journey we're about to embark on, we wanted to nod towards these traditions and underscore our commitment to tap into collective creativity throughout this process. The Portal is a representation of the space we can meet in together to do this important healing, connection, and liberation work.

Here are a few of our favorite mentions of portals to rest, healing, and liberation:

• Talk: “Rest as a Portal of Healing” with Tricia Hersey of the Nap Ministry
   
• “A Portal into Afrofuturism” (article about NationX, a project of Brooklyn-based creative studio & design lab Intelligent Mischief)
   
• Kwayera Archer on love as a portal (if you benefit from captions, please click the CC button on Youtube).

  Watch the full presentation (with ASL interpretation).

{^youtubevideo|(width)425|(height)264|(fs)True|(rel)True|(url)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ed2jEXsgNk|(autoplay)False^}

What's your favorite book, movie, tv show, story, etc. that involves traveling through a portal? Drop us a line at guildinfo@nationalguild.org with PORTAL in the subject line!

 

---

 

*Here’s a short, non-exhaustive reading list of speculative fiction and afrofuturist work by Black authors:

• Parable of the Sower and Kindred by Octavia Butler
• The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin 
• M Archive (part of an experimental triptych) by Alexis Pauline Gumbs 
• Skin Folk and The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
• The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe, Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, And Sheree Renée Thomas

May 9, 2022

Congratulations to our staff member Natalia Vilela, who has been promoted to communications manager!

Natalia joined the Guild staff as communications coordinator in July 2021. She has since provided much-needed communications support and contributed her significant talents towards program promotion, graphic design, and social media.

This new role brings a transition from part time to full time hours, further increasing our team's capacity. During our time in the Portal, Natalia will play a key role in reimagining our communications strategies and practices.

May 4, 2022

We're excited to announce that Robyne Walker Murphy, executive director of Groundswell, has been elected to the National Guild of Community Arts Education Board of Trustees. 

Ms. Walker Murphy has been involved with the Guild since 2012, presenting at several national conferences, advocating for the power of social justice education, and serving as our director of membership development and engagement where she started the first network for BIPOC leaders, emerging leaders and launched a network for organizations in rural communities.

"I am excited to return to the Guild as a Trustee during this exciting time of new visions and possibilities under the courageous leadership of the talented Quanice G. Floyd. It is truly an honor to serve the 400 members of the Guild whose work I love and respect."—Robyne Walker Murphy

We welcome Robyne and look forward to having her on our board!

May 3, 2022

 

Dear Guild Family, 

Thank you for caring for our communities through the arts, using creativity as a powerful tool for transformation. Thank you for how you responded to the pandemic—dealing with impossible challenges, and coming up with brilliant solutions grounded in love. You inspire us every day. Thank you for the deep questions you’ve been asking in order to create paths forward in this new world and in the community arts education field. 

Over the past 100 days, we have been having some important conversations that are centered in the love that we have for you all. Although a lot of our programming offers opportunities for learning, the truth is that we are constantly learning from you. During the Groundwork: Healing within Community Arts Education series last fall, so much of what was shared by advisors, presenters, and participants resonated deeply with us. Here are a few lessons that we’re hearing particularly loud and clear: 

• As organizations that are rooted in community, we can’t gloss over the deep, messy internal work that’s required to put liberatory values into practice.  

• It takes time and energy to unlearn the oppressive behaviors and practices that all of us have been taught, and to re-train ourselves to follow new paths. 

• Rest, dreaming, and healing are an important part of our everyday lives, and in order for us to build a just world, we must recognize them as such. 

As we sit with these lessons, we recognize that in order to support you in ways that are consistent with our values and our racial equity principles, Guild staff and board need to slow down and realign ourselves. The tradition of science fiction and speculative fiction tells us that it takes time and space to imagine and dream up a world before you can build it. And that work, in itself, is radical and profound. We’re dreaming up a way of getting where we want to go by entering (what we’re calling) a “Portal” of transformation.

In this spirit, we will be holding off on producing the Guild’s long-established programs from July 2022 through the completion of our strategic planning process (which begins in 2023). It’s become clear that a constant program cycle doesn’t allow us the space we need to move with intentionality, make sure we’re fully embodying our values, and supporting you all. This time in the Portal will allow us to focus on our relationships, learn, reflect, process, and ultimately build new policies, practices, programs, and a strategic plan that are human-centered, community-centered, and grounded in liberation. 

The most exciting part is that YOU are coming into this Portal with us. The internal work that we do during this time will be guided by your needs, desires, creativity, and love for community arts education. There will be multiple ways for you to join us in this space of reflection, shaping, and building. We’ll be listening to what you would like to see from us, and what we should work towards together as a movement.

It is thrilling to have this space to connect with our creativity and community! We acknowledge that it is a privilege to be able to claim this time, and we believe this expansiveness should be available to each and every one of us. We want to thank organizations and individuals like Allied Media Projects, Pretrial Justice Institute, Stronghold, RYSE, the Nap Ministry, Kwayera Archer, and many more for showing us that stepping outside the grind for a while to focus on our own transformation is not just possible, but necessary.

As Prentis Hemphill says, “We each exist in a constellation of love.” Thank you for being part of ours, and for being a force of growth and change in the world.  
 

Yours in creativity,

The National Guild for Community Arts Education

 

---

 

We’ll be sending more info in the coming weeks about what this will all look like. In the meantime, here are some answers to questions you may have:
 

• When is this starting?

  • We will officially enter the Portal on June 24. Between now and then, you can come talk to us at Community Conversations, and members will continue to receive weekly emails.

  • On June 24, we’ll begin our time inside the Portal with a 2-week office closure for staff rest and rejuvenation. 

  • Staff and board will hold retreats to begin digging into our realignment work.
     

• What does this mean for membership?

  • We are grateful to our members for continuing to support and connect with us. As always, Guild members will have access to our Resource Center, Guild member emails and our Job Board during this time. Learn more about membership in the Portal here.

  • If you are renewing membership during 2022, you will have an extended membership. 

  • Guild membership is pay-what-you-can. If you have questions regarding your membership, please email membership@nationalguild.org.

  • If you find this work exciting, please continue to invest in the Guild, and invite people in your networks to become Guild members too!
     

• Will I still be able to get in touch with the Guild?

  • Absolutely! We encourage you to connect with us and share your thoughts and questions at any time. You can email us at guildinfo@nationalguild.org with PORTAL in the subject line.  

  • Portal Cafes: come have virtual conversations with Guild staff about how we can build the field we deserve together. Details to come!

  • While we’re in the Portal, we will be sharing “Transmissions” about what we’re learning, who we’re learning from, and how we’re putting it into practice.

    • Make sure you receive our updates! Sign up for our email list, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

 

Stay tuned for more information, including how you can be involved!

February 11, 2022

Today we share the bittersweet news that after 5 years of service, Adam Johnston is leaving the Guild to pursue new opportunities. Adam was hired as Chief Operations Officer, and became Deputy Director of Operations in 2021. Among the many contributions he made to the organization during his tenure, he helped create new systems for our work, grew our operational capacity, and contributed to our financial stability, particularly during the pandemic. He also served as part of our Interim Management Team during our leadership transition.

Prior to being on staff, Adam first became involved with the Guild as a member in 2013, and continued to work with Guild member and partner organizations including Settlement Music School and Teaching Artists Guild for many years. Adam shares:

"The Guild immediately became a professional home for me. Being on staff has been an honor, and I plan to continue to participate in Guild programming in the future and benefit from the warmth and brilliance of this community."

We thank Adam for his time here, and wish him the best on his next steps!

 

 

 

                                                                                   

 

DATE: February 4, 2022

CONTACT: Jenina Podulka, Communications Manager, (212) 268-3337 ext. 707; jeninapodulka@nationalguild.org 

 

New York, NY—The National Guild for Community Arts Education (Guild) is pleased to announce they have been approved to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. The Guild is recommended to receive $150,000 in support of its mission to ensure all Americans have opportunities to maximize their creative potential by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and advocating for community arts education. In total, the NEA will award grants totaling $57,750,000 to 567 arts organizations (including 11 Guild member organizations) in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC.

“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as The National Guild for Community Arts Education, rebuild and reopen,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial in helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”  

“The COVID crisis is still taking an alarming toll on the community arts education field, especially BIPOC-led, small budget, and culturally-specific organizations,” said Karen LaShelle (Chair of the Board of Trustees, National Guild for Community Arts Education). “Since March 2020, we have endeavored to be transparent, nimble, and deeply collaborative with practitioners from all over the country. It is gratifying to receive this support in order to continue this important work.”

With this investment, the Guild is building on its track record of supporting the community arts education workforce in challenging times with a robust menu of online content open to all, and removing financial barriers to participation. By harnessing the creativity and leadership of the arts and cultural sector, the Guild is guiding efforts to build a field that is human-centered and grounded in equity.

The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 when the NEA was provided $135 million for the arts sector. The funding for organizations is the third installment providing more than $57.7 million for arts organizations. In April 2021, the NEA announced $52 million (40 percent) in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The second installment in November 2021 allocated $20.2 million to 66 local arts agencies for subgranting to local artists and art organizations.

For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of arts organizations funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.

DATE: January 28, 2022

CONTACT: Jenina Podulka, Communications Manager, (212) 268-3337 ext. 707; jeninapodulka@nationalguild.org 
 

New York, NY—The National Guild for Community Arts Education (Guild) announced today two grant awards totaling $59,500 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Following New York State’s $105 million investment in the arts for FY2022, NYSCA has awarded more than $80 million since June 2021. 

"The arts have long been a critical sector in our economy, and as we continue to rebuild a stronger New York, it's essential we do all we can to help this industry thrive once again," said Governor Kathy Hochul. "These awardees represent the best of what New York's vibrant communities have to offer and with this funding in hand, they will be able to not only continue their creative and inspiring work, but help spur revitalization in their own backyard as well." You can read Governor Hochul’s press release here.

“NYSCA applauds Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature for their responsive investment of $105 million for the nonprofit arts and culture sector. 2022 will continue to bring change and the Guild will play a vital role in the renewal of our state’s economy and creative ecosystem,” said Mara Manus, Executive Director, NYSCA. “On behalf of the entire NYSCA Team, we wish to extend our sincere congratulations on your award.”

“Council congratulates the Guild on their grant award! New York State arts and culture organizations inspire New Yorkers and cultivate community in every region,” said Katherine Nicholls, Chair, NYSCA. “Arts and culture are crucial to our state’s health, and Council recognizes the dynamic impact of NYSCA grantees on the well-being of all New Yorkers.” 

Based in New York City, the Guild is the only national service organization for providers of community arts education in all artistic disciplines, unified by a shared belief in the power of the arts to transform lives. The Guild’s strength is its ability to convene practitioners, funders, youth, policy makers, researchers, teaching artists, and cross-sector partners to address challenges within the field and develop solutions together. 

Since Spring 2020, the Guild has been listening to and building with the field to navigate the COVID-19 crisis together. With NYSCA’s investment, the Guild has developed virtual engagements with, for, and by practitioners from a diversity of backgrounds and regions throughout New York State, in settings and disciplines that would have been impossible to do in-person. By harnessing the creativity and leadership of our peers, the Guild is making strides towards our shared vision for healthier communities, greater equity, and a world where every individual has a chance to fulfill their creative potential.

December 10, 2021

In advance of our Annual Meeting on December 9th, Guild members voted on the board of trustees slate. Here are the results:

Directors of Full Member Institutions elected for their first three-year term:

 

Matt D'Arrigo, Co-Founder and Director of the Center of Creative Youth Development at the Clare Rose Foundation; San Diego, CA

Matt D’Arrigo has dedicated the past 20 years of his life to being a champion and advocate for the arts and young people. He is the Co-Founder and Director of The Center for Creative Youth Development (CYD) at the Clare Rose Foundation in San Diego, CA. The Center is a philanthropic intermediary established to ensure that CYD funders, practitioners, organizations, and young people have access to the resources, tools, opportunities, and relationships they need to thrive. Through a collective action approach D’Arrigo oversees all local, regional, and national strategy, investments, advocacy, coalition building, and field building activities.

Prior to joining Clare Rose Foundation, D’Arrigo was the Founder and CEO of A Reason To Survive (ARTS), a nationally recognized CYD organization based in National City, CA. His work with ARTS was the subject of the 2013 Academy Award winning documentary short “Inocente”, featured on the Today Show, was a case study in the New York Times best selling book "Decisive" by Chip and Dan Heath, and profiled in Darius Graham’s book “Being the Difference: True Stories of Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the World”. 

 

Magda Martinez, Chief Operating Officer, Mural Arts; Philadelphia, PA

Magda Martinez joined Mural Arts Philadelphia after 16 years as the Director of Programs at the Fleisher Art Memorial. As a member of Fleisher’s leadership team, Magda shaped the strategic vision of the institution. In addition, she designed and implemented Fleisher’s nationally recognized audience engagement initiative—which has been featured in the publications Staying Relevant in a Changing Neighborhood: How Fleisher Art Memorial is Adapting to Shifting Community Demographics and The Road to Results: Effective Practices for Building Arts Audiences—and the nationally recognized Teen Lounge, an arts-based drop-in program for young people between the ages 13–18, featured in the report Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts.

Magda has served as a board member of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and has served on the board of the Bartol Foundation and Taller Puertorriqueño.

 

Erin Perry, Executive Director, Legacy Arts Project; Pittsburgh, PA

Erin Perry is a mother, wife, teacher, artist and arts administrator, and long time advocate for culturally relevant education and community engagement. She is the executive director of the Legacy Arts Project (LAP) and is passionate about the healing and transformative power of the arts. Since her first immersive experience with West African drum and dance, Erin has been on a mission to learn more about herself and the world through cultural exploration, appreciation, and expression.

As Ms. Perry has continued to evolve, so has her work. Rooted in cultural exploration, she has grown to understand the role of arts and culture in the development of a strong self-identity. As such, she has traveled throughout the African diaspora, experiencing culture through direct immersion in the activities of the people and places she has visited. From these experiences, relationships have been formed, knowledge transmitted, and bridges built, enabling Erin to develop a foundation from which to share her knowledge.

 

Directors of Full Member Institutions reelected for a three-year term:

Eric Delli Bovi, President & CEO, Urban Gateways; Chicago, IL

 

"At Large" Candidates reelected for a three-year term:

Roma Calatayud-Stocks; Minneapolis, MN

Robyn Newhouse, Vice-President/Community Service, The Republican; Springfield, MA

 

New Board Officers:

Chair: Karen LaShelle, Executive Director, Creative Action, Austin, TX

Treasurer: Kyle Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer, MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis, MN

Secretary: Katie Smythe, Founding CEO and Artistic Director, New Ballet Ensemble & School, Memphis, TN

 

You can view the full list of Guild Trustees here.

December 3, 2021

Contact: Jenina Podulka 

jeninapodulka@nationalguild.org  

 

New York, NY—The National Guild for Community Arts Education (“Guild”) is thrilled to announce that Quanice G. Floyd (she/her) will become its new Executive Director effective January 10, 2022. The Guild is the sole national service organization for providers of community arts education, with over 400 members spanning a wide range of art forms, organization types, and geographic locations across the U.S. A longtime member of the Guild family, Ms. Floyd is a passionate advocate with a deep understanding of the community arts education field, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial equity. Her visionary leadership will be invaluable in this critical time of transformation for the organization. Ms. Floyd was selected as part of a national open call for applications that took place in spring 2021. The search was led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). 

Ms. Floyd has strong familiarity with the Guild’s work and the work of its members. As a music educator and arts administrator for many years, she worked at several Guild member organizations including Levine Music and Washington Performing Arts. She first became involved with the Guild as a volunteer supporting the annual Conference for Community Arts Education in 2015 and 2016, and then went on to join two of the Guild’s member networks—the Emerging Leaders Network and the ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American) Network. In 2018, she was accepted to the Guild’s Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI), receiving the first CAELI Alumni Scholarship. She then served as the Guild’s Director of Learning and Leadership Development in 2019, and as staff liaison to the board’s Racial Equity Committee. 

Ms. Floyd had the opportunity to further apply her leadership towards championing the transformative power of the arts as Executive Director of Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS). In this position, she served as a statewide advocate and lobbyist for arts education in schools across the state of Maryland, inaugurated an annual Anti-Racist Arts Education Symposium, and advocated successfully to pass a law that funds AEMS's arts education data collection efforts. In 2020, she was awarded Arts Advocate of the Year by the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA). She also is the founder and former director of the Arts Administrators of Color Network, and has played an integral role in campaigns for racial equity across the field, most recently as part of the Progressive Arts Education Coalition (PAEC).

In her journey from Guild member, to volunteer, to program participant, to staff member, now culminating in a return as Executive Director, Ms. Floyd exemplifies the power of investment in leadership pathways. This investment in the field is an integral part of the Guild’s strategy to ensure that all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential.

“We are very excited to welcome Ms. Floyd, and eagerly anticipate her arrival as our next leader at this pivotal moment in the Guild’s history,” said Chair of the Guild’s Board of Trustees, Duffie Adelson. “Ms. Floyd is passionate about community arts education and its power to transform lives. Her voice is highly respected and sought after across the nation. She is a visionary leader and an “outside the box” thinker with a proven ability to build organizations around equity. We look forward to supporting and working alongside her as she leads us forward in our service to our members and the field.”

“It is an honor to be able to guide the National Guild into its next chapter,” said Ms. Floyd. “It is a critical time for our sector. Artists and organizations are just beginning to understand the two pandemics we have been reckoning with (white supremacy and COVID-19). We need a space and a place to heal and reimagine—not only to move beyond the moment, but also to make sure these things are not perpetuated for future generations. The field needs leadership that is collective, collaborative, and community-centered, and the Guild will be a place that embodies, supports, and grows that type of leadership. Community arts education plays a significant role in strengthening relationships with our communities, and I am looking forward to helping the Guild and the sector be the change we want and deserve to be.”

“Arts Consulting Group was honored to partner with the Guild and to have worked with a broad and inclusive search committee on this critical search,” said Wyona Lynch-McWhite, Senior Vice President of Arts Consulting Group. “Ms. Floyd is an advocate and passionate visionary for community arts education who will work to advance the organization’s mission.”

Ms. Floyd will be introduced to members as the incoming Executive Director during the Guild’s 2021 Annual Member Meeting on Thursday, December 9th. The meeting is open to all (Guild membership is not required)—more information, and the link to register, can be found here.

 

The National Guild for Community Arts Education ensures all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and advocating for community arts education. The Guild’s work supports all arts disciplines and facets of leadership—from creative youth development, to emerging leaders, to creative aging.  Through these strategies, the Guild aims to address our country’s widening opportunity gap, which leaves millions of individuals with little or no access to the creative resources they need to reach their full potential. www.nationalguild.org