The AAEC has been asked by Counterpoint to spread the word about Be An Arts Hero, a push by the arts & cultures sector for direct government support of creatives during the time of coronavirus. (Think a WPA for COVID-19). Details are below. If you’re interested, get moving: DEADLINE IS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 12.

Dear Esteemed Cartoonist,

Counterpoint is partnering with Be An #ArtsHero to join a nationwide effort of Arts Workers, urging the Biden/Harris administration to support the Arts & Culture sector. Together, we invite you to contribute to this political cartoon initiative, led by America’s cartoonists, and do the following:

●  Create an original cartoon (or submit a repurposed or existing cartoon on the subject), illustrating your unique point of view on the particular struggles of editorial cartoonists during this crisis.

●  Feel free to use this stat sheet highlighting our sector’s colossal cultural and economic power.

●  Please submit your original cartoon by March 12 to info@beanartshero.com.

●  On March 15 at 9am ET, please post your cartoons to your social media platforms, using the hashtags #ArtsWorkersUnite, #First100Days, and tag @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris, @WhiteHouse, and @BeAnArtsHero.

●  Treat this cartoon as any other. We encourage you to publish your original cartoon on the Arts & Culture sector to your syndicates and respective outlets.

Your cartoon will be officially launched, en masse, on March 15, 2021 at 9:00am ET. The release of the cartoons will join a multitude of voices for our #First100Days as a national, coordinated, 100 Days of Action, calling on our nation’s 5.1 million Arts & Culture workers to stand up, be counted, and be heard.

We fully acknowledge that participating in this campaign requires you to donate your labor; creating a cartoon is skilled work, and is often outrageously undervalued. Be An #ArtsHero is a grassroots organization and is 100% volunteer operated and run. It is our intention to amplify the unique concerns and points of view of editorial cartoonists as Arts Workers.

We ask all cartoons be kept private until our official launch, when a national press release will go out to all major publications, in addition to being posted to a dedicated page at BeAnArtsHero.com.

Background on Be An #ArtsHero’s advocacy movement in the Washington Post and The New York Times. To learn more about our mission, please visit: BeAnArtsHero.com.

Here is a link to some industry stats: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hTKScQBY8A2fgIo4Dd_kToC1kp2lm5UvxAv-142N_V4/edit?ts=5fd18f13

And here is more on the DAWN Act: https://beanartshero.com/dawn

Cartoon by Tom Toro