Illinois AH! Month "Do It Yourself" Proclamation

Illinois Arts and Humanities Month is an opportunity to put the arts and humanities in the spotlight. Make your own personal proclamation, or use the form and tips below to invite your mayor or town or village board president to issue a proclamation officially designating October as Arts & Humanities Month in your community.

1. Download the Illinois AH! Month and Americans for the Arts logos for your website, e-newsletter, event posters or other marketing materials.
2. Review the sample proclamation below as a guide, and consider any other additional text you may want to include for personalization.
   
3. Create your own personal proclamation, and/or
4. Contact your Mayor or Town or Village Board President (or their administrative professional) as soon as possible to alert them of the upcoming celebration. Invite them to become a highlight of your community’s celebration by issuing an official proclamation. You can decide how best communicate with your official – via phone, over lunch or coffee, in a letter, etc. If you are the Mayor or Town or Village Board President, this is a golden opportunity to connect with your local arts and humanities organizations!
5. Make some noise! Alert your local media that the proclamation is being issued and that it would make a great photo op. It can be included in a general news release you may be sending out already for Illinois Arts & Humanities Month. And be sure to send us a copy (plus any pictures), too!
6. Complete Illinois Humanities' Event Sharing Form to share your AH! Month events with Illinois Humanities and its friends and partners.

[City/Town/Village] Proclamation

By [Name], [Mayor/President] of [City/Town/Village]

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities are the embodiment of all things beautiful and entertaining in the world -- the enduring record of human achievement; and

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities enhance every aspect of life in [City/Town/Village] -- improving our economy, enriching our civic life, driving tourism, and exerting a profound positive influence on the education of our children; and

WHEREAS, arts education research shows that the arts help to foster discipline, creativity, imagination, self-expression, and problem solving skills while also helping to develop a heightened appreciation of beauty and cross-cultural understanding; and

WHEREAS, we use the humanities -- history, literature, philosophy -- to explore what it means to be human; and

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities play a unique and intrinsically valuable role in the lives of our families, our communities, and our state; and

WHEREAS, the month of October has been recognized as National Arts and Humanities Month by thousands of arts and cultural organizations, communities, and states across the country, as well as by the White House and Congress for more than two decades:

THEREFORE, I, [Name], [Mayor/President] of [City/Town/Village], do hereby proclaim October 2024 as [CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE] ARTS & HUMANITIES MONTH and call upon all citizens to celebrate and promote the arts and culture in the Land of Lincoln.

• Discuss and agree upon the proper day, time, and place to read the proclamation. It could be the kick-off to an event you are hosting, the opening of a city council meeting, during your organization’s members’ meeting, or any other public event. In many communities, public meetings are televised, and it provides you with another opportunity to deliver your message points to the broader public. Just remember to dress for the camera!
• Request a copy of the signed proclamation in PDF format and send it to the Illinois Arts Council. You may also want to post it on your website and include as part of a news release you are sending out already.
• Determine any additional follow up that may be required of you.
• Remember to say Thank You. Thank the city/village official after the request has been granted. Thank them again when you receive the proclamation. And thank them a third time after your celebration has ended, and include anecdotes and facts about how the arts and humanities truly do make a difference in your community in October and throughout the year.
• For those of you who serve several communities, you may want to consider developing a joint proclamation for multiple city officials to sign and read at many different events in each community or together at one gathering. It takes extra coordination, but it brings city/village officials together through the arts!

We invite you to share your thoughts and suggestions for Illinois Arts & Humanities Month with the Illinois Arts Council.