The Bahá´í Association for the Advancement of Arts and Media (BAAAM)  

U.S.A.

A Non-Profit Corporation under the Auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá´ís of the United States.


Mission statement:
To cultivate excellence in the expression of the spirit and teachings of the Bahá´í Faith through the arts and media and to stimulate utilization of these resources within and beyond the Bahá´í community.

Priorities
To establish mechanisms to recognize, award, and foster excellence through such means as contests, prizes, and web or print media articles.

To sponsor a colloquium every two to five years, bringing together artists and media professionals, with the next one held in 2000.

To foster bridge building between artists and administrators and encourage a level of respect and trust on both sides. As part of this goal, to initiate communications in the form of suggestion lists or a workbook for use by Bahá´í administrators and communities.

To foster a deeper understanding of the purpose and value of art and to see this as an ongoing need as the Bahá´í Faith develops.

To encourage and support efforts to develop and use the arts in conjunction with the observance of Bahá´í holy days, feasts, and other events.

To be involved individually in other organizations with like-minded goals, such as professional arts, media, or service groups, and to learn from such experience and influence others.

To establish an educational and community development program linking people with expertise to those who would benefit from it, taking practical steps regarding the use of arts and media.

To foster ´nodes of activity´ on local levels, trying new ways of utilizing arts and media, and learning from and connecting these experiences.

To develop communications networks through channels such as the web and other means.

To be ´spokespeople for the Dream,´ fusing our Bahá´í understanding and knowledge of the arts to help uplift humankind.

BAAAM’s board of directors, with its headquarters in Seattle, is currently considering membership options and means of networking among artists, media experts, and the Bahá´í community.

For more information, please contact Dr. Leslie Asplund, 22915 NE 17th Pl., Redmond, WA 98053, U.S.A.

Tel. 206-609-9086, e-mail klasplund@bigfoot.com