Our Mission

 Artists for Literacy uses art inspired by literature to nurture the inspiration to read.

Founded as a non-profit founded in 2000, AFL leverages the power of films and songs based on books to communicate the power of literature and its relevancy to those people who are not yet in the good habit of reading.

We produce song and video competitions, CDs, teaching tools and advocacy campaigns that celebrate and promote the inextricable link between books and the art they inspire.

Official Mision Statement:

Artists for Literacy's mission is to influence community, public and private sector support for literacy. We engage artists in the issue of literacy and channel their contributions into effective awareness and education tools. We advocate for literacy as defined by the capacity to understand, interpret and communicate effectively in order to participate in one's community and wider society. This includes our commitment to advocating life-long learning, reading comprehension, media literacy, health literacy and financial literacy.

Artist for Literacy embraces all forms of art -- dance, theater, film, music -- to engage audiences in the conversation about literacy and its inextricable link to living a passionate, meaningful life. We continually seek to foster literary and artistic appreciation, critical thinking, increased confidence, curiosity, and civic participation.

History:

In 2000, we launched the Songs Inspired By Literature Project (SIBL) to raise money for free tutoring programs around the country that serve the 45 million adults who read below a 4th grade level. Songs written about books were donated by Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Roseanne Cash, Suzanne Vega and many more, including over 1000 song submissions by emerging artists. Over 25,000 benefit CD's were sold, and NPR, New York Times, RollingStone, BBC were a few of the media outlets that acclaimed our impact.

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