Happy New Year! Happy New Website! Artist Trust Launches a New Online Portal for Artists and Arts Supporters
Artist Trust, whose mission is to support and encourage artists of all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State, has launched a fully re-engineered new website.
Most users visit the Artist Trust site to find opportunities for artists – funding, training and resources necessary to maintain a healthy arts career. Also significant is the number of site visits by those looking to support artists in varied ways. To better serve the artists and arts supporters of Washington State, Artist Trust and Methodologie worked to develop these new and improved key features:
A striking design that says “creativity” at every click;
A showcase of the thousands of emerging and established artists Artist Trust has supported since 1987, featuring artists’ biographies and luscious art images;
Easily-navigable information on Artist Trust’s grants, career training and resources for artists;
Massive listing of opportunities, including funding, residencies, employment, studio space; users can post opportunities for free;
Resources and articles on health care, legal issues, emergency assistance programs, etc.;
Statewide Events Calendar, featuring arts-related events throughout Washington; users can post events for free;
Features on generous supporters committed to developing and sustaining resources for the artists who enrich our lives, and a streamlined donation process.
Artist Trust partnered with Seattle-based Methodologie, a full-service communications strategy firm, to create this dynamic new website.
Keeping up with the fast pace of technological changes is challenging for all non-profits, so we were really fortunate to work with the very talented team at Methodologie. They generously provided in-kind services to make our new website not only dramatically visually appealing, but also a powerfully robust and highly-functional online experience for all our constituents. —Fidelma McGinn, Executive Director, Artist Trust
We were very proud to help support Artist Trust in the redesign of their website. The work they do providing funding, connections and resources to local artists is of great benefit in ensuring that our region’s arts and culture prosper. We believe the new site is a significant step forward for the organization, and will help them continue to deliver on their mission. —Janet DeDonato, CEO, Methodologie
Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State.
Broadway Breaks Box Office Records "Broadway enjoyed what was likely the highest-grossing week in its history this holiday season, with at least three shows—Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King—reporting the highest one-week dollar figures in their respective runs on the Great White Way. For the week ending January 2, the industry's total gross—$34.99 million—was up 24 percent from the same week last season. The one-week figure is almost certainly the largest in history, though the Broadway League, which compiles the data each week, declined to call it the highest because of a 2009 change in its methodology."
The Wall Street Journal 01/04/2011
01/06/2011
Foundation Gives $100,000 to Arts Center
"The Old Forge Arts Center has received a grant of $100,000 from The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties...'The foundation is truly honored to be a partner with the good people behind this important community treasure,' said Community Foundation President Peggy O’Shea. The grant will support the hiring of performing arts and special events managers and will facilitate the development of those areas for the new center. Individuals, businesses, and organizations will be welcome to use the new arts center for conferences and special events...The new Old Forge Arts Center is scheduled for official dedication and a gala opening on July 8, 9, and 10, 2011."
The Telegram 01/04/2011
01/20/2011
Nintendo DS Game and Portable Art Studio
"Art Academy offers you two ways to explore art—you can take 10 art lessons with instructor Vince, or you can create art on your own by using the tools and supplies found in the Free Paint section...Each lesson focuses on drawing something specific. The early lessons have you learning to draw things like an apple or a lime. As the lessons progress, you move into more complicated subjects like a wave in the ocean or a beautiful landscape. There are also mini-lessons that further your knowledge of a specific type of art. Instructor Vince not only explains art techniques and terminology, but he also demonstrates in a stroke-by-stroke manner."
"The Ford Foundation announced a five-year plan to pour $50 million into documentaries-–defined broadly, including online-only efforts-–that are focused on social issues...Although the documentary has flourished in recent years in large part because of festival support, the genre continues to pose severe financing challenges because of a lack of interest at the mainstream box office. The Ford Foundation’s program, called JustFilms, will dole out money in three ways. The first involves partnerships with organizations like the Sundance Institute...JustFilms will contribute $1 million a year over five years to support Sundance’s documentary film workshops, for instance."
New York Times ArtsBeat blog 01/18/2011
01/20/2011
Kennedy Center and WNO Affiliation
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington National Opera Announce Affiliation Plan Organizations to Affiliate Effective July 1, 2011
David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Kenneth R. Feinberg, President of Washington National Opera (WNO), today announced the signing of a contract that will affiliate the two organizations on July 1, 2011.
The affiliation plan is the result of extensive discussions between Kennedy Center and WNO leadership and is intended to strengthen the missions of both organizations. It will allow the Kennedy Center to offer outstanding opera performances and events, while assuring long-term financial security for WNO’s continued artistic development.
“This affiliation will ensure that the Washington area will forever have a strong, vibrant and world-class opera, and that is a plus for the Kennedy Center, WNO, and lovers of opera everywhere,” stated Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein.
“This is a great day for Washington National Opera and its audiences,” said WNO President Kenneth R. Feinberg. “WNO and the Kennedy Center have always shared a commitment to presenting great opera, and by formally affiliating, we and our audiences will reap the benefits. The Kennedy Center is a world-class arts institution, and WNO is thrilled at the endless possibilities that such an association will enable. WNO is particularly pleased to work with Michael Kaiser, a former trustee of the Opera, a long-time supporter and opera lover, and one of the most accomplished and respected arts managers of our day. The stage is set for success.”
“This affiliation will allow greater possibilities for opera productions in multiple venues throughout the Center and I look forward to building on the Opera’s foundation of artistic excellence with diverse and energizing programming,” said Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser. “I applaud Ken’s leadership and look forward to working closely with him, WNO’s excellent staff, and the WNO Board of Trustees.”
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has recently unveiled some new funding and education opportunities, including Our Town and free grant training webinars.
Art Works: These grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, promotes lifelong learning in the arts, and strengthens communities through the arts. An organization may request a grant amount from $10,000–$100,000. (Deadlines: March 10 and August 11, 2011)
Challenge America Fast-Track: These grants support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. Grants are for $10,000. (Deadline: May 26, 2011)
Our Town: Organizations may apply for creative placemaking projects that contribute to the livability of communities and place the arts at their core. An organization may request a grant amount from $25,000–$250,000. (Statement of Interest Deadline: March 1, 2011)
The NEA will also be conducting a series of webinars on the new Grants for Arts Projects and Our Town guidelines. Following overview presentations on the two sets of guidelines, staff will be available to answer your questions throughout January and February. To find dates and times for upcoming sessions, please visit here.
National Endowment for the Arts website 01/21/2011
01/27/2011
U2 Helps Fund Music Education Initiative "Music Generation is the new national musical initiative that will aim to provide a musical education for 10,000 disadvantaged children over the next three years in Ireland. U2 contributed $6 million towards the cost of the new scheme which is also supported by the American Ireland Fund...The money will help provide a series of local music, education partnerships performed by established music teachers, musicians, and administrators. The project aims to offer free of charge or subsidized music lessons to school children either in or out of the classroom."
IrishCentral.com 01/19/2011
01/27/2011
Has the Digital Music Industry Peaked? "After another year of plunging music sales, record company executives are starting to contemplate the unthinkable: The digital music business, held out as the future of the industry, may already be as big as it is going to get. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group based in London, said last week that sales of music in digital form had risen only six percent worldwide in 2010, even as the overall music market had shrunk eight or nine percent, extending a decade-long decline. In each of the past two years, the rate of increase in digital revenue has approximately halved."
"Last week, as part of a new work convening at Arena Stage, I was able to finally spark a conversation that I have been wanting to have for over a year now.
Diane Ragsdale and I discussed the intersection of the commercial and not-for-profit theaters. We talked about the original impulse behind the resident theater movement in this country, the increasing role of commercial investment in shaping not-for-profit theaters’ seasons, and the too limited definition of success in use by many theaters today (attendance + revenue + national attention).
Another topic arose, one that is central to all of us who care about the arts: the mismatch that currently exists in supply and demand for not-for-profit arts organizations in our country.
Diane recently addressed this topic in her blog Jumper, and I cited the NEA’s 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), which reports a five percentage point decrease in arts audiences in this country. This is juxtaposed against a 23% increase in not-for-profit arts organizations, and a rate of growth for not-for-profit performing arts organizations, specifically, that was 60% greater than that for the total U.S. population.
When we released the SPPA results at a meeting of more than 40 national service organizations in December 2009, I said that anyone who hears these two numbers has to ask about balancing the equation, which means either increasing demand or, yes, maybe decreasing supply.
I have made this same observation to a number of audiences, but at Arena, the conversation finally took off. So I decided to write this blog post—not to retract or walk back the observation (as some hope I will do)—but to encourage us to keep having the conversation.
Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, augments two issues from Landesman's post that may arise readers in his recent ArtsBlog post.
Art Works - NEA Blog 01/31/2011
02/03/2011
Dozens Are Detained in Looting of Museum
"Soldiers detained about 50 men trying to break into the Egyptian National Museum in a fresh attempt to loot some of the country's archaeological treasures, the military said [January 31]. Snipers were stationed on the roof of the building, and dozens of troops patrolled the grounds of the famed antiquities museum amid fears that the chaos sweeping Cairo could engulf Egypt's national heritage...Egyptian special forces secured the main floor inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, after would-be looters broke into the museum [January 30], ripping the heads off two mummies and damaging some artifacts before being caught."
"Gov. Sam Brownback signed an executive order [February 7] abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission and replacing it with a private, nonprofit organization. The move will save the cash-strapped state nearly $600,000 a year, but it has upset some arts advocates who worry about eroding support for the arts and art education. 'Our state faces a nearly $500 million budget shortfall,' Brownback said before signing the order. 'Let’s do all we can to protect the core functions of government'...The executive order takes effect July 1 unless lawmakers vote to overturn it within 60 days. Arts Commission Chairman Henry Schwaller said he has already discussed that possibility with legislators."
Read more about Kansas Arts Commission on ArtsBlog.
The Kansas City Star 02/07/2011
02/25/2011
Students Protest, A Day Without Art "It was like walking into a morgue. Wrapped as if in death shrouds, all the sculptures and paintings in the art gallery were covered in black cloth and garbage bags. Art students at Bethel College organized as a day without art [on February 18]...About 50 pieces of art were concealed for the event to raise awareness of Gov. Sam Brownback’s executive reorganization order that will make the Kansas Arts Commission a privately funded organization. Not only will arts in Kansas lose the $575,000 next fiscal year in annual state funding, but [the state] also stands to lose an additional $778,300 in funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and $437,767 from the Mid-America Arts Alliance."
"Riverhead officials have long hoped to create artist housing in the downtown area, but developers showed little interest in providing it. Now, Dark Horse Restaurant owner Dee Muma has plans to do just that...[Muma] is working with the East End Arts Council (EEAC) in seeking a National Endowment for the Arts grant to help develop a plan to attract artists and to develop a model that can be replicated elsewhere in town, according to the EEAC’s executive director, Pat Snyder...[Muma] envisions putting four or five studio/living spaces on the third floor, with affordable loft apartments on the second floor."
Riverhead News-Review 02/23/2011
03/03/2011
Who Were The Kids Who Sang Off the Oscar?
"New York magazine called it 'the best-known elementary school chorus on the planet'...They hail from Staten Island's Graniteville Public Elementary School, or P.S. 22. And though the chorus members are clearly talented, when you strip away the Oscar performance and the visits with Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, what you see is a group of students having a great time, expressing themselves, and making the most of the educational opportunity they have. Part of the appeal is that these kids are not from privileged backgrounds with years of private voice lessons or musical training—in fact 75 percent of the students at P.S. 22 qualify for free lunch, and English is a second language for many of them."
"Pre-med students at Baylor University are scrutinizing art by such greats as Rembrandt and Picasso in search of dilated pupils and jaundiced skin.
The students are creating self-portraits and fashioning baskets from yarn and jute.
They will study art therapy done by patients trying to improve manual skills after strokes or injuries -- or simply to express pain and loneliness. And they will work with patients and practitioners at a clinic to design art for a healing atmosphere.
Baylor University is venturing into new territory with an ambitious new undergraduate class called Visual Arts and Healing. The class -- intended to serve as a model for other universities and medical schools -- explores virtually every way art has a bearing on medicine, its creators say....
They were intrigued by the idea that the arts "comfort, console and sustain" patients -- a finding in a survey of the country's hospitals done by Americans for the Arts, the Society for Arts in Healthcare and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Heathcare Organizations. "
The State of the Field Report offers information about progress in the field since the symposium, which resulted in recommendations and a strategic direction to advance the arts in healthcare.
Baylor University website 03/03/2011
03/10/2011
New Mayor Touts Chicago's Arts and Culture "In a wide-ranging interview about cultural matters with the Chicago Tribune last week, Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's mayor-elect, signaled his intent to 'raise up' the arts in Chicago...and previewed a major generational and cultural shift at a City Hall about to be run by a confident leader who listens to the alternative rock band Wilco, likes the darker plays at Steppenwolf Theatre and American Theater Company, and is not about to stop hanging out at rock venues."
Chicago Tribune Theater Loop blog 03/04/2011
03/10/2011
Poet Laureate Loses Title for $2,000
"A career in the arts 'don’t plant no corn,' Bruce Dethlefsen’s father told him when he was a boy...Soon, his job as Wisconsin’s poet laureate may not even pay gas money. The $2,000 annual budget for the post, which [he] assumed January 1, is a casualty of Gov. Scott Walker’s drive for austerity. For Wisconsin’s poets and artists, 'it’s just a smack in the face,' Dethlefsen said...'In good times arts are magical, and in tough times they are essential,' he said. 'That’s when you need them the most. Art makes you human. If it’s just about the money, then it’s petty and vindictive.' Tommy Thompson, a Republican governor, created the office in 2000."
Bloomberg.com 03/08/2011
03/16/2011
Kansas Arts Commission Saved in Senate
Kansas Senate passed a resolution on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 rejecting Gov. Sam Brownback’s move to abolish the Kansas Arts Commission. Senators voted 24-13 to reject the governor’s plan to convert the commission to a private nonprofit group and reassign its official responsibilities to the Kansas Historical Society. Read moreabout the Senate vote to preserve the Kansas Arts Commission.
Read the blog post on ArtsBlog posted February 9, 2011 which discusses Kansas Arts Commission’s struggle to maintain its funding.
Find out how other states are doing with their budget allocations at Americans for the Arts State Arts Appropriations Update web pages.
The Kansas City Star Senate votes to preserve Kansas Arts Commission 03/16/2011
"Rochester students find creative ways to vent their anger when subjects they love seem threatened.
Earlier this month, School of the Arts students learned that a proposal on the table would lay off more than half of their music, theater or visual arts teachers to meet budget needs. They began asking quietly, then publicly, what kind of a school they'll have left next fall.
A group of them created a "Save Our School" video and posted it on YouTube. It shows students gathering silently at the front entrance, black tape over their mouths. Rousing scenes of music and dance classes flash by and a narrator intones: "If the arts were taken away, our school would not be unique and neither would we."
Finally the students rip the tape from their lips and jubilantly dance together. They also show statistics reminding viewers of SOTA's unique position:
It's the district's highest-performing high school, with an 89 percent graduation rate and a 92 percent daily attendance rate. More than 96 percent go on to college."
"Wynton Marsalis will become a recurring presence on the Harvard University campus, as part of Harvard President Drew Faust’s initiative to better integrate the arts into education there...Marsalis will spend two or three days in Cambridge six times during the next two years, beginning with a visit this month that includes a lecture/performance...His lectures will address the relationship between music and the American identity, and include performances by his own quintet, a New Orleans parade band, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, among others."
Boston.com 04/03/2011
04/05/2011
Project to Lure Artists to Cleveland
"Cleveland's Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) will receive a $250,000 grant from New York-based Leveraging Investments in Creativity to build local artist communities. The grant, the largest project grant in the Cleveland organization's history, must be matched within a year, said Thomas Schorgl, president and CEO. Seven other arts groups around the country will receive money from Leveraging Investments, which is awarding a total of $1.25 million in grants. The two-year CPAC Artist in Residence project will provide low-interest loans for artists and nonartists who live or will move into Cleveland neighborhoods. The money will support projects that revitalize neighborhoods through artistic participation."
Cleveland.com 04/05/2011
04/05/2011
Mural Battle Could Cost State Money "The federal government says it wants back money it provided to Maine if the state's governor does not reinstall a mural the funds helped pay for in its Department of Labor building...State officials said removal of the mural was needed to reflect a new image for the department, one not tilted toward organized labor. They said visitors to the lobby had complained that the mural is anti-business...Acting Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Boyett had earlier announced a contest to replace the names affixed to the conference rooms, which include Cesar Chavez and Frances Perkins. Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association. Perkins served as labor secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt."
"As the musicians took the stage, applause and cheering erupted. 'We love you guys!' a concertgoer yelled. A violinist mouthed, 'Wow,' another tapped her music stand with her bow in appreciation, and the awe-struck players stood facing a packed-to-the rafters audience for five minutes while the love flowed over them. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra was back. The men and women in black and white appeared in Orchestra Hall on [April 9] for the first time after a corrosive six-month strike, having reached an agreement with management last week."
The New York Times 04/10/2011
04/14/2011
Philippines: School Creates Arts Ambassado
"Tucked in the mist-covered slopes of Mount Makiling, the Philippines' premier public school for the arts is busy molding the country's future cultural ambassadors. The gifted scholars embark on a rigorous 12-hour daily routine of academic study, music, dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing at the state-funded Philippine High School for the Arts...The school began as a more informal haven for young artists in the 1970s. It was established by the then first lady Imelda Marcos, who lavished much time and money on the arts during her dictator husband's 20-year rule of the country."
Agence France-Presse 04/10/2011
04/21/2011
Opera Company Helps Underserved Students
"As schools are forced to slash their arts and music programs, Arizona Opera's new education programs are reaching out to students from the Phoenix area and beyond. The nonprofit organization began an afterschool program last month and will launch a summer program this year. Opera leaders said the move is a response to increasing state budget cuts to Arizona's public schools. These cuts often affect schools' fine arts programs, said Laura Baldasano, Arizona Opera director of education...Baldasano said exposing students to dress rehearsals, in-school performances, and summer programs enhances the overall educational experience."
The Arizona Republic 04/14/2011
04/21/2011
Electronic Book Sales Top Paperbacks "Ebooks have become the single bestselling category in American publishing for the first time, according to new data...The latest report from the Association of American Publishers, compiling sales data from U.S. publishing houses, shows that total ebook sales in February were $90.3 million. This makes digital books the largest single format in the country for the first time ever...overtaking paperbacks at $81.2 million. In January, ebooks were the second-largest category, behind paperbacks. America's ebooks enjoyed a 202.3 percent growth in sales in February compared with the same month the previous year."
The Guardian 04/15/2011
04/21/2011
Ticketmaster Unveils New Pricing Structure
"Event tickets seller Ticketmaster said that it is introducing new technology to let artists and sports teams raise or lower ticket prices to reflect demand during the initial sales period—a move it said will crimp the profits of scalpers and boost revenue for performers and teams. The technology could push up initial prices for front-row seats while reducing prices on less desirable ones that might have gone unsold otherwise. Ticketmaster, a division of Live Nation Entertainment Inc., says the change should make it harder for anyone to send prices soaring by buying up all the best tickets and reselling them at substantial profit."
Associated Press 04/18/2011
04/28/2011
'Made in America' is Tough Sell
"It started in January, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) raised the issue after visiting the Museum of American History and discovering that miniature statues of American presidents for sale were made in China. The senator wrote a letter to museum director Brent D. Glass and succeeded in getting the museum to commit to having one of its three gift shops sell exclusively American-made products...Now Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV) is going a step further. He has introduced a bill that would require all items sold in any of the Smithsonian's 30 stores, located in 19 museums and galleries and its zoo, to be made in the United States."
Los Angeles Times 04/23/2011
04/28/2011
Arts Hub Rises from Former Senior Center
"The former senior center in the heart of downtown Pascagoula...is poised for transformation into a community arts center with the city council awarding a contract to...perform the work. The price tag of the project is about $55,000, with half of that funded by grant money, according to Community Development Director Harry Schmidt. The Mississippi Arts Commission in fall 2010 awarded a $22,500 grant to help transform the 2,500-square-foot facility to include a pottery studio, multipurpose classroom, and handicapped accessible restrooms."
The Mississippi Press 04/27/2011
05/05/2011
Michelle Obama Dances for 'Let's Move'
"Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to Alice Deal Middle School on Tuesday as part of her "Let's Move!" initiative, which meant dancing "The Dougie" and "The Running Man" with a bunch of tweens while Beyonce blared through some loudspeakers.
We're struggling to come up with words to describe this video, but here are a few: awesome, best-ever, work it, I'm so excited about this that I'm presently slapping my hand on the table while I view it.
Check out the first lady as she gets down!"
The Huffington Post 05/03/2011
05/12/2011
WI Arts Funding Cut by 66 Percent
"The Legislature's budget-writing committee has voted to cut state funding for the arts by 66 percent. Gov. Scott Walker had proposed cutting funding for the Wisconsin Arts Board by 73 percent. The Joint Finance Committee voted to restore about $350,000 of the cut with taxpayer money if federal matching funds are available. Total money for the arts would drop from $1.6 million a year to $535,000...Democrats railed against the proposal, saying there was no justification for the deep cut. Sen. Bob Jauch of Poplar calls it a 'cynical attack on the arts.' Republicans justified the cuts by saying they were necessary given the state's $3.6 billion budget shortfall."
Associated Press 05/09/2011
05/12/2011
PBS Launching Fall Arts Festival
"PBS plans to run arts programming on Friday nights for nine straight weeks starting in October to highlight a subject where it can offer something different, network executives said. The programming will include a special on women rock 'n' rollers, an exploration of American roots music narrated by Steve Martin called Give Me the Banjo, and the San Francisco ballet performing The Little Mermaid...The Friday night arts festival will be a collection of new programming and PBS' Great Performances series. Putting them all on the same night will help viewers who have had trouble finding some of the network's arts programming in the past."
Washington, D.C. -- National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced the latest round of NEA funding for Fiscal Year 2011 totaling more than $88 million awarded through 1,145 grants to not-for-profit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide. Chairman Landesman said, "NEA research shows that three out of four Americans participate in the arts. The diverse, innovative, and exceptional projects funded in this round will ensure that Americans around the country continue to have the opportunity to experience and participate in the arts."
This round of funding is provided through four grant programs: Access to Artistic Excellence, Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth, Arts on Radio and Television, and Partnership Agreements (State and Regional).
Access to Artistic Excellence grants foster and preserve excellence in the arts and provide access to the arts for all Americans. Grants in this round focus on two primary themes: access to the arts and preservation activities. A broad range of activities are funded in the disciplines of dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, theater, and visual arts. Projects include outreach, touring, artists' workshops and residencies, technology, preservation, recordings, and conferences and symposia. In addition, this round of funding includes grants to local arts agencies. Through the Access to Artistic Excellence category, 789 grants out of 1,415 eligible applications are recommended for funding for a total of $24.9 million.
Examples of projects supported by Access to Artistic Excellence grants include:
Southwest Chamber Music Society (Pasadena, CA) is recommended for a $35,000 grant to support Ten Freedom Summers, a recording and national performance tour of a new work by composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith inspired by the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1964.
Missouri Historical Society (aka Missouri History Museum) (St. Louis, MO) is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support the preservation of costumes from the Katherine Dunham Dance Company's collection, primarily those created by scenic and costume designer John Pratt. Once conserved, these pieces will be photographed, catalogued in museum records, digitized on the museum's online database, and made available for exhibition.
Public Art Fund, Inc. (New York, NY) is recommended for a $40,000 grant to support In the Public Realm. The program provides emerging visual artists (selected through an open call) with opportunities to create temporary art projects for non-traditional public exhibition spaces in New York City.
National Constitution Center (Philadelphia, PA) is recommended for a $25,000 grant to support the Fighting for Democracy Theater Exhibition Project. The hybrid theater exhibition will integrate an interactive theater production incorporating live performance, multimedia installation, and online educational tools for audience members with the Fighting for Democracy exhibit in the National Constitution Center's exhibition gallery.
University of Arkansas Main Campus (Fayetteville, AR) is recommended for a $30,000 grant to support a revitalization plan for the Pettaway neighborhood. To be created in partnership with the Downtown Little Rock Community Development Company, the revitalization plan will use affordable housing and transportation principles to link existing and new neighborhoods to create liveable places within the turn-of-the-century Pettaway neighborhood.
Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth grants strengthen American educational opportunities by providing children with focused arts instruction, exposing them to legendary artists, and introducing children to artworks of the highest quality. The recommended projects require educators to give students in-depth, challenging learning experiences. Through the Learning in the Arts category, 229 grants out of 706 eligible applications are recommended for funding for a total of $7.4 million.
Examples of projects supported by Learning in the Arts grants include:
Regional Arts & Culture Council (Portland, OR) is recommended for a $25,000 grant to support Right Brain Initiative, a professional development seminar that brings together school administrators, teachers, and teaching artists to integrate the arts into Portland-area schools' curricula. The project will provide hands-on training for teachers and artists to integrate and assess arts learning across the curriculum, leading to classroom collaborations in theater, music, dance, and visual arts.
New School University (New York, NY) is recommended for a $50,000 grant to support PetLab, a professional development project based on the principles of game design. In partnership with the Institute of Play, participants will engage in and instruct others in design-based processes, including problem-solving, sketching, prototyping, testing, and modifying.
InsideOut Literary Arts Project (Detroit, MI) is recommended for an $80,000 grant to support the Voices High School Literary Expansion program, in which teams of writers-in-residence will visit Detroit public high schools to present a literature program to enhance the schools' curriculum throughout the school year. Services will include year-long creative writing residencies in selected classes; creative writing teaching units developed with classroom teachers; guest poets; one-on-one mentoring in a writing center;; publication in literary journals; and public performances.
SAY Sí (aka San Antonio Youth YES!) (San Antonio, TX) is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support Project Say Sí, a multidisciplinary "open studio" visual arts program. High school students will conceptualize, produce, refine, and eventually exhibit and sell their own artwork in a manner that parallels the working process of professional artist.
Arts on Radio and Television grants support the development, production, and national distribution of radio and television programs on the arts. The recommended projects will support the creation and presentation of more than 3,100 hours of arts programming, including television and radio programming, as well as projects that stream on the Internet, and mobile phone and tablet applications. Through the Arts on Radio and Television category, 64 grants out of 145 eligible applications are recommended for funding for a total of $4 million.
Examples of projects supported by Arts on Radio and Television grants include:
Association of Independents in Radio, Inc. (Boston, MA) is recommended for a $50,000 grant to support the second phase of Makers Quest 2.0 (MQ2), a national collaboration among independent producers, public radio and television stations, and communities. There will be 10 separate media production teams "assigned" to invent new approaches to storytelling and distribution that blends traditional broadcast with digital platforms and tools.
Public Radio International (Minneapolis, MN) is recommended for a $30,000 grant to support the production of The Global Hit segments on the weekday news and information radio program The World. The daily feature showcases world music for American audiences, offering listeners a unique perspective on other cultures through the medium of music.
Independent Television Service, Inc. (aka ITVS) (San Francisco, CA) is recommended for a $170,000 grant to support the selection, acquisition, and packaging of films for the public television series Independent Lens. This weekly PBS series provides the public with access to innovative, dramatic, animated, and documentary works by independent filmmakers.
Partnership grants provide support to 55 state, jurisdictional, and territorial arts agencies, six regional arts organizations, the National Association of State Arts Agencies, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. In total, more than $52 million was awarded through this category. Please see the complete listing of Partnership grants.
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at www.arts.gov.
NEA News Room 05/17/2011
05/25/2011
Boeing Grants $50k to Future Arts Leaders
The Boeing Company, in collaboration with the Arts and Education Council, has awarded $50,000 in grants ranging from $5,000-10,000 each to seven arts programs in the St. Louis area to develop and train future arts leaders. The Boeing/Arts and Education Council Collaborative Grant program is an innovative funding opportunity for organizations to create and promote a more sustainable arts and cultural environment that engage people to become lifelong arts participants, patrons and practitioners. Since 2008, The Boeing Company has invested $150,000 in 25 grants through the grant program.
stltoday.com 05/25/2011
06/02/2011
Programs Supports Florida Art Educators The Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood, FL has just initiated a new artist residency for arts teachers in the state of Florida. State Teacher/Artist Residencies (STAR) will provide five public school educators with the opportunity to pursue their artistic work with a four-week summer residency at the Hermitage. This newly formed program is a collaboration with The Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE), a statewide service organization that works to ensure that all Florida students have a complete education that includes the arts. FAAE coordinated the selection process of the teachers in visual arts, writing and music.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat 06/02/2011
06/05/2011
Poet Laureate Elevates Poetry Sally Ashton is Santa Clara County’s official poet laureate. It's a mysterious-sounding job, but she insists she doesn't get to wear a special hat, as some people might imagine. "Poetry exists," Ashton said. "And the fact that a lot of people don't relate to poetry or read poetry often could be because they feel alienated from it." Ashton was appointed on April 1, 2011, by the county's Board of Supervisors and Arts Council Silicon Valley to serve a two-year term. She likes to joke about starting off as an "April Fool," but it’s actually a serious job.
NBC Bay Area 06/05/2011
06/28/2011
A New Study on Reaching Young Adults A new report on reaching people in their 20s was commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, in Chicago and the Nonprofit Finance Fund with a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The study, “Tipping the Culture,” looks at the ways big consumer companies like J. Crew, PepsiCo, and Starbucks, have successfully used social networks to reach young people, along with efforts pursued by a wide range of cultural organizations.
The most successful efforts boil down to a sort of mutual voyeurism, the report suggests: Companies and arts groups use social media to learn about their prospective consumers and then invite young people into the creative process. The goal is that once the theater patrons, gallery goers, or consumers become “insiders,” they will quickly share their enthusiasm with others and “bring in millennials as a tribe,” according to Patricia Martin, a branding and marketing expert who wrote the report.
Super Bowl Host Launches Murals Program
"Mayor Greg Ballard was joined by representatives of the Arts Council of Indianapolis, community members and artists in launching '46 for XLVI,' the first citywide murals program for Indianapolis. Forty-six new mural spaces are being planned in neighborhoods and the downtown area in celebration of Super Bowl XLVI and as a beautification effort to support the Super Bowl Legacy projects taking place throughout the city...The Arts Council received more than 100 submissions from local, national, and international artists through a national call for mural artists. Thirty-two finalists, one-third of whom are Indiana artists, soon will begin work."
Indiana Business News 07/13/2011
07/22/2011
Foundation Grant Supports African Art
"The Newark Museum in Newark, NJ, has announced a $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a major expansion and reinstallation of its African art collection. The grant will be used to fund new curatorial and research positions as well as the first-ever catalogue of the museum's pioneering collection of more than 4,000 African artworks. The museum began acquiring the pieces in the collection in 1914, five years after its founding, and in 1926 mounted one of the first museum exhibitions of African art. Last year the museum unveiled 'Present Tense: Arts of Contemporary Africa,' the first permanent collection gallery devoted to contemporary African art in the United States."
Philanthropy News Digest 07/20/2011
07/29/2011
Christo's Public Art Project Moves Ahead
"Artist Christo's plan to suspend huge fabric panels over parts of the heavily rafted Arkansas River in Colorado is largely intact under a version federal land managers identified Thursday as the preferred alternative for the project. If the Bureau of Land Management issues a permit for Christo's 'Over the River,' it could happen in August 2014. A final decision is expected this fall. The preferred alternative identified in the BLM's final environmental impact statement largely matches the vision of the Bulgarian-born Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude. They wanted to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery panels in eight sections above a 42-mile stretch of the river that mostly involves federal land. The BLM also reviewed alternatives for as little as 1.4 miles of fabric over four sections of the river traced by U.S. 50 between Canon City and Salida. 'We're very excited. This is a milestone in the history of art and national environmental policy,' said Christo, who said this is the first environmental impact statement for a work of art."
Artswork, the national youth arts development agency in the United Kingdom, provides fresh evidence to demonstrate the transformational power of the arts to make positive changes to the lives of young people with an innovative new publication.
Supported by the voices and views of young people and endorsed by leading national and international arts, creative, and cultural figures, a new publication, Youth Arts Transforms Lives, illustrates the real impact of participation in the arts and culture with, for, and by young people.
The National Endowment for the Arts affirmed Tuesday the governor's decision to defund the state's arts agency precludes the NEA from offering matching grants to Kansas.
Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed state aid to the Kansas Arts Commission, leaving a shell of an agency with no budget or staff. He proposed fundraising be handled by a new non-government foundation and asserted eligibility for NEA funding had not been surrendered. Read the full story in The Topeka Capital Journal.
Victoria Hutter, spokeswoman for NEA in Washington, D.C., said in an interview that Kansas' action to withdraw state aid to the commission prevented issuance of a partnership grant support in the fiscal year starting in October.
In the past, Kansas invested about $700,000 annually to secure $1.2 million in external grants from the NEA and the Mid-America Arts Alliance for programs scattered in communities throughout the state. The alliance is likely to follow the NEA's lead on grant eligibility.
"NEA has determined that Kansas is ineligible for fiscal year 2011," Hutter said. "The NEA has encouraged Kansas to reapply for fiscal year 2012 consideration."
The Topeka Capital Journal 08/16/2011
09/06/2011
Artspace Receives $3M from Ford Foundation
"Real estate developer Artspace is the recipient of a whopping $3.75 million from the Ford Foundation’s Supporting Diverse Arts Spaces program. The investment is comprised of a $750,000 grant plus, more interestingly, a ten-year, $3 million low-interest loan. The loan is a program-related investment (PRI), a less common variant of charitable support by which a foundation uses a portion of its endowment to buy debt or equity in socially responsible businesses or nonprofits at below-market rates.
Under United States law, a private foundation (i.e., one that relies primarily on an endowment rather than raising its own money from public sources) is required to distribute five percent of its assets each year to charitable causes in order to remain tax-exempt. While most meet this requirement through grantmaking, a growing number of foundations are experimenting with program-related investments as a way to meet the distribution requirement. A few make PRIs a centerpiece of their resource allocation strategy; for example, the F. B. Heron Foundation invests about 10 percnet of its assets in PRIs and nearly half in what it calls “mission-related investments” (market-rate but with substantial social benefit), seeing the strategy as a way to dramatically increase its impact.
The Artspace PRI will primarily be used for pre-development activities (such as hiring architects) for up to a dozen artist housing projects and arts centers across the United States. A list of Artspace’s current developments is available here. Artspace will pay back the debt over ten years at an interest rate of one percent."
createquity 08/28/2011
09/07/2011
Using Art to Reclaim Commercial Corridor
"Philadelphia's ReStore Corridors Through Art program, which aims to energize commercial corridors through art and creative spaces, will install its first project in Chestnut Hill, according to The Philadelphia Department of Commerce and the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy.
Cities like San Francisco, New York, and St. Louis have seen increased economic activity and new creative communities as a result of projects similar to ReStore Corridors Through Art, which will enhance the streetscapes and aim to attract new visitors to Philadalphia neighborhoods with vacant or under-utilized properties.
The first project to be completed is "New Trails" on Germantown Avenue and within Fairmount Park in Chestnut Hill. The main gallery is located at 8517 Germantown Ave, where a public reception celebrating the project's launch was held last week. More than twenty artists will produce work inspired by the Chestnut Hill community.
Cultural Construction Boom Slows
"....Gleaming new concert venues are the latest arrivals in a building and renovations spree that has transformed the cultural landscape in North America, as cities large and small replace outdated or acoustically challenged facilities. Indeed, more than 360 performing-arts centers were constructed in the U.S. alone from 1994 to 2008, according to a coming study by the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago, and about half of them have symphony orchestras or other arts companies in residence. (Symphony orchestras are to performing arts centers what department stores are to suburban malls.) Opening next March is David M. Schwarz's $400 million Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. A number of smaller halls at universities are in the works as well.
But overall, the cultural construction boom in North America has slowed. Even before the U.S. financial crisis of 2008, Santiago Calatrava's striking $300 million design for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was scrapped in favor of a long-term plan to erect a more modest structure at the Woodruff Arts Center. Industry skeptics doubt it will be built at all.
The $383 million Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, FL, was delayed for a few years because of declines in tourism tax collections earmarked for the complex; it recently began construction. Lingering economic malaise has slowed or scaled back projects in Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Fayetteville, AR."
The Los Angeles-based organization, which awards $2.5 million a year via its USA Fellows program, rolled out the USA Projects fundraising program in December, billing it as the first online 'microphilanthropy' effort devoted strictly to artists living in the United States. Since then, 125 projects have been funded in eight categories -– architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts, and visual arts.
More than 7,000 donations have been made, averaging $146...Of the $1 million raised, about $350,000 has come from deep-pocketed donors who volunteer, on certain projects, to match the contributions of rank-and-file givers."
Los Angeles Times, Culture Monster blog 09/13/2011
09/29/2011
The Power of Teaching Artists
"Amid recent calls to enhance the role of arts education, a new study takes a detailed look at the role professional artists play in schools, arguing that such teaching artists are an 'underutilized' resource with the potential to improve arts instruction and make schools more creative places to learn.
The Teaching Artists Research Project, billed as the most comprehensive study to date of the 'work and world' of teaching artists, involved three years of research in a dozen communities, from big cities such as Boston, Chicago, and Seattle to Bakersfield and Humboldt County in California. The project is an undertaking of NORC at the University of Chicago. (NORC was founded in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center.)
The researchers surveyed more than 3,000 artists and program managers, and conducted in-depth interviews with more than 200 artists, principals, district leaders, and others.
'What we heard from TAs [teaching artists], program managers, teachers, principals, and other key informants confirmed our suspicions,' the report says. 'TAs are bringing innovative pedagogy and curriculum to schools.'
The study, which includes a helpful taxonomy of teaching artists, suggests that they may enjoy some freedoms that allow them to innovate in schools."
Education Week Curriculum Matters blog 09/22/2011
09/29/2011
State Arts Council Forced to Cut Grants
"As Montgomery tightens its fiscal belt, state arts funding continues to slide, taking a toll on arts organizations throughout the state.
Grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) are down 25 percent in the round of awards announced September 16. Totaling $1,476,080 for fiscal year 2011–12, the amount is about $500,000 less than 2010–11, and nearly $700,000 less than 2009–10.
'There have been cutbacks to try to balance budgets,' said ASCA's Executive Director Al Head. 'Legislators have had a really hard job trying to do that. I sympathize with the problem, but we have to do as good as job as we can talking about how arts are significant and central to state government, as opposed to a frill.'"
"The Kansas Arts Commission is down to its last $5,000 but still hopes to plan statewide festivals to promote the arts, hire an executive director and examine the effectiveness of past grants to local arts agencies and programs, its vice chairwoman told skeptical legislators Wednesday.
Vice Chairwoman Kathryn Herzog told the Legislature's Joint Committee on Arts and Cultural Resources that the Arts Commission expects to have private funds to use to promote the arts following Gov. Sam Brownback's veto earlier this year of state funding for the commission. Brownback's action made Kansas the first state in the nation to eliminate its funding for arts programs.
Since then, Herzog said, commission members have been handling administrative chores, and the private Kansas Arts Foundation is providing office space for the commission. She said it would like to have at least one festival to promote the arts — and help raise money for arts programs."
nola.com 10/05/2011
10/14/2011
Rail Project Inspires Creative Placemaking
"Soon, hundreds of projects led by local artists will bring new life and vibrancy to the Central Corridor Light Rail Line in Saint Paul, MN, thanks to a new partnership, called Irrigate, announced between the City of Saint Paul, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Springboard for the Arts.
Over the next three years, Irrigate will mobilize and train artists in community development and creative placemaking, and activate hundreds of artist-led projects along the Corridor to benefit businesses and neighborhoods. These projects will change the landscape of the Central Corridor with art, creativity and a population of artists who are engaged in their community.
Saint Paul’s Irrigate project will emphasize cross-sector participation with public and private sector partners. It will be a model of artist-led community development during major infrastructure improvement, and will also create a lasting cultural identity for the Corridor.
For more information about Saint Paul’s Irrigate project, visit www.irrigatearts.org."
Twin Cities Daily Planet 10/07/2011
10/27/2011
NEA: KS Private Funds Ineligible for Match
"Kansas has been told again by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that it won't receive federal funds, prompting the state arts commission's chairwoman to declare that the group will move forward with a 'truly Kansas' plan for supporting arts programs with private money.
The NEA told the state commission this week not to bother applying for federal matching funds next year, Kansas Public Radio reported. The NEA says the private donations Kansas is now counting on to support the arts don't qualify for the federal match.
Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed the commission's entire budget in May, making Kansas the only state in the nation to eliminate its arts funding. Brownback, a Republican who took office in January, has said the arts still can flourish with private dollars and the state must focus on 'core' functions such as education, social services and public safety.
The governor's veto prompted the NEA and the Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private group based in Kansas City, Mo., to cut off funds as well. The Arts Commission lost nearly $2 million — the $689,000 legislators set aside and $1.3 million from the NEA and the alliance. But Brownback's actions didn't eliminate the law creating the commission, and he's since replaced seven of its 12 members.
The NEA later asked Kansas to submit a new plan for promoting the arts that could qualify the state for federal funds next year. The commission was preparing to do just that by an October 31 deadline when it learned of the NEA's new position."
Associated Press 10/27/2011
10/27/2011
Las Vegas Lures Business with Arts/Culture
"Graphic arts company Walls 360 moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas for Sin City's arts and culture scene. If you're doing a double-take, that's not a misprint. Sure, Walls 360's founders liked Southern Nevada's lack of income tax, cheap real estate, low-cost shipping, and big available workforce.
But it was downtown's monthly First Friday arts festival that really did the trick. Co-founder John Doffing read about it in an article by a tech writer who noted the growing arts scene centered on e-tailer Zappos.com, which plans to move into City Hall in 2013.
'We went to First Friday and checked things out. We're an artist-centered company, and there's this incredible community of artists in this city that we didn't know about,' said Doffing, who ran startups in Silicon Valley for more than 15 years before opening Walls 360 here six weeks ago. 'We visited galleries and started interviewing folks, and it pushed us over the edge as far as telling us this was the place for us to go.'
Walls 360 is one of about 10 businesses that relocated to or expanded in Las Vegas from July to September, the first quarter in the Nevada Development Authority's fiscal year."
Las Vegas Review-Journal 10/20/2011
11/02/2011
First Lady Presents Youth Program Awards
"Zulmarie Nazario, a 16-year-old junior at Palumbo high school in South Philadelphia, is a testament to the power of arts education. She has been painting and drawing at the Fleisher Art Memorial just about every week since she came here from Puerto Rico three years ago. 'I feel like a totally different person when I come to Fleisher,' said Zulmarie. 'It allows me to express my feelings and not be afraid of being judged or self-conscious.'
Today, Zulmarie will represent the Fleisher Art Memorial at the White House, where first lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to present this year's National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Fleisher, a nonprofit community arts center in South Philadelphia, is one of only 12 arts organizations selected for the awards out of 471 nominated nationwide. The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program is part of a national initiative to celebrate the creativity of America's young people and to support after-school and out-of-school programs that open new pathways to self-discovery and academic success.
Zulmarie participates in Fleisher's Teen Lounge, a free after-school program that gives teenagers a chance to pursue projects of their own choosing while being guided by local professional artists. With access to Fleisher's studios and art materials, Zulmarie creates detailed abstract drawings that reflect her perspective on the world around her. She also takes part in a wide variety of other art projects, ranging from fabric sculptures to stop-motion animation.
Fleisher's arts programs have changed the outlooks and lives of thousands of young people. The creative projects coming out of its Teen Lounge engage young people and their families while celebrating the diversity of South Philadelphia and tapping into the community-building power of art."
The Philadelphia Inquirer 11/02/2011
11/23/2011
Tax Breaks Key to Reviving Film Industry
"North Carolina's film incentives program is essential to keep the industry flourishing and competitive, five experts said during a discussion Wednesday morning.
Their comments were part of 'A Beautiful Story on Film?,' the last event of the year for the Greater Wilmington Business Journal's Power Breakfast Series, held at the Wilmington Convention Center.
The gathering of local businesspeople, held on the eve of Wilmington's Cucalorus Film Festival, included Dan Brawley, the festival's director, among the panelists.
The group's words kept coming back to recent changes to the state's film incentives program, which government and industry officials have touted as a key ingredient in landing Iron Man 3. The film announced October 27 it would shoot in Wilmington over a 10-month period beginning next May, creating an estimated impact of more than $80 million while creating 550 crew jobs.
In 2009 and 2010, the N.C. General Assembly passed new laws that allow film companies to claim a 25 percent tax credit – up to $20 million – on productions spending more than $250,000 in qualifying expenses. The legislature also expanded the type of expenses that qualify for the credits, as well as eliminating the corporate income tax on the incentive itself."
Wilmington Star News 11/09/2011
11/23/2011
Legacy Fund Loss Would Hurt Arts Groups
"Minnesota voters approved the constitutional amendment in 2008 to send a three-eighths-cent sales tax to the outdoors, clean water, parks, and the arts. Arts and cultural programs get nearly 20 percent of that money, and so far thousands of arts programs have received grants for as little as a few hundred dollars.
But DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders are considering future Legacy money among a myriad of possible funding sources for a new Vikings stadium. The uncertainty comes at a time when some of the smallest arts groups that received the funds say they owe their existence to the grants.
Supporters of using Legacy money for a stadium argue the Vikings are a cultural asset to the state. But arts groups say losing funding would mean a drop in the quality and quantity of art programs statewide. The funding has been extra money for some groups, but it's helped others expand programming and cover expenses."
Minnesota Public Radio 11/21/2011
12/02/2011
European Union Unveils Arts Funding Plan
"The European Commission proposed the world’s largest-ever cultural funding program under the title Creative Europe. The initiative, which would disperse a projected €1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) between 2014 and 2020, represents a 35 percent increase in European Union expenditures on culture, and is part of a larger Pan-European goal to stimulate the economy through cultural enterprise.
Representing an average 4.5 percent of the region’s GDP, culture and media have drawn great attention on the aging continent as a robust sector in which they can prosper. This marks a stark ideological gap between the E.U.’s policymakers and the United States congress and prospective U.S. presidential candidates like Mitt Romney who propose to slash federal funding for the arts to balance the budget and improve the economy."
ARTINFO 11/23/2011
12/07/2011
Louisville Tries a New Fundraising Method
"Taking a cue from the success of Internet sites such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, the Louisville Fund for the Arts launched a new site Monday called Power 2 Give, designed to help nonprofit groups raise money for arts- or cultural-related projects.
'This project allows groups from around the city and the state to post projects and find donors to get funding,' said Barbara Sexton Smith, the fund’s acting president and CEO.
As of Monday’s launch, the website — power2give.org — listed 73 projects by a diverse range of groups, including large arts groups that have traditionally received money from the Fund for the Arts, such as Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Louisville Ballet.
It also includes projects by other groups, such as Crane House — The Asia Institute, the Blue Apple Players, the Arts Council of Southern Indiana, Jefferson Community and Technical College, and the Portland Museum.
'I think this (the new website) will give us more exposure, especially among smaller and younger donors who are interested in the culture life of the community, and it addresses new trends in giving,' said Crane House executive director Bryan Warren, whose organization has never received money from the Fund for the Arts."
The Courier-Journal 12/05/2011
12/19/2011
Stanford University Adds to Arts District
"Stanford University has unveiled plans for two major additions to its emerging 'arts district,' broadening the mission of a campus more famed for engineering than Expressionism.
The buildings -- one art museum and one academic building -- will join the Cantor Arts Center and Bing Concert Hall near the 'front door' of the campus at Palm Drive.
'These wonderful new facilities will take the arts to new levels,' said Matthew Tiews, executive director of Arts Programs at Stanford's School of Humanities & Sciences. 'They make sure that the experience of the arts and creativity is a fundamental part of Stanford's 21st century education,' he said.
One building, a contemporary art museum open to the public, will feature 121 pieces by such famed artists as Rothko, Pollock, and de Kooning.
The second building will be home to the university's Department of Art & Art History -- the first time Stanford's art studios and programs in film, media, and art history are together under one roof.
The Bing Concert Hall, an 844-seat site for Stanford Lively Arts' live musical performances, is under construction and will be open to the public in January 2013.
At a time when many arts organizations are struggling, the new projects are a reminder of the university's deep reach into a network of prosperous benefactors. The downturn in the economy has reduced donations and foundation funding for many arts groups.
Because of such gifts, Stanford is in the middle of its biggest building boom ever. It recently unveiled a new medical school building, business school, stem-cell research center and engineering center. A bioengineering building will open in fall 2014.
The buildings will strengthen the Stanford Arts Initiative, a universitywide effort to enhance the arts and creativity -- and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration with other fields on campus.
'They will be part of the experience for all Stanford students, not just those majoring in the arts,' Tiews said."
"Broadway enjoyed what was likely the highest-grossing week in its history this holiday season, with at least three shows—Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King—reporting the highest one-week dollar figures in their respective runs on the Great White Way. For the week ending January 2, the industry's total gross—$34.99 million—was up 24 percent from the same week last season. The one-week figure is almost certainly the largest in history, though the Broadway League, which compiles the data each week, declined to call it the highest because of a 2009 change in its methodology."
"Music Generation is the new national musical initiative that will aim to provide a musical education for 10,000 disadvantaged children over the next three years in Ireland. U2 contributed $6 million towards the cost of the new scheme which is also supported by the American Ireland Fund...The money will help provide a series of local music, education partnerships performed by established music teachers, musicians, and administrators. The project aims to offer free of charge or subsidized music lessons to school children either in or out of the classroom."
"After another year of plunging music sales, record company executives are starting to contemplate the unthinkable: The digital music business, held out as the future of the industry, may already be as big as it is going to get. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group based in London, said last week that sales of music in digital form had risen only six percent worldwide in 2010, even as the overall music market had shrunk eight or nine percent, extending a decade-long decline. In each of the past two years, the rate of increase in digital revenue has approximately halved."
"It was like walking into a morgue. Wrapped as if in death shrouds, all the sculptures and paintings in the art gallery were covered in black cloth and garbage bags. Art students at Bethel College organized as a day without art [on February 18]...About 50 pieces of art were concealed for the event to raise awareness of Gov. Sam Brownback’s executive reorganization order that will make the Kansas Arts Commission a privately funded organization. Not only will arts in Kansas lose the $575,000 next fiscal year in annual state funding, but [the state] also stands to lose an additional $778,300 in funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and $437,767 from the Mid-America Arts Alliance."
"In a wide-ranging interview about cultural matters with the Chicago Tribune last week, Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's mayor-elect, signaled his intent to 'raise up' the arts in Chicago...and previewed a major generational and cultural shift at a City Hall about to be run by a confident leader who listens to the alternative rock band Wilco, likes the darker plays at Steppenwolf Theatre and American Theater Company, and is not about to stop hanging out at rock venues."
"Wynton Marsalis will become a recurring presence on the Harvard University campus, as part of Harvard President Drew Faust’s initiative to better integrate the arts into education there...Marsalis will spend two or three days in Cambridge six times during the next two years, beginning with a visit this month that includes a lecture/performance...His lectures will address the relationship between music and the American identity, and include performances by his own quintet, a New Orleans parade band, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, among others."
"The federal government says it wants back money it provided to Maine if the state's governor does not reinstall a mural the funds helped pay for in its Department of Labor building...State officials said removal of the mural was needed to reflect a new image for the department, one not tilted toward organized labor. They said visitors to the lobby had complained that the mural is anti-business...Acting Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Boyett had earlier announced a contest to replace the names affixed to the conference rooms, which include Cesar Chavez and Frances Perkins. Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association. Perkins served as labor secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt."
"Ebooks have become the single bestselling category in American publishing for the first time, according to new data...The latest report from the Association of American Publishers, compiling sales data from U.S. publishing houses, shows that total ebook sales in February were $90.3 million. This makes digital books the largest single format in the country for the first time ever...overtaking paperbacks at $81.2 million. In January, ebooks were the second-largest category, behind paperbacks. America's ebooks enjoyed a 202.3 percent growth in sales in February compared with the same month the previous year."
