Carmen Graciela Díaz's Blog

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission voted unanimously to create the first-ever LA County Department for Arts and Culture. The motion instructs the County to transition the LA County Arts Commission to a stand-alone County department starting July 1 and to complete the transition by fiscal year 2019.

Out of 44 national applications, four labs were chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to conduct research programs investigating the value and impact of the arts in both arts and non-arts sectors.

"Race is a social construct that has deep societal impact. Our nation’s history of racism has been codified through systems such as slavery, education, and housing — all issues that the social sector seeks to address. As such, the social sector has a mandate to eliminate racism at all levels on which it exists and shift its axis towards race equity." This statement sets the tone and context for a report by Equity in the Center, which tackles how organizations can begin the race equity journey in their respective institutions.

The Minneapolis Foundation recently announced it raised more than $100 million in charitable gifts during the fiscal year that ended on March 31, a record for gifts made to the Foundation in a single year.

Roadblock Analysis Report, by Open Road Alliance, has found that funders are contributing to disruptions to project implementation and therefore threatening the impact of their own investments.

In an atypical approach to support for the arts, the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC) recently announced $3.15 million in grants supporting 81 high-quality summer programs that serve youth from low-income families living in Baltimore City.

Through a $43 million multi-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies expanded its Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program to seven new cities. The program seeks to strengthen the organizational capacity and programming of more than 200 small and midsize cultural organizations in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., Bloomberg Philanthropies announced in a press release.

From presidents, to directors, to curators, women have taken the torch in leadership changes at museums as a recent article in The Guardian addressed.

The National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University (NCAR) has found the majority of arts and cultural organizations have "precariously low levels of working capital," or resources available to cover day-to-day operating needs.

The World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF), a coalition of 35 global cities, recently announced it will bring together cultural leaders from nine cities to take part in its first Leadership Exchange Programme. Together, they will collaborate and develop creative solutions to urban challenges, from climate change and threats to affordability to community engagement, establishing the role arts and culture serve in advancing cities and shaping public policy.