GIA News's Blog

(8-6-10) The GIA Guest Blog, “A Movable Feast: Conversations About the Artist-Grantmaker Relationship around a Virtual Dinner Table” is happening now. The subject of the relationship between artist and grantmaker is looking to make for a rich discussion. Join in at blogs.giarts.org/uteandtheaster.

(8-3-10) A new website created by the Greater Washington Society of CPAs' Nonprofit Financial Accountability Task Force provides in-depth information on finance and accounting for small and mid-sized nonprofits. The site's creation was funded in part by the Meyer Foundation. Featured topics include:

• Internal reporting requirements
• Tax filings and audits
• Nonprofit-specific bookkeeping
• Information about starting a new nonprofit

(8-3-10) Deadline is Sunday, August 15 to submit nominations to the Greater Columbus Arts Council 2010 Community Arts Partnership Awards. The Community Arts Partnership Awards recognize the Ohio community's crucial contributions to the arts, including financial support, non-cash contributions, volunteer involvement, leadership and board participation. An online form for nominations is available here.

Read More about the Arts Partnership Awards.

(8-3-10) Richard Kessler brings us up to date on the U.S. Department of Educations i3 program:

As word is starting to make its way around the country regarding approvals and declinations for the 2010 USDOE Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination program (I am extremely happy to say the The Center for Arts Education was awarded a 2010 AEMDD grant!), I've been hearing conflicting information about when the results of the USDOE i3 program will be announced.

(8-3-10) The Community Spirit Awards is a national fellowship award for American Indian artists. First Peoples Fund chooses honorees for their commitment to sustaining the cultural values of native people. The process of bringing spirit back to community is an important responsibility for artists - it is part of a sacred honor system. First Peoples Fund works to strengthen that honor system by recognizing these exceptional artists for knowing themselves, honoring others, and sustaining spirit in their own communities.

(8-1-10) Here's a summary of an interesting interview on the BBC with Joi Ito, Internet guru, and keynote speaker at the upcoming GIA conference.

And here's the audio of the complete interview.

(8-1-10) In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

For a national reading program, $1 million isn't a lot of money, but that's all the National Endowment for the Arts will spend this year on its once highly hyped Big Read. It's a 73 percent reduction.

(7-28-10) Yesterday, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation announced three one-year, general operating support grants totaling more than $3.2 million. The Flint Cultural Center Corporation will receive $1.35 million, the Flint Institute of Arts $1.25 million, and the Flint Institute of Music $650,000. This round of grants marks the eighth consecutive year of general operating support, totaling more than $21 million, provided by Mott to these organizations.

From the Mott Foundation press release:

(7-26-10) July 25, Drake Bennett for The Boston Globe:

...Ivey has an ambitious proposition: create what he calls a “cultural EPA.” His vision is not a European-style culture ministry, but a federal agency that would make sure no one gained too much control over the nation’s cultural assets: Just as the Environmental Protection Agency was created to regulate any activity that exploited the nation’s environmental resources, so would a cultural EPA regulate activities that affect the nation’s cultural riches.

(7-22-10) Bad Culture caught wind of Medici's Lever via John Kreidler's GIA Guest Blog and set up an in-depth interview that you can read here.

John Kreidler will continue to discuss Medici's Lever, a web-based tool designed to model the dynamics of cultural policy in an urban environment, on his GIA-hosted blog—the first in a series of guest blogs that GIA will roll out over the course of the year. Check back often and feel free to post questions and comments.