Last month, Helicon Collaborative published Making Meaningful Connections: Characteristics of Arts Groups that Engage New and Diverse Participants with funding from The James Irvine Foundation. This research shares the attributes of organizations that successfully invite, reach, and meet the needs of diverse audiences. On its heels, the Regional Arts & Culture Council based in Portland, Oregon recently published An Introduction to Engaging Diverse Audiences. This toolkit presents six building blocks that build and strengthen community relationships and provides an excellent compilation of other previously released resources, including the Helicon report.
SuJ'n's Blog
Posted on July 1, 2014 by SuJ'n
During the months of July and August, GIA’s photo banner features artists and projects supported by Arts & Science Council (ASC) of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina.
Culture connects people and strengthens communities. With the public and private sectors investing more than a billion dollars in arts, science, history and heritage since 1977, cultural development has played a significant role in the growth, globalization and long-term economic prosperity of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community and the work of the Arts & Science Council (ASC).
Posted on June 6, 2014 by SuJ'n
The NonProfit Quarterly has published Part I of an article this morning on the state of black museums in the United States:
From a brief review of self-identified African-American museums, it is clear that there are many more than most people realize. Most of them are relatively small, and several struggle—like many institutions of arts and culture—to find their way to sustainable financial futures. They also often appear to be remarkable community assets with important and widely recognized exhibitions and collections.
Posted on May 30, 2014 by SuJ'n
For the month of June, GIA’s photo banner features the 2014 winners of the Joyce Awards, a program of The Joyce Foundation.
The Joyce Foundation is excited to announce the 2014 winners of the Joyce Awards, which empower artists in different cities across the Midwest to create new work in partnership with organizations and communities.The prestigious Joyce Awards recognize the importance of adding new, dynamic artworks specifically from artists of color with a $50,000 award that commissions thought-provoking pieces.
Posted on May 27, 2014 by SuJ'n
From Alicia Akins at Createquity:
As the globe’s richest and most heavily armed nation, the United States is in a unique position relative to the rest of the world. Looking at examples beyond our borders shows how other countries handle limited budgets, growing or diminishing international stature, and the desire to be competitive. The four countries compared here—Korea, China, Cambodia, and Brazil—are in different phases of development and provide an important contrast to the industrialized European nations to which cultural policy in the United States is so often compared.
Posted on May 1, 2014 by SuJ'n
During the month of May, GIA’s photo banner features work of GIA member Staten Island Arts.
Founded in 1992 by a group of community artists, Staten Island Arts is the borough’s local arts council serving a variety of artistic disciplines through its Grants Program for local artists and small arts organizations; Arts Education Program in schools and senior centers; Folklife Program with new & historic immigrant communities; and Contemporary Art Program such as LUMEN, a one-night video and performance art festival that attracts around 3,000 people each year.
Melanie Franklin Cohn, executive director of Staten Island Arts, shares about an exciting new venture that will serve as a nexus between creative enterprise, community-building, and the arts:
This summer, we will be opening a 2,500 square foot space at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in St. George called Culture Lounge. Culture Lounge is a multiform program space and an artist retail market located in a ferry transit hub that sees over 75,000 passengers a day. The goal of Culture Lounge is to create a nurturing space for local artists, heritage bearers, and small arts organizations to gain skills, whether through exhibits, productions, workshops, or retail market experience, while engaging new audiences.