Steve's Blog

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in partnership with the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), has announced the results of the first comprehensive survey to assess the ethnic and gender diversity of the staffs of art museums across the United States. Undertaken to replace anecdotal evidence with hard data, the survey provides the museum field with the first statistical baseline against which progress can be measured.

The George Gund Foundation has named Jennifer Coleman as their new Senior Program Officer for the Arts. Coleman, an architect, has been president of her own design firm, Jennifer Coleman Creative LLC, since 2005. She founded CityProwl.com, a company that creates and distributes digital audio walking tours of Cleveland. Among other civic endeavors, Coleman has served as chair of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and the Downtown/Flats Design Review Committee, and has been a member of the board of trustees of many organizations, including the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Cleveland International Film Festival, LAND studio, and the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

Last Week Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker vetoed funding increases for the arts, humanities, and sciences through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). The veto would reduce the budget for MCC that the Legislature approved by $2.37 million, from $14.16 million to $11.79 million, for the fiscal year that began July 1. If it stands, that funding level would negate plans to increase investment in key grant programs and launch new initiatives, and necessitate cuts to existing programs, said MCC Executive Director Anita Walker.

The Cultural Data Project and Americans for the Arts have announced that the CDP will provide the organizational data collection platform for Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, Americans for the Arts’ fifth national economic impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. The collaboration brings together two national cultural data and research organizations with the intention of enriching national research and policy efforts, while at the same time streamlining data reporting for arts and cultural organizations.

The latest issue of GIA Reader has been added to the online library. You can read articles about arts education from Richard Kessler and Margaret Hasse, articles on equity funding from Judi Jennings and Denise Brown, an interview with artist Ann Hamilton from Krista Tippett, a piece on the Creative Caregiving Initiative from Margery Pabst Steinmetz, and much more.

Erik Takeshita, Director of Creative Placemaking for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), will join the Bush Foundation as its Portfolio Director, Community Creativity. Takeshita will oversee development and execution of the Foundation’s programming around arts-based community development efforts. Takeshita has over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of community development and the arts. Since 2008 he has led a breadth of work at LISC, including designing its “Central Corridor as Cultural Corridor” creative placemaking project.

Allyson Esposito, a veteran arts and philanthropy advocate, has been hired as the new Director of Arts & Culture for the Boston Foundation. Esposito comes to Boston from the City of Chicago, where since 2012 she has served as director of the city’s Cultural Grants Program in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In that role she was charged with fostering partnerships and lasting relationships in Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent artists, and for-profit art institutions.

After 23 years as program director for American art at the Henry Luce Foundation, Ellen Holtzman will retire on September 30. Her successor will be Teresa A. Carbone who previously served as American art curator at the Brooklyn Museum. Dr. Carbone will join the Luce Foundation in early August.

The National Endowment for the Arts has selected Clifford Murphy as its new director of folk and traditional arts, effective August 24, 2015. Murphy will manage NEA grantmaking in folk and traditional arts, oversee the NEA National Heritage Fellowship program, and represent the agency to the field. Murphy is currently director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC). In 2011, Murphy launched the state’s first Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival, and also manages the Maryland Traditions grant program supporting apprenticeships and projects. Murphy also produces the state’s annual Achievement in Living Traditions and Arts (ALTA) Awards.