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New York Arts Groups Outline $23 Million Wishlist for Chancellor Fariña
Posted on June 18, 2014 by Steve

From by Geoff Decker, writing for Chalkbeat New York:

The city should subsidize the salaries of new arts teachers for up to three years to make sure schools are complying with state arts requirements, a coalition of education advocates says. In a letter sent to Chancellor Carmen Fariña on this week, the group outlined tips for how the Department of Education should spend an extra $23 million that’s likely to be allotted to the arts budget next year. Arts spending has fallen over the past decade amid shifting priorities, hovering at around $300 million in recent years.
Freedom Funders: Philanthropy and the Civil Rights Movement
Posted on June 16, 2014 by Steve

Freedom Funders: Philanthropy and the Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1965 was commissioned by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, authored by Sean Dobson, president of Dobson Consulting. The report examines four foundations that played a critical, but often-overlooked, role in passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Charles Wright Named America’s Poet Laureate
Posted on June 12, 2014 by Steve

From Jennifer Schuessler, at The New York Times:

The Library of Congress is to announce on Thursday that the next poet laureate will be Charles Wright, the author of nearly two dozen collections of verse that fuse the legacy of European modernism with mystical evocations of the landscape of the American South.

Mr. Wright, 78, a retired professor at the University of Virginia, has already won just about every other honor in the poetry world, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Bollingen Prize and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.

Public Funding for Art: Chicago Compared with 12 Peer Regions
Posted on June 11, 2014 by Steve

A new report from the University of Chicago’s cultural Policy Center compares the direct public dollars received by organizations and artists in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (OR), San Diego, and San Francisco from 2002-2012. Public Funding for Art: Chicago Compared with 12 Peer Regions was authored by Jennifer Novak-Leonard and Patience Baach.

Cummings Foundation’s Greer to Step Down
Posted on June 11, 2014 by Steve

Nathan Cummings Foundation President and CEO Simon Greer will leave his position later this month, according to an announcement from the foundation’s board chair. Greer has held the position since January 2012. Senior Vice Presidents Maurine Knighton and Bill Dempsey will take over day to day responsibilities and interim leadership will follow shortly as a formal search is established.<!-break-->

GIA Deputy Director Tommer Peterson to Retire
Posted on June 10, 2014 by Steve

Tommer Peterson, GIA’s deputy director and director of programs for Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), has announced he will retire at the end of 2014. GIA looks forward to celebrating Tommer’s contributions throughout the year and to seeking a replacement who will build on the solid foundation of service to the field that he has created at Grantmakers in the Arts.

In the hopes to have someone to fill this position before this fall, GIA will begin a national search immediately. Please circulate the information about the search process and job description that can be found here.

Philanthropy’s Role in Disaster Relief
Posted on June 9, 2014 by Steve

A post from the Minnesota Council on Foundation Philanthropy Potluck website:

In May 2014, MCF’s Government Relations and Public Policy committee invited Holly Sampson, president of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, and Erik Torch, grant program manager of the Northland Foundation, to share their experiences and lessons-learned since extensive flooding in 2012.
Eviction Battles Imperil a Queens Art Haven
Posted on June 8, 2014 by Steve

From Colin Moynihan, at The New York Times:

Battles between artists and landlords are nearly as plentiful in New York City as galleries themselves. But a recent spate of attempted evictions and other conflicts in a three-story brick building in Ridgewood, Queens, is buffeting a young outpost of the art world just as the area is earning a reputation for affordable studio space and vibrant openings.
Arts-in-Corrections Programs Return to California State Prisons
Posted on June 6, 2014 by Steve

The California Arts Council awarded contracts to seven organizations for Arts-in-Corrections programs in fourteen state correctional facilities. Arts-in-Corrections services will be provided by The Actors' Gang, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Dance Kaiso, Marin Shakespeare Company, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and the William James Association.

Paying Artists: Securing a Future for Visual Arts in the UK
Posted on June 6, 2014 by Steve

A report from the UK, and the initiative behind the report, is working to highlight the flow of money in the art world and especially how little the artists receive. Paying Artists: Securing a future for visual arts in the UK states that their mission “is about transforming opportunities for artists, galleries, funders and policy-makers alike.”