Arts groups in Detroit will share nearly $20 million donated by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, including $9 million to be awarded through a communitywide contest to boost the city's best arts ideas, the foundation announced Tuesday.
Steve's Blog
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Steve
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the USC Brain and Creativity Institute and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) have announced a longitudinal research collaboration to investigate the emotional, social and cognitive effects of musical training on childhood brain development.
The five-year research project, Effects of Early Childhood Musical Training on Brain and Cognitive Development, will offer USC researchers an important opportunity to provide new insights and add rigorous data to an emerging discussion about the role of early music engagement in learning and brain function.
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Steve
Alberto Carvahlo, Superintendent of the Miami-Dade County School District, presented a keynote address last week at the annual GIA conference in Miami on the importance of the arts in schools. Today, his district was named the recipient of the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education. The $1 million Broad (rhymes with “road”) Prize is an annual award that honors the four large urban school districts that demonstrate the strongest student achievement and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income and minority students.
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Steve
Grantmakers in Aging will host a free webinar, The Boomer Explosion: A Creative Look at Aging and Communities - Conversations with GIA, Monday, November 5 at 2:00 pm EST/11:00 am PST. The webinar is co-sponsored by Grantmakers in the Arts. Participants will take away key information about “boomers” who are redefining the second half of life, as well as opportunities for cultural and aging organizations to meaningfully engage this demographic.
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Steve
Sphinx, the Detroit-based performing arts organization, is launching its inaugural international convening on diversity, SphinxCon, which will take place in Detroit, February 15-17, 2013. The event will bring together leaders from all disciplines of the performing arts to share ideas, challenges, successes and lessons learned in pursuit of increased diversity in all aspects of the sector. SphinxCon aims to illuminate the critical topic of diversity, doing so in an unprecedented manner and scope.
Posted on October 22, 2012 by Steve
The Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Board of Directors has selected Faith Mitchell, Ph.D. as the organization's next president and CEO. She will assume the position on December 1, 2012, succeeding Lauren LeRoy, who has led GIH for the past 14 years.
Posted on October 15, 2012 by Steve
From Heather Gillers at the Chicago Tribune:
City officials Monday morning announced two plans aimed at supporting increased arts programming — one for the city as a whole and one for Chicago Public Schools. The citywide plan — a draft of which was hailed as "an amazing document" by National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman in July — calls for more flexibility in city regulations governing the arts and aims to use Chicago's arts attractions to draw international tourists.
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Steve
From Matthew Lasar for Ars Technica:
He appeared before the Personal Democracy conference in New York City on June 12 of this year. Such was the tension in the audience as Cary Sherman approached the stage that the moderator offered some cautionary words.
“The world changed this winter with the fight over SOPA and PIPA, and everybody is evaluating what that means,” his introduction to the guest began. “To some degree it is a cliche; it is a little bit like Daniel entering the lion's den... I also think we owe him the same civility that we would respond to any controversial speaker no matter how controversial their views, so I'm expecting you all to treat him with respect.”
With that, the CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America took the podium and, to no one's surprise, inveighed against copyright infringement and piracy. No sparks flew. The audience treated Sherman in a cordial and friendly manner. They even laughed at his jokes, which is probably why his presentation didn't get much immediate news play.
One factoid from the speech, however, has taken on a life of its own. Sherman offered it alongside a chart about 14 minutes into the speech.
Posted on October 3, 2012 by Steve
Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will present the 2012 National Accessibility Leadership Award to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) on October 5, 2012 at the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) annual conference in Washington, DC. Sponsored by the NEA and NASAA, the National Accessibility Leadership Award recognizes exceptional initiatives or programs that make the arts accessible and inclusive for older adults and individuals with disabilities. The award comes with a $25,000 grant.
Posted on October 3, 2012 by Steve
From Richard Florida for Atlantic Cities:
To what degree are the world's leading financial centers also leading centers for the arts? A new study by Monika Skórska and Robert Kloosterman of the University of Amsterdam takes an empirical look. Many have noted a possible connection between the two. While some believe leadership in arts and finance are twin characteristics of leading global cities, others, mainly economists, argue that leadership in the arts comes only after and as a byproduct of economic leadership. Despite these assertions, the study points out, there has has been little systematic empirical research of the connection between finance and arts across global cities.