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Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Announces First Recipients in Performing Artists Initiative
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Steve

Today, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation announced the first class of recipients in the Duke Performing Artists Initiative. The initiative was announced last fall when the foundation allocated $50 million additional dollars to performing arts funding. From Ben Cameron, director of the Arts Program at Duke:

The Doris Duke Artist Awards recognize artists who have produced a significant body of work within the past decade—work that has already been supported and recognized by national citations, awards, prizes and/or grants, including at least one grant supported entirely or in part by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Whither the Non-Profit Arts Sector?
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Steve

From Alex Aldrich, executive director for the Vermont Arts Council:

A recent post by Brooklyn Philharmonic CEO Richard Dare set the nonprofit arts world all abuzz. It gave a lot of statistics about the number of orchestras that are failing and the general fragility of the non-profit art sector—in short, the kind of alarm-ringing I, for one, have heard since the early 1970s when I began my career in the arts.
Arizona Reauthorizes State Arts Commission for 10 Years
Posted on April 18, 2012 by Steve

From Bob Booker, executive director of the Arizona Arts Commission:

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, Governor Jan Brewer signed HB2265 into law, reauthorizing the Arizona Commission on the Arts for 10 years.

HB2265’s success is attributable to a monumental statewide effort: a yearlong collaboration between artists, arts educators, administrators, board members, advocates and bipartisan elected officials.

Clips from Alec Baldwin’s Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy
Posted on April 17, 2012 by Steve

Here is some freshly posted video of the early part of Alec Baldwin’s presentation of the 2012 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy given on April 16 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC:

Rethinking the Creativity Argument
Posted on April 16, 2012 by Steve

From Barry Hessenius at Barry's Blog:

It's been a decade or more since our sector embarked on a sea change in our attempt to better position the arts in the public discourse by embracing the wider concept of "creativity". The tipping point was probably Richard Florida's publication of The Rise of the Creative Class. We rushed to embrace the idea that creativity was the new currency of an information world—an asset that was, and would continue to be, critically essential to growing economies in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and that the arts were at the core of creativity. We did this I think in part because we saw it as a way to expand the appreciation for the value of the arts.
Knight Policy Promotes Donor Transparency in Digital Media
Posted on April 16, 2012 by Steve

Recognizing the transparency is a core value in the digital age, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today it will require journalism and media grantees to disclose the identities and amounts contributed by major donors.

Can a Solo Performer Act Alone?
Posted on April 16, 2012 by Steve

Todd London assays the Mike Daisey issue at HowlRound:

That’s the patho-tragedy of Daisey. He couldn’t get out of his own way. He couldn’t walk away from himself the way those marketing and artistic director types eventually walked away from him. He knew hard news was the way to go, but he couldn’t turn off that playwright voice, saying, “Dramatize more, Mike! Make it more personal-like!” He was, in the end, Mike Daisey, subjective man. Subjective Daisey made the best theater of the year—even if it was on the radio—the theater of his own unraveling. Could his play of (sort of) facts have been as heart-stopping as it was to hear him lying and covering and hemming and hawing and justifying and falsely testifying (pause) (silence) (way more silence) (Beckett half-smiles approvingly; Pinter smirks)?
Slash Your Local Orchestra
Posted on April 12, 2012 by Steve

From David Beem at Huffington Post:

Sometimes politics between management and players derail contract negotiations, as they have recently in Louisville. In comes the musicians' union, the AFM. And, against the backdrop of our national debate on unions, many in the community will naturally assume the musicians are gaming their employers. Discussion of how the arts requires “your help” will fall on deaf ears as much of the public shrugs their shoulders and puzzles over why they're asked to “give handouts.” They'll clear their throats and delicately suggest to the lot of lazy beggars that they should “get a real job.”
What’s the Role of the Fundraiser?
Posted on April 12, 2012 by Steve

From Simone Joyaux at Nonprofit Quarterly:

Let me tell you a secret: I don’t care if the donor gives a gift to my organization or to another organization. It’s all philanthropy. And philanthropy is about the donor. Philanthropy is bigger than any single organization. I believe “a rising tide raises all boats.” I believe that relationships are an end in and of themselves, not merely a strategy to secure gifts of time, advice and money. So here’s a wild suggestion. How about this threefold role for a fundraiser
Staff Unpaid, Buildings Unheated as Bosnia’s National Museums Struggle to Survive
Posted on April 12, 2012 by Steve

From Zoe Larkins at The Art Newspaper:

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s major cultural institutions, including the National Gallery and the National Museum, which are both in the capital Sarajevo, are in danger of closing indefinitely due to a lack of funding and government support. Staff, many of whom have been not been paid for months, have responded by organising events and exhibitions to bring attention to the crisis. The situation stems from the country’s dysfunctional administrative system and the lack of a national cultural ministry.