GIA Blog

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Monica

Lisa Cremin, a director with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and former GIA board member, has been recognized with a 2016 Governor’s Award for the Arts & Humanities. Cremin began working with the Community Foundation in 1993 and under her guidance its arts fund has grown to its current size of $9.2 million and in its lifetime has given away more than $12 million. She has been a dedicated advocate and evangelist for small to mid-sized arts organizations — groups producing powerful work — that provide access to the arts to underserved communities.

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Monica

The New York State Council on the Arts had announced Mara Manus as the agency’s new executive director. Manus has served as executive director of the Public Theater in New York City as well as a program officer at the Ford Foundation. Previous roles also include director of Playwrights of New York, executive director of The Film Society of Lincoln Center and founding director of the Arthur Miller Foundation and Southampton Arts Center.

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Steve

Ebony McKinney is a program officer with the San Francisco Arts Commission. She previously held positions with The BRITDOC Foundation in London, Intersection for the Arts, and the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. She has participated in grant review panels for the California College for the Arts Center for Art & Public Life, the National Endowment for the Arts, the San Jose Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission. McKinney was a part of the Emerging Leader Council of Americans for the Arts, where she co-chaired the engagement committee and the Emerging Ideas committee. She currently serves on the citizens advisory committee of Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund. McKinney holds an MA in cultural entrepreneurship and an MA in visual anthropology from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Steve

Lara Davis has been active in youth development and community arts education for more than a decade. She has served as a Seattle arts commissioner and as program director for Arts Corps, a youth arts organization. At the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Lara manages Creative Advantage, a public/private partnership to ensure equitable access to high quality arts learning for all Seattle students. Lara serves on the National Advisory Committee for the Teaching Artists Guild and facilitates equity and racial justice trainings. As a person of color, Lara understands the value of cross-cultural, multi-sector efforts to dismantle racism and other oppressions, and to promote justice. As an artist and arts administrator, she knows firsthand the power of creativity necessary to build access, foster engagement, transform communities, and inspire systemic change.

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Steve

Grantmakers in the Arts is pleased to have a fantastic pair of bloggers covering the 2016 Conference in Saint Paul. Ebony McKinney, program officer with the San Francisco Arts Commission, and Lara Davis, Arts Education Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture will be posting their comments and reactions beginning Sunday, October 16.

Posted on October 1, 2016 by SuJ'n

For the month of October, GIA's photo banner features artists and work supported by Target. Target's support of the arts and culture dates back to 1946 when the company first began giving 5 percent of its profit to local communities. Today, this giving equals more than $4 million each week. Target is a Leadership Sponsor of the 2016 GIA Conference taking place this month in Saint Paul, MN, neighbor to Target's headquarters in Minneapolis.

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Monica

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Kresge Foundation are partnering to expand support of creative placemaking through the launch of a pilot technical assistance program in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation's National Creative Placemaking Program (LISC) and PolicyLink. Specialized technical assistance will be given to 14 organizations and their partners with the goal of advancing each organization’s ability to lead successful projects that result in positive short- and long-term outcomes for their community.

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Monica

Esteemed arts administrator Arlynn “Arni” Fishbaugh will retire at the end of September after serving as executive director of Montana Arts Council for 25 years. On September 30, Arni will be honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Montana. Arni served on the board Grantmakers in the Arts for six years (2011–2016) and has also served the boards of the National Assembly of Arts Agencies, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and the Western States Arts Federation.

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Monica

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Michael Warlum, who worked for Robert E. Gard at Wisconsin Idea Theatre, reflects on the continued influence of Gard's The Arts in the Small Community fifty years after its publication.

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “Impact Investing 101,” Rosalie Sheehy Cates and Shin Yu Pai of Philanthropy Northwest offer a primer for funders interested in exploring impact investing.