GIA Blog

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Tommer

An interview with GIA 2013 conference keynote speaker, Nikky Finney, on Poetry Foundation.

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Steve

The seven-part video conversation “Dinner-Vention at Djerassi” is now available. Hosted by Barry Hessenius, the dinner gathers a large group of thinkers to dine and converse. Guests include:

  • Salvador Acevado, Contemporenea
  • Tamara Alvarado, School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza
  • Kimberly Howard, Oregon Cultural Trust
  • Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
  • Lex Leifheit, SOMArts
  • Clayton Lord, Americans for the Arts
  • Nina Simon, Snata Cruz Museum of Art and History
  • Devon Smith, Three Spot
  • Kristin Thomson, Future of Music Coalition
  • Margy Waller, Topos Partnership and Art on the Streets
  • Meiyin Wang, Public Theatre's Under the Radar Festival
  • Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts
Posted on October 21, 2013 by Steve

Lori Pourier—an Oglala/Mnicoujou Lakota from South Dakota and the president of First Peoples Fund, as well as a former member of the GIA Board of Directors—is the recipient of the 2013 Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life. She is one of 10 laureates to receive the award this year, and the only honoree from the United States.

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tommer

The full report from the Future of Music Coalition's Artists and Health Insurance Survey is now available online.

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Steve

Meredith May writes for the San Francisco Chronicle:

It seems true that singing in a choir can be therapeutic, especially for older adults, but a groundbreaking clinical trial is under way in San Francisco to see whether science agrees. Over the next five years, researchers at UCSF will create a dozen senior choirs throughout the city to compare the physical strength, balance, memory and moods of singers versus non-singers.
Posted on October 17, 2013 by Ian David Moss

I have now been to the Grantmakers in the Arts Conference five times. I sort of can’t believe I’m writing that – it simultaneously makes me feel old and very, very lucky. I’ve written about my experiences there now four of those five times; you can find my wrap-ups for 200920102011, and of course 2013 on Createquity.

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Steve

Daniel Reid, part of the great stable of bloggers of the Philadelphia conference, posts his post-op entry:

To this newcomer, the 2013 Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Philadelphia was a whirlwind tour through dozens of ideas and themes that have currency among arts funders, from creative placemaking to creativity and aging, from combatting racism in our own practice to ensuring all students receive a robust arts education. A few days after the final breakfast, I’ve achieved some distance from the details, and from that vantage, I want to reflect on a fundamental question that cropped up in various plenary presentations, breakout sessions, and side conversations throughout the conference: How can we as grantmakers most effectively support excellence in the arts? The question has special resonance for me as I step into a new role as Executive Director of the Whiting Foundation, which gives to individual writers.

Read the full post and check out Daniel’s posts at the 2013 Conference Blog.

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Steve

From Brian Wise, at WQXR, New York Public Radio:

American orchestras are falling backwards when it comes to hiring black and Latino musicians. Aaron Dworkin, the president and founder of the nonprofit Sphinx Organization, offered a stinging critique of the orchestra field in a speech Tuesday night at Carnegie Hall, saying that symphonies aren’t doing nearly enough to diversify their ranks through recruitment or fellowship programs.
Posted on October 16, 2013 by Talia Gibas

I approached the 2013 Grantmakers in the Arts Conference as an opportunity to revisit my roots while stepping out of my comfort zone. I grew up in the Philadelphia area and my first job out of graduate school was in grantmaking. Since then I have been living and breathing arts education. I arrived last week happy to be “home” and eager to take a break from edutalk. I wanted to sit back and revel in topics I know little about. Wouldn’t you know it? Of the nearly ten pages of notes I wrote over those three days, almost half are about public education. So much for that break.

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Daniel Reid

To this newcomer, the 2013 Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Philadelphia was a whirlwind tour through dozens of ideas and themes that have currency among arts funders, from creative placemaking to creativity and aging, from combatting racism in our own practice to ensuring all students receive a robust arts education. A few days after the final breakfast, I’ve achieved some distance from the details, and from that vantage, I want to reflect on a fundamental question that cropped up in various plenary presentations, breakout sessions, and side conversations throughout the conference: How can we as grantmakers most effectively support excellence in the arts? The question has special resonance for me as I step into a new role as Executive Director of the Whiting Foundation, which gives to individual writers.