GIA Blog

NEA Statement on the Death of NEA Jazz Master Marian McPartland
Posted on August 22, 2013 by Abigail

From the August 21 National Endowment for the Arts press release:

It is with great sadness that the National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the passing of 2000 NEA Jazz Master Marian McPartland. As host of the renowned public radio show Piano Jazz, McPartland played a key role in helping to popularize jazz through her intricate knowledge of the art form and her prowess on the piano. NEA Senior Deputy Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, "Marian McPartland faced many challenges playing jazz as a woman in the 1940s. She was one of the first women to lead her own band, landing an eight-year residency at the historic Hickory House in New York City before going on to a career as the host of Piano Jazz where she was integral to raising the profile of jazz nationwide."

The Arts: The Private Sector's Secret Weapon
Posted on August 20, 2013 by Abigail

In a Huffpost Arts & Culture post titled "The Private Sector's Secret Weapon," Americans for the Arts' president and CEO Robert Lynch responds to The Conference Board's list of the top five global challenges for CEOs by linking the challenges–human capital, operational excellence, innovation, customer relationships, and global political economic risk–to arts-related practices, skills, and outcomes.

Agnes Gund on a Braver Defense of the Arts
Posted on August 20, 2013 by Abigail

Writing for Huffington Post, Agnes Gund responds to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee's recent vote to cut the budgets of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities by 49% in 2014, including arguments made for and against the cuts by House members:

I want to suggest that we must mount a braver defense of the arts, a more vigorous, vital, real-life defense. I have thought a lot about the true, deep and telling, urgent importance of the arts to Americans. In this time of financial trouble and international turmoil, the arts and the humanities provide more than 'enhancement,' more than 'benefit.' They provide insight; they provide incentive; they inspire. They give us answers.

Alberto Ríos has been named the inaugural Poet Laureate for the State of Arizona
Posted on August 20, 2013 by Tommer

In partnership with the Office of the Governor, the Arizona Commission on the Arts is pleased to announce that celebrated poet and Arizona State University Regents’ Professor Alberto Ríos has been named the inaugural Poet Laureate for the State of Arizona.

 

My Turn: For a humane tax reform
Posted on August 19, 2013 by Steve

John R. Killacky, writing for the Burlington Free Press:

As our legislators debate implications of a tax overhaul, I hope they remember that nonprofits serve a triple bottom line, all subsidized by donations: they deliver programs in a fiscally balanced, cost-effective manner, their double bottom line makes programs accessible to serve those less fortunate, and their triple bottom line is achieved when those they reach contribute to society.
CERF+ Biennial Report on the State of Emergency Preparedness
Posted on August 14, 2013 by Tommer

This report, whose theme is “working together to keep artists working,” takes a look at CERF+’s expanded program offerings and  increased numbers of artists served during a period of great economic uncertainty. With natural disasters occurring more frequently and often with greater force, CERF+ has taken a lead role in preparedness, which is key to building resilient arts communities around the country.

How Video Games and Social Media Fuel Students’ Passion for Art
Posted on August 10, 2013 by Steve

From Katrina Schwartz, for the blog Mind/Shift:

The average teenager consumes about 10 hours of media per day according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report, and that’s often through a gadget like smartphone or tablet. But depending on what we choose to focus on, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The same devices that are used to consume art have also allowed students to create on their own, often with little instruction or direction.
Cleveland Museum of Art Hits the First Target for Federal Challenge Grant
Posted on August 10, 2013 by Steve

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer:

The Cleveland Museum of Art is scheduled to finish its eight-year, $350 million expansion and renovation in December. Already, however, it’s getting kudos for the new educational framework it’s wrapping around its world-renowned collection.
Artists’ Travel as a Tool for Professional Growth and Development
Posted on August 8, 2013 by Tommer

McKnight Foundation's Vickie Benson writes a compelling case for artists' travel on Open Road: Open Mind.

About Time for a New NEA Chair, Yes?
Posted on August 7, 2013 by Tommer

A timely question from Patricia Cohen in The New York Times:

More than eight months have elapsed since Mr. Landesman announced that he was stepping down from the nation’s top arts post. The only time a search has taken longer was in 2002, after the conductor and composer Michael P. Hammond died after just six days in office.