GIA Blog

By Eliminating the Arts We Are Undermining Our Founders Vision of America
Posted on June 22, 2012 by Steve

From Nicholas Ferroni at The Huffington Post:

In 1780, during some of the most crucial years of the Revolution, John and Sam Adams, and John Hancock felt it necessary to charter an academy in Cambridge, even before America won its independence. It seems obvious that only a military academy would be that important to create in the midst of a war, but it was not a military academy. In fact, they founded the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, one of the most prestigious societies of research and study in the United States. Adams penned the Academy's motto himself; it read “To cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honour, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.”
Indiana University Approves School Of Philanthropy
Posted on June 22, 2012 by Steve

The Board of Trustees of Indiana University has approved a plan to establish the nation’s first School of Philanthropy. The degree will carry the same weight as a degree from one of the university’s other schools, such as liberal arts. The School of Philanthropy will combine under one umbrella academic and research on the philanthropic sector. The research arm will be the Center on Philanthropy (CoP), which was established in 1987 and has been the university’s hub for philanthropic studies.

Reviews of Early Exhibitions of (Now) Famous Artists
Posted on June 22, 2012 by Steve

From Alison Nastasi, at Flavorwire:

This Sunday marks the 111th anniversary of Picasso’s [first] Paris exhibition. The few critics that did attend the show gave him favorable reviews. Years later, the painter’s exhibit in Switzerland drew enormous crowds and the criticisms of some very prominent figures. Find out who after the break, and see what other reviewers had to say about famous artists throughout history during the early part of their careers.
Talking About Race in America
Posted on June 20, 2012 by Janet

On June 11-13, 2012, thirty individuals met at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh for a Grantmakers in the Arts Thought Leader Forum on Racial Equity Grantmaking. They were all there because they were experienced arts funders working in social justice. Some are relatively new to their positions, others have been around for a while leading discussions in and outside of GIA on the topic of the arts, equity, and social justice.

McKnight Foundation celebrates 30 years of artist fellowships
Posted on June 18, 2012 by Noah

Over the past 30 years, The McKnight Foundation has supported more than 1,100 individual artists through its Artist Fellowships program. To mark the program’s anniversary, the foundation hosted a celebration on June 16 with hundreds of artist fellows in attendance, work commissioned from former fellows for the event, and remarks by NEA Chair Rocco Landesman and nationally renowned storyteller Kevin Kling.

Can science put a value on art?
Posted on June 15, 2012 by Steve

From BBC, brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder affect tens of thousands of US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is known that art therapies can help with the psychological effects of these invisible wounds, but can they promote physical healing? A top military hospital near Washington is conducting the first comprehensive clinical tests to find out how art works. The National Intrepid Center of Excellence is carrying out the study as part of a broader effort to measure the value of creative endeavours in all stages of human development.

Watch the video piece.

GFEM Highlights Public Media in Democracy
Posted on June 14, 2012 by Steve

Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM) will host its annual funder conversation on June 27-28 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Special guests include vocalist Renée Fleming; Frontline executive producer David Fanning; NPR's Terry Gross; and Gary Knell, president of National Public Radio. Further details and registration information is available at www.gfem.org.

How We Access Art and Information in Era of Big Data
Posted on June 13, 2012 by Steve

From Patrick Hussey at The Guardian:

Let's end with the big picture of what New Curation and this Open Art movement could achieve, breaking down the silos of human knowledge and uniting art with sciences like sociology, archaeology – heck, even chemistry. Imagine you are a scientist researching a project that could be informed by hidden gems from our thousands of years of culture, like the researchers who used Thoreau's journals to track climate change. That connection was spotted by a well-read human brain. With Open Art we could create insights like this more often, more easily, creating a kind of meta-criticism.
Getty Education and Community Investment Grants Program Will Help Orchestras Strengthen Education, Communities
Posted on June 12, 2012 by Steve

The League of American Orchestras announced yesterday the receipt of a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation to administer a re-granting program that supports orchestras in deepening their involvement with their communities. The Getty Education and Community Investment Grants Program will fund orchestras’ educational and community engagement work, helping to fuel new practices or support longstanding model programs.

Americans for the Arts releases "Economic Prosperity IV"
Posted on June 8, 2012 by Tommer

Americans for the Arts released the findings from Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted.  Like the past three iterations, it documents the key role played by the nonprofit arts and culture industry in strengthening our nation's economy. But this time around, the results of this study are a bit more extraordinary.