GIA Blog

Romney Would Cut Culture Spending in Half
Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve

From Mike Boehm at the Los Angeles Times:

Earlier this month, candidate [Mitt] Romney targeted two federal arts and cultural grantmaking agencies, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, for “deep reductions.”
Do America’s Orchestras Serve All People in Our Communities?
Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve

Jesse Rosen, President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, posts to the American Orchestra Forum about Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change, a report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy:

Since participating in our panel on the question of orchestras and community, I have been giving some thought to a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy that challenges the extent to which orchestras serve their communities and suggested that small organizations might be a better outlet for support.
November-December Photo Spotlight: Rasmuson Foundation Featured on GIA Website
Posted on November 11, 2011 by Abigail

To wrap up 2011, a new slide show of member-supported projects on the GIA homepage! Through the end of the year, our featured member is Rasmuson Foundation. Based in Anchorage, AK, Rasmuson Foundation promotes a better quality of life for all Alaskans by making grants in the areas of arts and culture, health, and social services. Our thanks to Jayson Smart, Rasmuson's acting vice president, for his photo selection.

Paul Zak on TED: The Connection Between Hugs and Philanthropy
Posted on November 10, 2011 by Abigail

New to the TED site last week: Neuroeconomist Paul Zak uses his talk on the hormone oxytocin to explore the biological impulse behind empathy, morality, and generosity. Providing an overview of his lab activities, as well as charming evidence gathered in the field (at a wedding, for instance), Zak explains the social benefits of a population flush with oxytocin-rich individuals.

Post-Election Impact on the Arts
Posted on November 10, 2011 by Steve

Americans for the Arts Action Fund has issued a report on the outcomes of Tuesday's elections:

The 2011 election proved to be a fairly good year for incumbents. Many candidates who are supportive of the arts and creative economies within their state or region were elected into office. There were only two gubernatorial elections this year. In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear won re-election over his republican contender. Earlier this year in May, Beshear announced the creation of a statewide cultural district certification program.
On the Talk Back Blog: Vilcek Foundation Post on Art & Technology
Posted on November 10, 2011 by Abigail

New to the Talk Back blog, a post by Vilcek Foundation's new media & IT coordinator, Brian Cavanaugh, on the online creation and distribution of art. He announces a new Vilcek initiative, a digital art space called dARTboard slated to launch in winter 2012, and presents (with terrific graphics) a group of innovative and inspirational websites that includes Artport, the Whitney Museum of American Art's pioneering portal to net and digital art.

Art & Technology
Posted on November 10, 2011 by vilcekfoundation

Hello all, My name is Brian Cavanaugh and I am the New Media & IT Coordinator at the Vilcek Foundation. As an artist and techie, I am always on the lookout for new uses of media and innovative techniques that … Continue reading →

Art In The Recession: In Tough Economy, Artists Act Anew
Posted on November 9, 2011 by Steve

Huffington Post is launching The Recessionary Arts: A HuffPost Culture Series, a series of articles that over the next two months “will explore how the recession is reshaping our nation's cultural state, and what this means for artists, consumers and the future of the arts.”

The first article comes from Lucas Kavner, a Huffington Post Culture and Media Reporter, titled Art In The Recession: In Tough Economy, Artists Act Anew:

Despite dim job prospects and ever-dwindling paychecks, more artists are living and working in America today than ever before. If as sociologist Charles Horton Cooley once said, “an artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one,” then success in America is at an all-time high.

At a time when making and distributing art to the masses is easier and more widely consumed than ever, at least 2.2 million people in the United States can be classified as professional artists, up from 1.9 million in 1996. And as artists have proliferated, arts organizations have followed suit; According to a report from Americans for the Arts, there are over 100,000 non-profit arts groups and 550,000 for-profit arts businesses in the U.S today. Between 2003 and 2009, a new nonprofit arts organization was created in the U.S. every three hours.

Deconstructing, Reconstructing and Tidying Up Art
Posted on November 9, 2011 by Steve

Elizabeth Quaglieri examines some recent endeavor at the intersection of art and technology for her post on Technology in the Arts:

Exhibitions like these generate much discussion in both the academic and professional art world, as the issue of the digitization of art remains a hot topic of debate. What is most inspiring about these remastered pieces is the beauty in the medium. As an art history student and Italian Renaissance aficionado, I am neither offended nor resistant to the digital world’s claim it can reproduce or master painterly qualities and techniques in its own medium.
The Profitable Artist: A Handbook for All Artists in the Performing, Literary, and Visual Arts
Posted on November 9, 2011 by Tommer

Artspire.org, New York Foundation for the Arts’ (NYFA) online community for artists and arts organizations, presents The Profitable Artist in paperback, the first complete “how-to” guide to being a professional and profitable working artist. This handbook features techniques in the areas of strategic planning, financial management, marketing, fundraising, and legal issues including contract law and intellectual property.