Why Art?

August 26, 2003 by admin

This article was published in The Cleveland Free Times, July 2-8, 2003, and makes reference to the coordinated case being made in Cleveland for public funding of arts and culture.

What are the Arts Good For?

August 26, 2003 by admin

These remarks are edited from a speech given on April 27, 2003 to the Washington State Cultural Congress. Whang offers them now to GIA Readers.

The Arts and Philanthrophy

August 26, 2003 by admin

What follows are excerpts from a lecture that W. McNeil Lowry gave at Brandeis University on December 10, 1962 when he was director of the Ford Foundation's Program in the Humanities and the Arts. GIA member Ben Cameron called the speech to our attention, noting that it continues to have relevance today. The date, 1962, is important to keep in mind when reading Lowry's talk: the National Council on Community Foundations was renamed the Council on Foundations in 1964; the National Endowment for the Arts was established in 1965.

Why Do We Do What We Do?

August 26, 2003 by admin

“Why have we become so inadequate, as arts leaders, at really talking about the inherent value of the arts?” asked Claire Peeps (Durfee Foundation) in a 1999 article titled “Why Art?” in the GIA Newsletter (precursor to the Reader). Claire's question was stimulated by her experience with a sabbatical program through which the Durfee Foundation provided “time off” to leaders in the nonprofit sector in Los Angeles.

Is Theater Important?

August 26, 2003 by admin

This was one of several responses to the question "Is Theater Important?" published by The New York Times on Sunday, February 23, 2003.

Nurturing Artistic Creativity

August 26, 2003 by admin

The following is an excerpt from a longer address given at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on June 23, 1998 at the presentation of the Philadelphia Award. The award, given annually to a man or woman who has "done the most to advance the best and largest interests of the community," was given to Anne d'Harnoncourt and to Jane Golden.

The Arts Dynamic in Education

August 26, 2003 by admin

The following piece was excerpted from The Arts Dynamic, a report of the San Antonio Arts in Education Task Force (see review on page 36), published earlier this year. The study's principal funder was GIA member, the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.

Why the fine arts in education are vital

Ramon C. Cortines, executive director of the Pew Network for Standards-Based Reform at Stanford University, comments:

August 26, 2003 by admin

In 1996, Neal Cuthbert, program director at the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, was interviewed by the James Irvine Foundation as part of a series of conversations about arts funding. This excerpt offers an example of a GIA member describing the importance of the arts program to the overall goals of the foundation.

Why Be Concerned with Artists?

August 26, 2003 by admin

The Urban Institute's study of the support structure for U.S. artists, Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists, was undertaken to expand thinking about who artists are, what they do, and what mechanisms are needed to support their work. (See page 41 for a preview of the report.) The report began with the following section about the study's motivation and why society should be concerned.

Art, Agriculture, and Changing Times

August 26, 2003 by admin

Mas Masumoto, author of Epitaph for a Peach and Harvest Son, is an organic farmer in California's Central Valley. He is a grower spokesperson for the California Tree Fruit Growers Association and serves as co-chair of the California Council for the Humanities. En route to Portland to read from his new book, 4 Seasons 5 Senses, he stopped by the offices of the Washington State Arts Commission and talked with Willie Smyth, state folk arts program manager. In the interview, Masumoto refers to the benefits of art's reflective nature.