Andrew W. Mellon Foundation President Earl Lewis will step down in March 2018 after five productive years at the helm. At the completion of his five-year term, Lewis will return to the academy, and launch a new initiative, The Center for Social Solutions, to focus efforts on three core areas of concern — race and diversity; water; and the future of work. He expects to announce more details in the new year.
Grantmakers in the Arts
September 12, 2017 by Monica in Racial Equity
The Alliance of Artists Communities has announced the six inaugural recipients of its Diversity and Leadership Fellowship. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the fellowship aims to promote equity in the residency field through direct support of emerging arts administrators of color and administrators with disabilities regardless of their current role.
September 11, 2017 by Monica
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) will receive a funding increase to its current base of $60 million, bringing it to $80 million over four years by fiscal year 2020-21. Over the next four years, this added investment to OAC programs will ensure that Ontarians have increased access to arts activity throughout the province and ensure that they see themselves represented in the arts. Two-thirds of the increased granting budget will be used to augment operating grants to arts organizations.
September 7, 2017 by Monica
Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts. Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Engage in the Arts presents the first detailed look at arts participation habits, attitudes toward the arts, and related health characteristics of adults aged 55 and older.
September 7, 2017 by Monica in Emergency Readiness, Response, and Recovery
Not-for-profit organizations dedicated to serving the Greater Houston arts and cultural sector have joined together to launch the Harvey Arts Recovery Fund.
The Fund will accept tax-deductible donations to provide aid to individual artists who suffered personal and professional losses during Hurricane Harvey and the flooding that followed, as well as financially assist small and mid-sized arts and cultural organizations rebuilding after Harvey.
September 6, 2017 by Monica
In a recent blog post, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker reflects on recent political events and the need for moral courage in America:
Like so many of you, I am bewildered, almost daily, by the onslaught of dispiriting, sometimes debilitating news. Just this week, a new, politicized (and heartless) assault on young, mostly Latino immigrants—the cancellation of DACA—has left me reeling. When I travel to visit the organizations we work with in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, friends and colleagues express shock about America’s leadership and standing in the global community.
While we’ve endured challenging times before, I have always maintained an unwavering faith in America’s promise and, more broadly, in our democratic values—and I still do. I have always believed that progress is cumulative—that, as more people and communities win their place in the circle of American equality and opportunity, this circle will continue expanding, in a virtuous cycle.
September 6, 2017 by Monica in Emergency Readiness, Response, and Recovery
A guest post on the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s blog describes how federal agencies like the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities have been important in supporting disaster recovery:
September 5, 2017 by Monica in Arts Education
Music celebrity Chance the Rapper is partnering with arts education advocacy group Ingenuity to fund arts education in response to budget cuts in Chicago Public Schools. ABC reports: