Grantmakers in the Arts

February 21, 2014 by Steve

From Jon Wojciechowski, writing for HowlRound:

My marketing director, Alicia Grasso, and I conceived a photographic tableau to illustrate the often hidden costs of producing professional theater. We pulled key figures from our annual budget—expenses we wanted to illustrate—and chose key members of our staff and Resident Intern Company to participate. Cape May Stage was producing Freud’s Last Session at the time, so we opted to stage the photograph on that show’s set. We even seated Dr. Freud himself (Equity actor Joel Rooks) front and center.
February 19, 2014 by Tommer

Professor Ann Collins Johns at the University of Texas at Austin was just as peeved as many people were about President Barack Obama’s knock on art history majors. So she did what any self-assured art historian would do and wrote a letter to Obama on January 31, shortly after the President’s remarks, and sent it using the White House website. Then came the surprising part: Obama responded with a handwritten note on February 12.

February 19, 2014 by Steve

GIA President & CEO Janet Brown, writing for ARTSblog:

I’ve been a community arts developer for over 26 years. Most of that time was spent working in rural communities in South Dakota and the Great Plains. Moving back to South Dakota after a stint in New York City and San Francisco, I became increasingly aware of how people passionate about the arts impact rural and small communities making certain that art is a part of the lives of their children and their neighbors. Community arts councils, community theatres, visual art galleries, community choruses and bands...all defined the word “community” for me.
February 19, 2014 by Tommer

The Ford Foundation announced today the election of Lourdes Lopez to serve as a member of its Board of Trustees. Lopez, who will be the first artist to join the foundation’s board, is the artistic director of Miami City Ballet, chairwoman of Miami City Ballet School, and a strong proponent of arts education and the transformational power of arts and culture to improve lives.

February 14, 2014 by Steve

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History will host its 2014 Museum Camp with the theme of social impact assessment, Wednesday July 30 – Saturday August 2, 2014. The goal of the event is to develop creative ways to evaluate the work we are all doing to build and transform our communities by bringing together teams of diverse people from across many disciplines in shared learning and doing around research and social impact. The museum has partnered with Fractured Atlas to produce the camp.

February 12, 2014 by Steve

Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Dr. Jane Chu as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. President Obama said, “Jane’s lifelong passion for the arts and her background in philanthropy have made her a powerful advocate for artists and arts education in Kansas City.

February 12, 2014 by Steve

From Judy Woodruff at PBS Newshour:

North Carolina mandates that all elementary school students have equal access to art instruction, but enforcement of the law appears inconsistent across the state. Special correspondent for education John Merrow reports on two elementary schools' different approaches to arts education and the effects on student performance.
February 12, 2014 by Tommer

Phillip Kennicott raises some questions about public subsidies and privilege in The Washington Post.