Grantmakers in the Arts

Arts Education In Seattle's Public Schools

November 28, 2011 by Steve

Weekday, a news program from KUOW, the public radio station out of the University of Washington in Seattle, uses an hour today to discuss the issues surrounding Arts Education in the Seattle Public School system. Also discussed is the Wallace Foundation Arts Learning Initiative grant of $1 Million which aims to boost quality learning opportunities for all students, especially those with the least access to the arts.

Joining the program host, Steve Scher, is Carri Campbell, visual and performing arts manager of the Seattle Public Schools, who is responsible for distributing a $1 million grant that the Wallace Foundation gave to Seattle Public Schools for arts education planning; Sandra Jackson–Dumont, adjunct curator at the Seattle Art Museum and the chair of the Arts Education Committee of the Arts Commission; and Elizabeth Whitford, executive director of Arts Corps, a nonprofit arts education organization in the Seattle area. Arts Corps seeks to foster creative habits of mind in young people by bringing teaching artists into Seattle's classrooms.

November 27, 2011 by Steve

Diane Ragsdale, in her new post for Jumper, asks why data already in front of us fails to affect behavior:

I finally had found some time this week to read Scott Walter’s excellent second post in his trilogy (all three now published, here's the first and the third) looking at the 1% vs 99% issues in the US arts and culture sector. A compelling string of comments follows this post, led by one of my other favorite bloggers, Clayton Lord, who argues two points: (1) Is it effective to turn against the ‘top’ arts organizations at a time when the arts generally are under attack? and (2) We need to collect more data to understand how to improve the system.

GFEM Taps Stehle for Executive Director

November 22, 2011 by Steve

The Board of Directors of Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media announced today the appointment of Vincent Stehle as executive director. Mr. Stehle has served on the GFEM Board of Directors since 2008.

November 22, 2011 by Steve

Artist Trust Executive Director Fidelma McGinn announced today her resignation to assume the position of Vice President of Philanthropic Services at The Seattle Foundation. She will remain at Artist Trust through mid-January 2012 to support its search for a new executive director. Under McGinn’s leadership, Artist Trust deepened its relationships with arts supporters and engaged new funders. She maintained a balanced annual budget of more than $1 million over six successive years, leaving the organization in a strong financial position despite industry-wide effects of the recession.

November 22, 2011 by Steve

The National Endowment for the Arts will present the first-ever federal Interagency Research Task Force on the Arts and Human Development at a free webinar on Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 10:00am EST / 7:00am PST.

Earlier this year, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman and Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius convened a day-long research summit to explore the role of the arts and human development across the life span. A white paper published from that convening pointed to many studies that have found links between the arts and positive cognitive, behavioral, and social outcomes.

November 20, 2011 by Steve

Arts Journal blogger Doug Borwick, President of the Board of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, looks at the issues addressed in the play “A Night at the Opera” that was performed at the GIA 2011 conference in San Francisco, as part of the session “Too Progressive, Too Elite: Public Value and the Paradox of the Arts.” Watch the video of the performance below, if you haven't already seen it.

Based on interviews with arts funders, artists, arts managers, and (a few) politicians, A Night at the Opera addresses two basic questions. Are the arts elitist? and Are the arts leftist propaganda? (Well “leftist propaganda” is not the word they used. They said “progressive” to be less confrontational, I’m sure.)

November 19, 2011 by Steve

David Dombrosky has assembled, via Storify, the best of the NAMP Conference: "Thoughts, content, zingers, multimedia, and more from the 2011 National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Louisville, Kentucky."

November 18, 2011 by Steve

The Quixote Foundation's Tiltings post for November 2011 addresses the growing “We are the 1%. We stand with the 99%” movement and focuses on the complicated relationships foundations have with the Occupy movement. It's a must-read for its thoughtfulness and for a pragmatic examination of what foundations can do positively in this political climate:

What do foundations have in common with the 1%? We’re organizations, not individuals, it’s true; but our raison d’être is using untaxed wealth to carry out the wishes of its “former owners.” As long as we stick to a few regulations, only the founders or their heirs and appointees can have a say in what we do. If this tax break can pay for itself by channeling riches into the public good, why is there no equivalent deduction for ordinary folks who make nonprofit gifts, unless they have sufficient income or assets to itemize?

Explore Solidarity Economy resources here

Future of the Field: Cross-Sector Creative Placemaking Series

Video from the GIA 2021 Conference are now available for streaming.

The Racial Equity Coding Project: Unpacking The “Why”

In this first of a three-part discussion, we are joined by Susan Feder, Adam Fong, and Maurine Knighton, as they discuss the Racial Equity Coding Project, why it was started, their experience with the earliest iterations of the coding measures, and how their reflections will inform steps forward.

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