Grantmakers in the Arts

November 4, 2011 by Abigail

In a post for Common Core, Lynne Munson addresses the ongoing lack of results from education reform, as evidenced by recent NAEP data, noting:

Maybe we need to give content a chance. What I mean by “content” is the actual knowledge that is imbedded in quality curricula. Knowledge of things like standard algorithms, poetry, America’s past, foreign languages, great painters, chemistry, our form of government, and much more.

November 4, 2011 by Steve

From Jonathan Abarbanel at WBEZ.org in Chicago:

Just a year after former Mayor Daley did a gut job on the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) over the strenuous objections of long-time Cultural Commish Lois Weisberg, the new mayor and his new Commish, Michelle T. Boone, are reversing those actions as much as they can.

As first reported last week by WBEZ's Lynette Kalsnes, Commissioner Boone revealed in budget hearings that the 2012 plan for her department calls for taking back responsibilities for planning and day-to-day execution of cultural programs, which had been contracted out to the Chicago Office of Tourism (renamed the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture in recognition of its expanded responsibilities).

November 4, 2011 by Steve

From Rick Cohen at The Nonprofit Quarterly:

While some museums are cleaning up with charitable donations (especially from the very wealthy), others are having a tough time piecing together sustainable budgets based on shaky blends of fees, sales, and charitable donations. That may have been the circumstance with two Austin, Texas museums—Arthouse and the Austin Museum of Art.

November 4, 2011 by Steve

From Hilary Howard at The New York Times:

Since he retired from Family Dollar in 2003, Leon Levine has transferred his man-on-the-scene approach in business to the foundation that bears his name.

“Leon’s gone after philanthropy in much the same way as he did making money,” said Hugh L. McColl Jr., former chief executive of Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte. “He sees donations as investments in worthwhile projects, he does a lot of due diligence when looking at potential recipients, and he’s diligent about holding their feet to the fire about doing what the money is supposed to do.”

November 2, 2011 by Tommer

The New York Times manages to mangle the NEA's recent report on Artists in the Workforce with the headline "Study Says Artists Have Higher Salaries" completely missing the point, and quoting the most misleading stat they could find in this useful research report.

November 1, 2011 by Janet
“It’s déjà vu all over again.” I stumbled across a speech I gave to a Rotary Club in 1998 on why business should support arts education. Here’s a condensed version. Twenty years later, same arguments apply and the situation is worse for workers and arts in education.
November 1, 2011 by Steve

ARTSblog continues its retrospective of the GIA conference with Barbara Schaffer Bacon writing about the session she and Marete Wester organized to look at the realities of labels such as "elite" and "progressive". The session included a short play by GIA deputy director Tommer Peterson.

With bold headlines generated by the release of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy report "Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change," the appetite was high at the Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) Conference for an opportunity to address the charge of being elite so often leveled at the arts. Do we want to own it or change it? And, what about the progressive label? Don’t artists generally lean left?
November 1, 2011 by Tommer

The count isn't official yet, but the polls say that Ireland has elected poet Michael Higgins as president.

More here.