Grantmakers in the Arts

(3/30/2011) President Obama yesterday announced nominees to Administration posts. This list of nominees includes Deepa Gupta, Program Officer for Media, Culture and Special Initiatives at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in Chicago.

You can read the full White House press release here.

(3-29-2011) I had this provocative post all planned out today, one in which I said (insincerely, I should add) that you Grantmakers should just stop giving money to large institutions. The plan was to use a bit of a rhetorical post to goad all you silent grantmakers out there into the comments and also get a bit of an understanding of why so much money goes to the giant battleships of the arts community when small organizations can do a lot more with it. But then I read this post by my good friend Matt Freeman in which he talks about “Scarcity Models” of funding vs. “Abundance Models” of funding...

(3-29-2011)  It’s easy to be cynical these days. The news is filled with disasters that keep me awake at night. Our governments at every level seek quick solutions to financial crises, which almost always hurts those who can afford it least. Compassion and civility are overshadowed by a need to be on the winning team. It’s enough to make a person cynical.

(3-29-2011) From the press release:

The American Music Center (AMC) and Meet The Composer (MTC), two of America's three leading organizations in the field of new music, announced today their intention to merge into a new advocacy and service organization. New Music USA will reach composers, performers, and listeners in all 50 states and project a more visible and audible profile for new American music all over the world.

(3-24-2011) Inaugural Talk Back blogger Isaac Butler's latest engaging post is titled "Let's Talk About Demand, Baby." A snippet:

In the face of this wondrous success, many in the funding sector (including the current chair of the NEA and the RAND corporation) have indicated that the time may have come for us to focus not on increasing supply and capacity but increasing demand.

Read more.

(3-22-2011) In an exhibition review for The Smart Set, Jennifer Fisher Wilson outlines the history of physician-artist collaborations, showcasing the many ways that artists have made important contributions to the field of medicine—from documenting specimens and procedures in the days before photography to a contemporary program at Yale University that teaches observation skills designed to fine-tune patient diagnosis.

For some interesting talking points on arts and health, read the full article here.

(3-22-2011) Ian David Moss of Fractured Atlas posts today on the NEA's Art Works blog:

The conversation we should be having is not about reducing supply. Instead it is about defining the responsibilities of cultural institutions to provide stewardship for a world in which supply of creative content is exploding and will never shrink. In this era of infinite choice, there is a desperate need for guidance as to how we should allocate the precious few hours that we have to experience something that will feed our souls, make us think differently, or incur a hearty laugh.

(March 21, 2011) - The President and CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), Sandra Gibson, announced today that she will step down at the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2011) after eleven years at the helm of the nation's leading service organization for the performing arts presenting field. Gibson has served the Association since 2000 and is the fourth chief executive of the organization since its founding in 1957.