Grantmakers in the Arts

(2-26-10) "Giving away free umbrellas in the middle of a rainstorm is not that easy," reports Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle. A small group of innovative funders organized by the new SF branch of the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy provides lessons on the mainstream culture of giving and related public expectations.

(2-26-10) British Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants a U.S.-style culture of philanthropists to fund the arts. How is this working in recessionary America? And how are other places coping? An assertive summary of the effects of the recession on international arts funding from last Friday's Guardian.

(2-25-10) The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced on Tuesday that Ralph Remington will join the NEA as the director of theater and musical theater as of March 15, 2010.

(2-24-10) Based on her 15 year track record advising the world’s largest foundations, Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research and Design has published a new monograph for the industry of giving - Philanthropy and Social Investing: Blueprint 2010. Hard copy is available here and the Kindle edition here.

(2-23-10) The Ford Family Foundation has announced a new $3.5 million visual arts program that is sweeping in its potential effect on Oregon's artists and the institutions that support artists. The new program also builds upon the cultural legacy of one of the founders of the Roseburg-based foundation, the late Hallie E. Ford, an art patron and major benefactor to Willamette University and the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

(2-23-10) Here's a great video produced by Artist Trust of Washington for their annual supporters auction. It features a number of artists and others making the case for the arts in their own words. It asks the questions why is art important? and why fund the arts?

(2-21-10) Here's a brief audio interview with David Byrne by Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing following Byrne's TED talk on the way artists create their music and other works to look and sound their best in the venue in which they appear.

(2-17-10) Apparently people are asking him. Read his comments on Huffington Post “As donors decide which organizations to continue to support, the institutions that are doing vital, important work are the ones who will continue to be supported. Not only must the work be interesting but the marketing of that work and of the institution as a whole must be aggressive and creative.”