Film and Media

Three briefings for funders on electronic media policy were held January—March 2005, organized by Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media, hosted by the Ford Foundation, and co-sponsored by other interested parties, including Grantmakers in the Arts. The first session, “Securing Our Rights to Public Knowledge, Creativity, and Freedom of Expression,” was reported on by Helen Brunner in the spring 2005 Reader. (Please note that web addresses for most of the organizations mentioned are listed at the end of this article.)

“What the FCC Is Going On?”

Lawrence Lessig sees Big Media waging war against culture in America. And he, for one, is fighting the battle. A professor at Stanford Law School, Lessig achieved notoriety when he represented web site operator Eric Eldred in the ground-breaking case Eldred v. Ashcroft, a challenge to the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. Eric Eldred was a man who wanted to build a library of derivative versions of public domain books (e.g., Hawthorne's A Scarlet Letter) and make them available for free on the Internet.

2005, 136 pages, ISBN 0-9514763-6-X. Centre for Creative Communities, 118 Commercial Street, London, E1 6NF, UK, 44-(0)-20-7247-5385, www.creativecommunities.org.uk

2005, 256 pages, ISBN 0-252-07208-1. University of Illinois Press, 1325 Oak Street, Champaign, IL, 68120-6903, 217-244-4689, www.press.uillinois.edu

In the author's own words, "This book is a report card on American Culture. Not the culture of Wal-Mart and the cineplex, but culture as it is lived closer to the ground, local culture, neighborhood culture... It is about dancing, not about watching somebody else dance on television. There is a big difference."

November 2004, 12 pages. Americans for the Arts, 1000 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20005, 202-371-2830, www.AmericansForTheArts.org

These results of a national survey by The Society for the Arts in Healthcare (SAH) provide a snapshot of the current level and characteristics of arts programs in hospitals The data is supplemented by brief portraits of exemplary programs and moving reflections from participating patients and care providers.

2004, 45 pages. Published by Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago, 1155 E. 60th Street, Chicago, Il 60637, 773-834-5995

Download pdf: http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/pdfs/grams_producing.pdf

2004, 51 pages. Published by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 1100 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20036, 202-296-0019, www.pewinternet.org

Download Report: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2004/Artists-Musicians-and-the-Internet.aspx

2004, 72 pages. Published by the Alliance for Artists Communities, 255 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02903, 401-351-4320, www.artistcommunities.org

Download Report: http://www.artistcommunities.org/resource-library/publications/engaging-communities-lessons-learned

GIA members have often expressed an interest in providing resources for artists that go "beyond the check." Following is a list of web sites for organizations that provide useful information related to specific disciplines, funding, career opportunities, professional development, and other resources for artists.

Recent decades have seen rapid immigration into traditional gateway cities as well as rural and suburban communities throughout the United States. Craig McGarvey's thoughtful Pursuing Democracy's Promise speaks to the importance of new United States residents' fully participating in civic life alongside the native born.