Public Agency

What roles will arts and cultural organizations and funders play in the November 2004 election?

One effect of attacks on the leading agencies supporting cultural pluralism in the not-for-profit sector, which began with the Reagan administration and continued through the Clinton presidency to the present day, has been to elevate the U.S. commercial arts at the expense of the not-for-profit arts.

Through the ages artists with disabilities have been important to our history and culture. Beethoven was deaf, Van Gogh was mentally ill, El Greco was visually impaired. For the most part we do not associate them with their disability. We celebrate their lives for the gifts of music and art that they left in our midst.

2004, 38 pages. New York State Artist Workspace Consortium, kerry@mccarthyartsconsulting.com, www.nysawc.org

March 2004, 27 pages. Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue, Room 231, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 625-8092, amarkusen@hhh.umn.edu or gshrock@hhh.umn.edu or mcameron@hhh.umn.edu, www.hhh.umn.edu

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Edited by Barbara Rich, Ed.D, Jane L. Polin, Stephen J. Marcus

2003, 164 pages. The Dana Foundation, 745 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900, New York, NY 10151, 212-223-4040, daninfo@dana.org, www.dana.org.

2003, 232 pages, $20.00. Cultural Policy Center, The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, 1155 East 60th St., #157, Chicago, IL 60637-2745, (773) 702-4407

Following up on Stan Hutton's introduction to arts blogs in the last Reader, in this issue we're looking at the beginnings of the philanthropic blogosphere. As with many blogs covering a specific field, philanthropic blogs tend to offer either personal journals of opinion and ideas or periodic news round-ups, brief abstracts of articles or publications and links to the original. Some, of course, provide both.

2003, 15 pages. The Urban Institute/Wallace Foundation, www.wallacefoundation.org or www.urban.org

Many grantmakers express a heightened interest in learning more about cultural participation. Research about who participates, what motivates people to participate and the barriers to participation provides valuable data to cultural organizations and funders seeking to broaden, deepen, and diversify audiences for these offerings.

November 2002, 36 pages. Center for an Urban Future, 212-479-3338, www.nycfuture.org