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The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) held its winter forum on January 26 and 27 in San Francisco. The focus of the meeting was "Critical Issues in Arts Education: Partnering with Philanthropy."

Federal Support for Historic Preservation Fund on Downward Trajectory
In his fiscal year 2004 budget, President Bush proposed $67 million for the Historic Preservation Fund. The Fund is authorized at $150 million, but historically the Congress and Administration have provided in appropriations just one third of the authorized amount.

The Fund for Folk Culture, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has initiated a series of gatherings, supported by a grant from the NEA, to examine topics relevant to folk arts and traditional culture. The first of those meetings was held in its home town at the Wheelwright Museum on March 13 and 14 to discuss the needs and concerns of individual artists in the folk and traditional arts field.

September 11 and Beyond
The following is excerpted from a March 2002 interview with Susan Beresford (president, Ford Foundation) that is included in September 11: Perspectives from the Field of Philanthropy, published August 2002 by the Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, 212-620-4230. It is published by permission of the Foundation Center.

FC: It was common in the weeks after 9/11 to hear people say that the attacks had changed everything. Did September 11 change everything?

The theme of education in the arts can be found throughout GIA's programs. The role that the arts can play in education is one of four primary themes that will be explored at our 2002 conference, Creative Connections; and the "Bookmarks" column in this issue of the Reader concentrates on "Arts Education Resources on the Web". The following two articles take a look at recent research, specifically research that explores the connections between education in the arts and student learning in other realms.The theme of education in the arts can be found throughout GIA's programs.

First of all, it's a delight to be here this morning because I meet so many old friends, and I knew that you would be here related in some way or other to this gathering of foundations. The foundations you represent are doing what in an ideal situation, all governments would, should do. What you do with your contributions, with your interest, is help keep this world relatively sane. I say relatively for obvious reasons. What you do is feed a hunger for all the people of the world. Not simply food, clothing, shelter of course, but there is in everybody a hunger for beauty.

June 2002, 368 pages (executive summary, May 2002, 21 pages). The Chicago Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College, 600 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605, 312-344-7985. The executive summary and full report can be downloaded here.

2002, double-sided poster/brochure. The McKnight Foundation, 600 TCF Tower, 121 South 8th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402, (612) 333-4220.

July 2002, 48 pages. The Canadian Conference of the Arts, in collaboration with the Cultural Human Resources Council. CCA, 804-130 Albert St., Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Canada, 613-238-3561.

2002, 108 pages. The McKnight Foundation, 600 TCF Tower, 121 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 612-333-4220.

True or false?
• The suburbs have never been as homogenized as their reputation suggested
• Stereotypes about vapidity and uniformity in suburban communities have been left unchallenged
• Suburban arts resources need to expand to meet the needs of growing communities
• The need to enhance the livability of suburban communities hasn't been acknowledged as openly as it deserves