GIA Blog

Lawmakers Restore $7.7M in Funding for Massachusetts Cultural Council
Posted on August 1, 2016 by Steve

From Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive.com:

Facing a midnight deadline, House and Senate lawmakers restored funding to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, reversing Gov. Charlie Baker’s state budget veto. The fiscal year 2017 budget lawmakers sent to the governor’s desk in July included $14 million for arts, humanities and sciences programs through the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. But Baker vetoed $7.7 million, bringing the total figure down to $6.5 million, a 55 percent cut the agency called “devastating.”
#ReasonsForHope Campaign Highlights Social Justice Issues
Posted on August 1, 2016 by Steve

A bevy of philanthropic leaders from over 30 organizations signed a letter, published in the New York Times and The Washington Post on Sunday, about the hope for dignity, equity and justice for all people. The ad launched the #ReasonsForHope campaign on social media.

Today, our nation needs more bridges of dialogue and fewer barriers of division. America’s foundations are proud to help courageous leaders build these bridges, neighbor to neighbor, community by community. Though we find ourselves at the crossroads of crisis, we are also in a moment of opportunity. In spite of anguish and uncertainty, ideas, inspiration and action abound. As presidents of America’s philanthropic foundations, the remarkable organizations we support give us all countless reasons for hope.

View the letter.

Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis Announces CULTURE/SHIFT Convening
Posted on July 29, 2016 by Monica

The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis/Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute and the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture will host a national convening of artists, activists, policy-makers, and community organizers on November 17–19 in St. Louis, Missouri. The CULTURE/SHIFT 2016 convening aims to generate and amplify creative strategies for social change.

Former NEA Chairman Frank Hodsoll Passes Away
Posted on July 28, 2016 by Monica

From National Endowment for the Arts:

It is with great sadness that the National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the passing of former NEA Chairman Frank Hodsoll. As the NEA’s fourth chairman, Hodsoll served from 1981 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan.

During Hodsoll’s tenure, the NEA launched important new initiatives such as the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships (known then as the American Jazz Master Fellowship), an annual honorific recognizing distinguished jazz artists, and the National Medal of Arts, a White House initiative, managed by the NEA, that each year recognizes a group of the nation’s great artists. Hodsoll’s chairmanship also featured a focus on building infrastructures and support networks for the arts, cultivating new audiences, and fostering sustainability among arts organizations.

New from the GIA Reader: Expanding Cultural Family
Posted on July 28, 2016 by Monica

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Jen Gilligan Cole writes on “Expanding Cultural Family: Funders, Tools, and the Journey toward Equity.” The article discusses how the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission evaluated and adapted its grantmaking programs with a racial equity lens.

Canada Reinvents its Arts Funding Strategy
Posted on July 26, 2016 by Monica

A recent article in The Washington Post highlights Canada’s shifting approach to arts funding and how it compares to common approaches in the United States and other Western countries:

As much of the Western world flirts with retrenchment into a nativist crouch, Canada is doubling down on what [Melanie Joly, minister for Canadian Heritage,] describes as the basic “social contract,” which has always included the arts as a fundamental part of the national budget. But she and [Simon Brault, the head of the Canada Council for the Arts,] also stress the need to reform the existing system of cultural funding.
Americans for the Arts Releases Report on Public Opinion of the Arts
Posted on July 25, 2016 by Monica

New research by Americans for the Arts provides an in-depth look at public perceptions and attitudes about the arts in the United States. An Americans for the Arts and Ipsos Public Affairs survey of more than 3,000 American adults over the age of 18 provides current insight on topics including support for arts education and government arts funding, personal engagement in the arts, the personal benefits and well-being that come from engaging in the arts, and whether those benefits extend more broadly to the community.

Feasibility Study Supports Creating a National Network for Artists Working in Corrections
Posted on July 25, 2016 by Monica

With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Quentin Hancock Fund and the Wallace A. Gerbode Foundation, California Lawyers for the Arts has released a study exploring the feasibility of establishing a national network to support the work of arts in corrections. The report includes the findings of a stakeholder survey that included arts practitioners, formerly incarcerated participants, funders, and others. The results revealed agreement on the values and functions of a national network, potential challenges, potential models to consider, and recommendations for future development.

New from the GIA Reader: Remembering Claudine
Posted on July 20, 2016 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “Remembering Claudine”, Maurine Knighton of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation shares memories of Claudine Brown, a beloved leader in the arts and culture field who passed away earlier this year.

The Artful Aging Movement Takes Hold
Posted on July 19, 2016 by Monica

In a recent blog post for Next Avenue, Heidi Raschke describes the growing movement for creative aging:

In the 1960s, boomers changed the world by transforming youth culture. Now they’re set to do it again by transforming the culture of aging. Philanthropists, scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs who are 50+ are redefining what it means to grow old in America, and many of them see the arts as a powerful tool to accomplish that goal.