GIA Blog

Knight, Hewlett, WESTAF Launch Communications Survey
Posted on September 28, 2015 by Steve

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and WESTAF are sponsoring a preliminary study on communications within the nonprofit arts field, and we invite you to participate in a simple online survey.

This study seeks information about:

  • How we communicate internally within our organizations
  • How we communicate externally within the sector
  • How we manage the growth in all communications
  • What the impact is on our organizations of that growth in communications

This survey is completely anonymous and should take 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey will close on Friday, October 16th, 2015. All responses must be submitted by 6pm EST/3pm PST.

Take the survey here.

Artists in Community: Building the Movement
Posted on September 28, 2015 by Janet

By Janet Brown from her blog Better Together

Earlier in my career, I was privileged to work across sectors with passionate and gifted artists. In most instances, the connection with the non-arts organization (hospital, correction facility) was made by my organization. But the creation of the service to be delivered was designed and always implemented by these amazing artists.

Nathan Cummings Foundation Names Sharon Alpert President and CEO
Posted on September 25, 2015 by Steve

Sharon Alpert will become the Nathan Cummings Foundation’s fourth president and first female leader, according to Adam Cummings, the foundation’s board chair. Ms. Alpert comes to the 25-year-old multi-generational family foundation from the Surdna Foundation, where, over 11 years, she rose from associate program officer to program director to her current position as the vice president of programs and strategic initiatives. She will assume her role as president and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and ex-officio member of the board of trustees, in November 2015.

Career Transition for Dancers Merges with The Actors Fund to Help Dancers Nationally
Posted on September 23, 2015 by Steve

From Olivia Clement, writing for Playbill:

The services of Career Transition For Dancers will be integrated into the ongoing programs of The Actors Fund, it was announced September 21. The two non-profit human service organizations will unite in their sharing of providing programs and services to dancers and the dance community; the merger is expected to be fully integrated by the end of the year. “Career Transitions For Dancers has helped thousands of dancers over the past thirty years in taking their first steps in discovering rewarding second careers,” said CTFD chairman Emerita and former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Cynthia Gregory in a press statement.
Meet the bloggers: Lara Davis
Posted on September 23, 2015 by Steve

Lara Davis has been active in youth development and community arts education for more than a decade. She has served as a Seattle arts commissioner and as program director for Arts Corps, a youth arts organization. At the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Lara manages Creative Advantage, a public/private partnership to ensure equitable access to high quality arts learning for all Seattle students.

Meet the bloggers: Barry Hessenius
Posted on September 23, 2015 by Steve

Former Director California Arts Council, President California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, and Executive Director of LINES Ballet. Author, consultant, blogger and public speaker. Barry published his work Hardball Lobbying for Nonprofits in 2007 (Macmillan & Company, New York). He conducted a two phase study with reports released in 2007 and 2009 for the Hewlett Foundation on the issue of generational management & succession in the arts.

Welcome to the GIA 2015 Conference Blog!
Posted on September 23, 2015 by Steve

Grantmakers in the Arts is pleased to have a fantastic pair of bloggers covering the 2015 Conference in Los Angeles. Blogging veteran Barry Hessenius of WESTAF, and Lara Davis, Arts Education Manager, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture will all be posting their comments and reactions beginning Sunday, October 18. We hope you enjoy their observations and that you join the conversation.

New Art Galleries Enjoy a Los Angeles Advantage: Space
Posted on September 17, 2015 by Steve

From Melena Ryzik, writing for The New York Times:

Michele Maccarone, in a flowy black jumpsuit, was striding across the cement floor of her cavernous new gallery (in Los Angeles) last week, debating where brightly colored abstract paintings by Alex Hubbard should go. “There’s just, like, this endless amount of really incredible space,” she said, as Mr. Hubbard and assistants moved the weighty frames for his solo show. At 35,000 square feet indoors, with an additional 10,000 square feet outside earmarked for a sculpture garden, the Maccarone gallery, in industrial Boyle Heights, is the length of a city block.
Kresge Foundation Commits $350 Million to Social Investments
Posted on September 17, 2015 by Steve

The Kresge Foundation Board of Trustees approved an ambitious plan to invest $350 million by 2020 through the foundation’s Social Investment Practice, making clear that using a variety of investment tools is central to bringing enhanced opportunities to low-income people in America’s cities. The $350 million represents approximately 10 percent of the foundation’s corpus as of 2015. As the foundation expands its use of these types of investments, it will continue to align them with its six program areas — Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, Human Services and Community Development in Detroit — and make nearly $140 million in grants each year.

Roots of Miami’s vibrant arts scene were planted in the 1980s
Posted on September 17, 2015 by Steve

From Jordan Levin at the Miami Herald:

As Miami’s arts season gears up with an overflowing slate of museum exhibits, ballet premieres, and more culture than any individual could ever absorb, it’s easy to take the city’s vibrant artistic life for granted. But only one generation ago, Miami was widely derided as a cultural wasteland. The dynamic creative scene that has become such an integral part of Miami’s character was created in an extraordinary — and extraordinarily unlikely — burst of cultural energy in the 1980s.