Conference Proceedings: Plenary Sessions

Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, filmmaker, choreographer, and director who has been acclaimed by audiences and critics as a major creative force in the performing arts. A pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance,” she is a fourth generation singer in her family. Alan M. Kriegsman of the Washington Post has written, “When the time comes, perhaps a hundred years from now, to tally up achievements in the performing arts during the last third of the present century, one name that seems sure to loom large is that of Meredith Monk.

Bill T. Jones, acclaimed choreographer, author and artistic director of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, spoke at the October 17 luncheon. Mr. Jones, a 1994 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, has received numerous commissions to create new works for his own company, as well as for many national and international dance and ballet companies.

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   Bill T. Jones: Keynote Luncheon (527Kb)

GIA board members, former and future conference chairs, and others – discussed views on what is happening in and to our field of arts philanthropy.

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   Closing Session (518Kb)

Conference attendees joined special guest Garrison Keillor, author, humorist, host of Minnesota Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac, and Minnesotan, on Monday, October 16, for a very special Opening Plenary Session. He is the author of 11 books, and his recording of Lake Wobegon Days received a Grammy Award. Keillor is also the recipient of two ACE Awards for cable television and a George Foster Peabody Award. In 1994, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications.

William Ivey, National Endowment for the Arts chairman, addressed GIA members in this luncheon plenary.

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   William Ivey Luncheon Plenary (196Kb)

Ann Chamberlain is a visual artist resident here in San Francisco who has worked in a range of contexts. From public art to printed books and installations, using text, photographic imagery, and found materials as source material. And whose public arts commissions have included a number of outstanding installations including the San Francisco Public Library in a collaboration with Ann Hamilton; the San Francisco General Hospital; and the University of California San Francisco Mount Zion Cancer Center.

Four diverse foundation leaders discussed the role of the arts as they considered the broader philanthropic landscape. What are some of the major trends and forces that are driving the future work of their foundations? Which arts funding strategies seem the most promising? And what can be done to better connect the work of artists and arts organizations to communities and the public at-large?

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