Digest: Studies, Books, Web Sites, and Other Publications

Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc., 132 East Putnam Avenue, Cos-Cob, Connecticut 06807, 203-661-3003

1997, 175 pages, Columbia College, 1001 Rogers Road, Columbia, Missouri 65216, Review by Gita Gulati, The Cleveland Foundation.

Rebuilding the Front Porch of America is a collection of previously presented essays by Patrick Overton, an arts administrator and community organizer in Missouri. In this short but substantive book, Overton defines community arts as “the new front porch of America,” a place where family, friends, and neighbors gather to share their stories.

Copies of the report may be obtained from the Alliance of Artists' Communities, 210 SE 50th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97215

The Alliance of Artists' Communities released American Creativity at Risk: Restoring Creativity as a Priority in Public Policy, Cultural Philanthropy, and Education. The report documents a symposium held in November, 1996 and attended by artists, educators, administrators, critics, and grantmakers.

National Arts Stabilization , 30 South Charles Street, Suite 1515, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, 410-332-1900, natarts[at[flash.net

Do you have a favorite Web site that might be of interest to other arts grantmakers? Natasha Terk (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation) wrote about one that intrigues her. Let us know about your favorites.

Tired of one-sided dance criticism? A San Francisco-based Web site takes action. Check out Voice of Dance.

The book was published by Americans for the Arts' Institute for Community Development and the Arts. Copies may be ordered from the organization at 100 Vermont Avenue N.W., 12th floor, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Wolf, Keens, and Company, 8 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Edited by Warren F. Ilchman, Stanley N. Katz, and Edward L. Queen II 1998, 382 pages, Indiana University Press. Bloomington, Indiana

The Conservation Company, 40 East 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017

Making Growth Work is a briefing paper from The Conservation Company. Written by senior consultants Paul Connoly and Laura Colin Klein, this paper discusses "techniques for managing growth in a way that maximizes a nonprofit's impact." Sections of the report describe brief case studies, identify "growing pains and their treatment," present "a user's manual," and, finally, list management assistance resources that will be useful to organizations considering whether and how to grow.

Grantmakers interested in school-based arts education will be interested in two recent reports.

Gaining the Arts Advantage
Lessons from School Districts that Value Arts Education
Laura Longley, editor/writer
1999, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 526, Washington, DC 20506, 202-682-5409.