Member Reports

A four-year partnership between Atlanta-based Alternate ROOTS and West Baltimore–based CultureWorks flowered forth in ROOTS Fest 2011, presenting a new model for arts-based social justice work and engaging a wide array of artists, funders, and activists, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. This art-packed, heart-grabbing, justice-probing double event began with the three-day National Learning Exchange at the Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy in West Baltimore.

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   Thought Leader Forum on Arts and Aging (617Kb)

Arts nonprofits working with youth are often asked, “What impact does your program have on the youth you serve?” They respond that youth keep coming. They bring friends. They’re proud of what they create. Some even make careers in the arts. But how often can youth-serving arts organizations really make the case that it was their program that made a difference in life outcomes of their youth? Can a case be made on more than attendance figures and anecdotes? Since 2008, the Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project (BYAEP) has been working on these very questions.

My friend and muse, celebrated composer Libby Larsen, recently told an audience that “music is alive and well in our culture,” and she said it with an exclamation point! I agree with her, and in one sense that statement could be both the beginning and the end of this report. It’s pretty definitive. Since the digital age has made access to everything so much easier, composers and performers have continued to learn from and utilize the new technological tools to their benefit.

Placing the cause and calling of literature ahead of the bottom line, independent literary publishers serve as a primary link between writers — particularly those representing emerging voices, culturally specific communities, and literary art forms not fostered by mainstream publishers — and readers. Independent literary publications create an enduring record of cultural activity and provide an essential alternative to the voices heard through large-scale, commercial publishing.

The League of American Orchestras represents more than nine hundred member organizations across the nation, from youth and college groups to volunteer community orchestras and internationally renowned professional ensembles. Orchestras enhance the quality of life in their communities by providing musical inspiration and meaning, fostering civic pride, and collaborating with school systems and other local partners to deliver a wide array of education and community programs. Their annual budgets range from next to nothing to over $80 million.

The Alliance of Artists Communities is the service organization for artists’ colonies, communities, and residency programs — places for artists of any discipline to develop new work — with more than five hundred sites in the United States and over one thousand worldwide. While the earliest programs were developed a century ago as isolated retreats, the field has grown to include dozens of models — from urban residencies for local artists, to community-engaged art spaces in small towns, to those providing residencies alongside educational, environmental, or presenting programs.

Dance/USA has been gauging the impact of the recession on dance-based organizations in the United States through several means: a series of four Rough Waters Surveys that began in December 2008, with the most recent taking place in May 2010; conversations with our members in semiregular council calls; and regularly scanning published news articles for information about the successes and failures the dance field has experienced.

Just like its artistic counterparts, the opera industry last year made cutbacks (in jobs and salaries, for example) and compromises (fewer productions and performances) to continue to thrive. Since the recession began, funding sources have shifted, with federal funding, corporate support, and subscriptions on the decline. Foundation support varies regionally. At the same time, costs have continued to escalate at a rate significantly greater than the Consumer Price Index.