Steering Committee Report | February 2012 Meeting

The GIA Support for Individual Artists Group Steering Committee met in February to discuss four topics: Committee membership; the 2012 GIA conference and preconference in Miami; future activities surrounding the case statement developed by the committee in 2011 to advocate for the support of individual artists; and participation in other associations’ conferences.

Over the course of the past two years, several GIA members have expressed interest in joining the committee. In order to make way for new voices and visions, the committee agreed to examine terms of membership to ensure a healthy rotation of members. A sub-committee will make recommendations regarding length of service at the May meeting, when new members will be welcomed.

The committee discussed participating with colleagues in Miami to develop a preconference for grantmakers who support individual artists. A suggestion was made to consider an “open space” format that includes both philosophical and practical approaches and that would allow for more direct conversation and communication among funders than might a fully programmed day of panel presentations. Because of the wealth of residency programs in Florida, the committee also suggested that involving artist communities in the preconference would be of interest.

With the goal of actively advocating for the support of individual artists, the committee considered strategies for distributing the new case statement committee members crafted in 2011 to describe and define our work and encourage other funders interested in supporting artists. Several members will be pursuing the inclusion of the case statement in journals and through other associations and service organizations, as well as in future GIA website content.

Finally, the committee considered participating in other associations’ conferences, including the Environmental Grantmakers Association and the Association of Small Foundations.