Jaime Sharp's Blog

From Mellon Foundation, "In the face of redlining and municipal disinvestment, the Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) has worked within its neighborhood—at the nexus of Englewood and Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side—to turn what was once considered by many a no-man’s land into a vibrant model for Regenerative Neighborhood Development. Among its bounties: a community farm spanning a full city block, a hand-raised timber frame pavilion for community events known as the Thought Barn, and the historic Civic Arts Church now returning to its origins as a space for spirituality, creativity, and safety, especially for the Black community."

From Nonprofit Quarterly: "At GEO’s 2022 National Conference, hosted in partnership with Forefront, grantmakers and other practitioners had the opportunity to come together in Chicago, Illinois to explore challenges and uncover solutions with fellow grantmakers who are continuing to lean into transformational change in order to create a just, connected, and inclusive society where we can all thrive.

John Oliver discusses some of the world’s most prestigious museums, why they contain so many stolen goods, the market that continues to illegally trade antiquities, and a pretty solid blueprint for revenge.

Watch the full video here.

"The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced the promotion of Maurine Knighton to chief program officer. In this role, Knighton will oversee DDCF’s five national grantmaking programs: Arts, Environment, Medical Research, Child Well-Being and Building Bridges."

From Nonprofit Quarterly: "I have the privilege of being interviewed by Cyndi for the [piece] 'Pro-Blackness is Aspirational.' I think that a couple of things came up for me when thinking about this one. It was like, how do you talk about the aspiration of pro-Blackness without making people feel like we’re not making any inroads right now? Or feel anxious that it’s interminable, racism is interminable?"

"On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, NDN Collective took part in several events to celebrate and uplift the brilliance and resilience of Indigenous Peoples – participating in Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest in Arizona, the Grantmakers in the Arts Conference in New York and opening up pre-sale opportunities for the inaugural issue of the LANDBACK Magazine."

"On July 21, 2022, NPN’s Board of Directors voted to support the launch and an initial three years of the Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building: a new programmatic arc of work for NPN. Sage Crump, who has led NPN’s Leveraging a Network for Equity (LANE) initiative, will become the department’s first director. Under her guidance, NPN will work intentionally in the realm of systemic change and movement building by engaging the question 'What’s possible in our sector when we are in ideological alignment, deep learning, relationship building, and practice together?'"

"On the evening of Thursday, September 28, dozens of Brooklyn Museum union workers lined the institution’s grand entrance, chanting 'overworked and underpaid' and 'ancient art, not ancient wages.' Visitors to the museum’s Open House, an event celebrating the revamped Asian and Islamic art galleries, streamed in through different entrances in an attempt to circumvent the protestors," said Elaine Velie for Hyperallergic.

"Employees at the Brooklyn Museum officially unionized in August 2021 and began contract negotiations with museum leadership in January of this year. While the two parties have reached tentative agreements on some non-economic issues, they have yet to come to terms on healthcare and wages."

"Today, September 30, President Biden issued a proclamation designating October 2022 as National Arts and Humanities Month in celebration of the significance of the arts, humanities, and museum and library services to our nation."

From Alliance for California Traditional Arts: "Communities of Change discusses and interrogates definitions and terminology of the field, and describes case studies illustrating some of the larger issues and nuances inherent in this discipline, such as tradition and innovation, concepts of indigeneity, and cultural immersion as a teaching model. We list major cultural communities and related art forms across the wide band of 11 Bay Area counties, and share snapshots illustrating the contours on a county-by-county basis. Additionally, we examine some trends in Bay Area ethos of activism which have contributed to how traditional arts have been supported and undervalued in society and by the funding community. Finally, we conclude with recommendations and implications for the broader arts field and the philanthropic sector."