Monica's Blog

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Monica

Grantmakers in the Arts is proud to release a literature review on the growing field of arts in medicine. The review outlines the various ways in which artists and healthcare institutions work together to support patient and community heath, the infrastructure that exists to support this work, and how funders can support further development of the field. This document was produced as support material for the GIA Funder Forum on Arts in Medicine, held in Orlando, Florida on February 24, 2017 and sponsored by the Barr Foundation.

Read the report.

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Monica

Recent graduates with arts degrees have better career and entrepreneurial training than those who came before them, according to a report released by the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) at the Indiana University School of Education. The research, based on a survey of arts graduates, demonstrates that new approaches to arts education are helping prepare students for careers and give them tools they need to succeed.

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Monica

The Ford Foundation has announced the election of Bryan Stevenson to serve as a member of its board of trustees. A renowned public interest lawyer, Stevenson is founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama.

“Bryan is a courageous, transformational leader and a stalwart advocate for justice who has done an extraordinary amount to challenge the legacy of racial inequality in this country,” said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation.

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Monica

From The New York Times:

The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Legal Services Corporation, Americorps, and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. Work on the first Trump administration has been delayed as the budget office awaited Senate confirmation of former Representative Mick Mulvaney, a spending hard-liner, as budget director. Now that he is in place, his office is ready to move ahead with a list of nine programs to eliminate.
Posted on February 15, 2017 by Monica

From The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation:

In a new, first-of-its-kind study of how US foundations access and use knowledge about effective philanthropy, most foundation staff and board members shared that they rely on their peers and colleagues, as opposed to particular organizations or publications, both as their most trusted knowledge sources and as their preferred means to gather knowledge. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation commissioned this research to inform its “Knowledge for Better Philanthropy” grantmaking strategy.
Posted on February 15, 2017 by Monica

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have launched a new partnership called Sound Health, designed to explore the connections between music, health, and wellness. Through this partnership, both institutions will create opportunities to further understand how music affects circuitry in the brain, explore the potential for music as therapy for neurological disorders, identify future research opportunities, and create public awareness about how the brain functions and interacts with music.

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Monica

The early days of the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress have already begun to impact the education policy landscape. Alex Nock of Penn Hill Group has provided a summary update for Grantmakers in the Arts on current events that impact arts education and arts funding on a federal level. These events include the confirmation of a new education secretary, changes to the regulations of the Every Student Succeeds Act, and possible budget changes.

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Monica

Americans for the Arts has released a new guide, Arts Deployed: An Action Guide for Community Arts & Military Programming, for local arts organizations and artists interested in bringing creative arts programming to military and Veteran communities, their caregivers, and families. A collaboration between AFTA’s National Initiative for Arts & Health and the Military (NIAHM) and the Local Arts Advancement (LAA) department, Arts Deployed details the expansive benefits the arts have on the health and well-being of these communities and lays the groundwork for arts organizations and artists to build their own creative arts initiative for their local military and/or Veteran communities.

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Monica

The arts-based nonprofit Ka Joog, serving Somali youth in Minnesota, has refused a $500,000 federal grant from the Countering Violent Extremism program of the Department of Homeland Security in response to the Trump administration's recent immigration restrictions. Executive Director Mohamed Farah, who was featured as an IDEA LAB arts leader at the 2016 GIA Conference, stated that the grant was declined on principle and believes that Somali and Muslim communities are being unfairly targeted by government policies.

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Monica

The California Arts Council has announced that Director Craig Watson will step down from his role with the agency effective April 2017. As director of the California Arts Council since August 2011, Watson has been responsible for the leadership and oversight leading to the substantial growth and renewal of California's state arts agency. Under Watson's leadership, the budget of the California Arts Council increased from just $5 million in 2011 to nearly $25 million in 2017.