Steve's Blog

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Steve

An article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “Buying Time and Fanning Flames,” was written as a follow-up to Grantmakers in the Arts’ Funder Forum on Arts in Medicine in February 2017. Bill Cleveland, who facilitated the forum, reflects on the event and offers thoughts on the need for cross-sector collaboration to build infrastructure and program development that will further professionalize the field of arts in medicine.

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Steve

New on the GIA Podcast, Captain Sara Kass, MD, a military and medical advisor, shares her thoughts on the role of the arts in helping current military members, veterans, and their loved ones heal from emotional and physical injuries resulting from their service.

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Steve

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Dr. Gay Hanna reports back from GIA’s Funder Forum on Arts in Medicine, where funders and thought leaders gathered to discuss how to support the growing field of artists working in clinical settings — using the healing power of art to support patient and community well-being.

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Steve

From Carolinia A. Miranda, writing for the Los Angeles Times:

After President Trump threatened to eliminate the [National Endowment for the Arts], Congress approved a spending bill that not only funds the NEA for another year, but increased its $148 million annual budget by nearly $2 million. Lost in much of the acrimonious debate over whether the NEA should live or die is the organization’s support for cultural programs that cater to military veterans, active duty service members and their families.
Posted on May 11, 2017 by Steve

Joshua Heim, Arts Program Manager for the city of Bellevue, Washington, posts to AFTA’s Artsblog:

The lack of suburban arts leaders shouldn’t come as a surprise. From 2011-2015, Barry Hessenius published an annual list of the Fifty Most Powerful and Influential People in the Nonprofit Arts. Of the 142 individuals included on that list over the years, just three people came from suburbs. If you’re anxious about the steady decline in arts participation and interested in a fully integrated creative situation, then this is a problem. Because over half of Americans live and work in suburbs.
Posted on May 3, 2017 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “How to Invest in the Arts without Buying a Picasso,” Laura Callanan of Upstart Co-Lab writes about the emergence of impact investing and how it can support the creative economy.

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, author Cathy Edwards, executive director of the New England Foundation for the Arts, discusses the work of the National Dance Project. “Moving Dance Forward: Twenty Years of Grantmaking for a Changing Landscape” summarizes the results of a similarly named report and discusses the needs, trends, and demographics among dance makers and presenters.

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Steve

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Sonia BasSheva Mañjon writes about her work with Ohio State University to investigate economic empowerment with an arts and culture lens in order to better understand the needs in rural America. Read “From Whitesburg, Kentucky, to Washington Court House, Ohio: An Academic Explores Economic Empowerment through Cultural Revitalization.”

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Steve

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Michele Kumi Baer of The New York Community Trust writes about the formation of and lessons learned from the New York City Cultural Agenda Fund, a collaborative fund focused on cultural policy and advocacy that was created in the wake of New York City’s last mayoral election. Read “Seizing Opportunity amid Uncertainty: Lessons in Funder Collaboration.”

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Steve

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, discusses the League’s work addressing diversity in the orchestra field. “A New Will to Confront Homogeneity in American Orchestras,” presents the results of two of the League’s studies on the racial and gender demographics of the field and efforts to support inclusion of African American and Latino musicians through fellowships.