GIA Blog

Many organizations are joining the effort to aid the thousands of people who were affected by the enormous outbreak of tornados in late April. The Actors Fund has recently compiled a list of resources for artists who need help.

Culturelab is a joint initiative of leading arts consultants and the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago, a nationally recognized interdisciplinary research center dedicated to informing policies that affect the arts, humanities, and cultural heritage. On April 29, Culturelab staged the Emerging Practice Seminar 2011, billed as a concerted effort to bring forward promising new practices in the cultural sector and transmit them to the field.

The National Endowment for the Arts has announced a new grant category, Arts in Media, which will replace Arts on Radio and Television and expand the parameters of projects previously funded through that category.

Findings from a national survey released this week show that, contrary to widespread belief, most arts graduates are employed and holding jobs consistent with their educational goals. For example, 92% of those who wish to work currently are, with most finding employment soon after graduating. Two-thirds said their first job was a close match for the kind of work they wanted. And almost three-quarters (74%) of those who intended to work as a professional artist had done so at some point since graduating.

Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel today named his Cultural Affairs Leadership Team, announcing that Michelle T. Boone will be the Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and David McDermott will serve as her Chief of Staff. The Mayor-elect also named the leaders of a reinvigorated Chicago Cultural Affairs Advisory Committee. Nora Daley will serve as the Committee’s Chair and Marj Halperin as the Vice Chair.

Twenty-one arts journalists from 13 states have been chosen to participate as fellows in USC Annenberg's seventh National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater. Fellows include theater critics, reporters, editors and general arts & entertainment journalists. The Institute will be held in Los Angeles from June 13 to 22, with the generous support of the NEA.

NYFA Source has updated its Disaster Resources page with local resources for tornado victims in Alabama. Inquiries can be forwarded to their hotline number: 1-800-232-2789.

CERF+ is also asking for information on artists who were affected by the massive tornado outbreak last week.

Artists, leaders, and advocates will gather in Chicago on Saturday, May 7, for a TEDx event to talk about the paths ahead of us and what the arts need to do to remain relevant, active, and thriving into a new age. The long list of participants includes David Dombrosky, executive director of the Center for Arts Management and Technology; Lisa Canning, founder of The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship; and Ian David Moss, research director for Fractured Atlas. The event was organized by David Zoltan, director of ArtsAppeal.

In May, the photo banner at the top of the website features a rotating series of performance and artwork photographs provided by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, a GIA member. The photographs document projects funded through the Creative Work Fund, a program of the Haas Fund supported by two additional GIA members, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation. Our gratitude to Frances Phillips, Program Director for the Arts and The Creative Work Fund at the Haas Fund, for curating this first-class selection of images.

Video from last week's Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media webinar, a funder briefing co-sponsored by GIA, is now available on the GFEM website, here. Titled Sustaining and Growing Community Media Centers: A Funder Briefing, the excellent presentation—I participated and walked away with a great deal—covers the following: