In “Detroit Imagines Itself: Art of the Ex-industrial,” Detroit-based writer Sarah Rose Sharp offers a thoughtful overview of the history, strengths, and challenges of the city’s vibrant arts community.
Grantmakers in the Arts
by Steve
by Monica
The Wallace Foundation is publishing a series of market research reports to support efforts to improve attendance and audience engagement at arts institutions around the country. As reported by Nonprofit Quarterly:
In response to a declining audience base for many major art forms, the Wallace Foundation’s $52 million [Building Audiences for Sustainability] initiative looked at Ballet Austin. . . . Over time, BAS will study a total of 25 performing arts organizations. The goal is to help these individual arts organizations as well as to develop insights for the arts field in general.
by Monica in Emergency Readiness, Response, and Recovery
From artnet news:
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation are teaming up with theater impresario Lin-Manuel Miranda to donate $300,000 to Puerto Rico relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The gift, announced on Tuesday, will aid arts and cultural workers who are struggling in the aftermath of the devastating storm, which rendered an estimated 3.4 million people without power and all but destroyed the island’s energy grid. (As of press time, Maria had claimed at least 48 lives, and more than 80 percent of the power grid is still not functioning.)
by Monica
From MiBiz:
Funding for arts and culture in Michigan received a $1 million bump for 2018.
Bringing the total state budget allocation for arts and cultural programs up to $10.7 million signals a recognition by state lawmakers of the importance of events and programming such as music festivals and art centers — and of the arts in schools across Michigan, according to industry sources.
“The state legislature and Gov. Snyder’s administration have been very good to us,” said John Bracey, executive director of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA). “In 2010, we were only granted $1.7 million and we were on the brink of elimination. From that time, we’ve gotten a few increases here and there and leveled out at that $9.7 million level.”
by Monica in Emergency Readiness, Response, and Recovery
Creative Sonoma has launched a recovery fund to support members of the creative community affected by the recent wildfires in the area. The funds will be available to individuals for immediate and short-term basic human and art related needs including shelter, medications, art supplies, instruments, and more. The organization has also created an online Creative Recovery Exchange, a peer-to-peer forum where artists and organizations can post their recovery-related needs and others can offer services, and goods to support them.
by Monica
From Jerome Foundation:
In 2013, the Foundations had entered a close working partnership as Camargo re-staffed and revitalized its programs, with Jerome Foundation Board and staff providing guidance and leadership in this transitional period. The success of this alliance has been remarkable. A new staff of dedicated and committed individuals, headed by Julie Chénot (who joined the Foundation to head programs in 2014), has been engaged.
With this re-emergence of Camargo as a vital residency center for artists, scholars, and thinkers, Camargo is now ready to embark on a new path. In recognition of the successes achieved, Camargo Program Director Julie Chénot has been promoted to the role of Executive Director of the Camargo Foundation.
by Monica
In a recent blog post on Philanthropy News Digest, Dance/NYC Executive Director Lane Harwell writes about the importance of supporting artists with disabilities:
The moment is rife with opportunity. On the one hand, there are opportunities for more expansive disability-specific funds. Indeed, a new generation of disability arts organizations and fiscally sponsored projects is primed for capacity-building investments, and there are critical gaps in funding for disabled artists along the artistic development continuum, from public school classrooms to professional studios and stages.
At the same time, it is incumbent on philanthropy to develop intersectional strategies that consider disability within and across arts funding portfolios rather than in isolation.
by Monica in Support for Individual Artists
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2017 fellows, 24 “exceptionally creative people” who will each receive a $625,000 award over five years. Among this year’s fellows are opera director Yuval Sharon, writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, photographer Dawoud Bey, and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Learn about all 24 MacArthur fellows.
Read the article on The New York Times.