A recent article in CityLab describes how Rebuild Foundation, a nonprofit run by renowned artist Theaster Gates, has contributed to neighborhood revitalization in Chicago’s South Side. The organization has purchased and converted vacant buildings into art-inspired community hubs, including a community arts center, a movie theater, a cafe, and a bookstore.
Grantmakers in the Arts
by Monica
by Monica
President Obama will present the 2015 National Medals of Arts in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals on September 22, 2016 at the White House. Awards will be presented to Mel Brooks, Sandra Cisneros, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Morgan Freeman, Philip Glass, Berry Gordy, Santiago Jiménez, Jr., Moises Kaufman, Ralph Lemon, Audra McDonald, Luis Valdez, and Jack Whitten.
by Monica in Racial Equity
By Ana Sofia Knauf, writing for The Stranger:
The [Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS)] launched a series of racial equity workshops in August to raise "community-wide awareness about existing inequities" and to ensure arts organizations had the training to discuss racial issues. . . . To meet [high] demand, ARTS officials announced they commissioned two more workshops, which will be held in late September. Carmen Morgan, national speaker on diversity issues and founder of artEquity, will lead the discussions, both of which focus on supporting people of color as organizations grapple with racial equity.
by Steve
In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader entitled “The Charitable Deduction,” author Bronwyn Mauldin of Los Angeles County Arts Commission discusses how future tax reforms might affect deductions for charitable contributions to the arts.
by Monica in Capitalization
A new article in Nonprofit Quarterly details changes to the accounting standards for nonprofits as recommended by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The new standards are "meant to help nonprofits to tell their story more transparently through their financials" and will take effect for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. Key changes include "the simplification of the classification of net assets, the tracking of liquidity, and changes in the presentation of expenses."
by Monica in Capitalization
SMU’s National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) has released its most comprehensive report to date on national fundraising trends in the arts and cultural sector, the latest in the Center’s series of evidence-based insights on the health of the industry. It is based on 2014 data provided by over 4,200 organizations across 11 arts disciplines, with trends for a subset of over 2,700 organizations over the four-year period 2011-2014.
by Monica
The National Endowment for the Arts has released new research that for the first time offers a complete state-by-state perspective on how Americans participate in the arts. In addition, the data reveal that despite decades of declining arts attendance by U.S. adults in the performing and visual arts, more recent rates are holding steady.
by Monica
A new online tool, MuseumStat, and its corresponding iOS app called MuseumFinder map out museums across the United States and the communities they serve. The project was funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Neville Vakharia, an assistant professor and research director of arts administration in Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design led this research and development effort with a goal of not only gathering important data, but visualizing that data through an easily accessible tool to help the museum field make data-driven decisions.