Grantmakers in the Arts

December 23, 2011 by Steve

Oliver Zunz, author of Philanthropy in America: A History, writes for the opinion pages of The New York Times about the origins of the Christmas Seals campaign to fight tuberculosis:

CHRISTMAS SEALS, first sold 104 years ago in a Delaware post office, transformed the treatment and control of tuberculosis, one of the most feared killers of the age.

Just as important, they produced a revolution in philanthropy. At that time, the 1 percent of the late Gilded Age, men with names like Carnegie and Rockefeller, were creating major new philanthropic institutions. Christmas Seals, in a way, was the response from the other 99 percent: by marketing something as inexpensive as a stamp and using the proceeds to attack a major disease, the founders of the Christmas Seals program demonstrated the collective power of the American public.

Earth to Congress

December 21, 2011 by Tommer

Have you heard about this?

Starting Fresh: A Modest Proposal

December 19, 2011 by Steve

Arlene Goldbard continues to drill down on the issues around Equity in Arts funding:

Let’s have a national El Sistema in all art forms, a new WPA, a teaching artists corps, an infusion of artists’ work in every social and educational system! What are your ideas?

But before the makeovers start flying, its really important to look at first principles. The current system is astoundingly inequitable in sharing resources with rich and poor, rural and urban, genders, races, practices, ethnicities, and so on: however you slice it. But that’s not all that’s wrong. The system fails because it is built on faulty wiring, with significant tangles where there should be flow. Below, I single out three big ones: the private-public toggle, the means-and-ends muddle, and the public-interest pickle.

December 15, 2011 by Steve

The staff of the San Francisco Arts Commission published a statement on their website following a second public hearing on the recent Controller’s Report that was an evaluation of the Arts Commission’s programs and fiscal policies.

This week at City Hall, a Special Meeting of the Full Arts Commission was convened to provide further discussion of a recent report from the Office of the Controller. It was the second hearing the SFAC convened on the matter, and was as much an opportunity for concerned citizens and stakeholders to share their thoughts with commissioners as it was a chance to hear more about the report, what it is, and what it isn’t.

The Three Horsemen of Arts Education

December 15, 2011 by Steve

Nick Rabkin writes today for Huffington Post:

There's never been a golden age of arts education in American schools. Back in 1930, less than a quarter of 18-year olds had taken classes or lessons in any art form. There was much progress after that, but by the early 1980s more than a third still had none. And for the last thirty years, arts education for American children has declined sharply again. By 2008, fewer than half of 18-year olds had any arts classes or lessons, about the level of the 1960s. Most of the decline has been concentrated in schools that serve low-income black and Latino students. Many of their schools have become veritable arts deserts. Why have the arts been so marginalized in education? There are three big reasons. We might think of them as the three horsemen of arts education, just one short of an arts education Armageddon.

The Pot Is Simmering

December 15, 2011 by Steve

Doug Borwick from his Engaging Matters blog delves into the state of the conversation on Equity:

The categories of inequity are multiple: class, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, etc., etc. Awareness of and response to each varies hugely depending on which side of the have/have-not divide one finds oneself. The have-not side always has a far greater awareness and understanding of inequity than is ever possible on the have side. As an over-educated white male of a certain age, it’s astonishing that I can ever see clearly enough to get out of bed in the morning. (And for all my effort to “see,” in the few short months I’ve been blogging here, Roberto Bedoya has already had to call me out, justifiably, once here.) The have side predictably sees all the good it is doing (in its own eyes). The have-nots see much more clearly how far there is to go.

December 15, 2011 by Steve

The Continuing Innovation Convening on Technology and Audience Engagement is currently underway in New York City. And you can follow the proceedings via the live blog hosted by EmcArts. Events conclude on Friday.

The Power of Small

December 14, 2011 by Steve

From Ruthie Ackerman in The Wall Street Journal:

Proponents of small foundations say smaller donors often have closer relationships with the nonprofit organizations they fund, which allows them to see firsthand how donations are being used. (Suzanne) Skees, for example, says she visits her foundation's partners in California and beyond, getting to know everyone at the organization from the executive director on down, and familiarizing herself with the programs the organizations run.

Podcast #50: Black Arts Funding In 2023

Grantmakers in the Arts hosted the first GIA Black Arts Funding Summit in December of 2022. This virtual gathering of 113 artists, arts administrators, and funders allowed attendees to acknowledge and understand the long histories of exclusion, disenfranchisement, and disendowing in the philanthropic sector. One year later, we are continuing the conversation with two funders and elevating new considerations after one year. We are glad to have Rasu Jilani, executive director of Brooklyn Arts Council, and Anthony Simmons, senior director of Institutional Partnerships, Resilia, joining us to share their thoughts on what’s next for Black arts funding and what that means for equity and self-determination.

GIA · #50: Black Arts Funding In 2023

ALL PODCASTS

Black Arts Funding Summit

On December 13, the Black Arts Funding Summit featured experts across fields and industries who have directly shaped institutional policy and established new practices that support Black liberatory futures.

Explore the conference blog

Explore Solidarity Economy resources here

Videos from the GIA 2022 Conference are now available for streaming.