Grantmakers in the Arts

October 20, 2011 by Steve

The latest post from Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer for the San Francisco conference blog covers a session on video game design that featured Alyce Myatt of the NEA and Jonathan Blow, an independent video game developer:

They say the fastest growing population of video game players are women over 60.

“Oh my God I’ll never get there!” a woman in the back of the room was clearly overwhelmed by the thought of disappointing her demographic.

October 20, 2011 by Steve

The Andy Warhol Foundation announced on Wednesday that it will end its authentication board early next year. In a statement, the foundation said the move reflects its intent to shift focus toward maximizing “grant-making and other charitable activities in support of the visual arts.” In recent years, the foundation has been involved in legal disputes over its authentication process for works whose owners said they were by Warhol.

October 19, 2011 by Steve

Lucy Bernholz writes for Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas about philanthropy beyond Foundations:

What does it mean to be Jewish and philanthropic in 2011? Larry Moses wisely addresses this question from the perspective of the Jewish tradition of tzedakah. I am not a religious scholar; I am a philanthropy wonk. I study, write about, and consult with philanthropists on the changing ways we can create, fund, and distribute shared social goods such as education, health services, elder care, and cultural and artistic endeavors. My perspective on this question is to look at the modern business of giving, and to seek to apply those tools to the pursuit of justice.
October 19, 2011 by Steve

From the MAEA blog, a plea to Arts educators to leverage technology tools for self-advocacy:

October 19, 2011 by Tommer

Britain is turning away countless non-European writers, artists and performers at its borders, a result of cumbersome and unevenly interpreted immigration rules that are making it increasingly difficult for many arts organizations to include foreigners in their programs.

October 19, 2011 by Tommer

S. 978 makes unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty of up to 5 years in prison. Illegal streaming of copyrighted content is defined in the bill as an offense that "consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works" and has a total economic value, either to the copyright holder or the infringer, of at least $2,500.

Post a video of yourself singing "Happy Birthday" - a potential 5 years in the slammer. This song is protected by copyright until the year 2030.

October 19, 2011 by Steve

From Shawn C. Harris for TCG Circle:

Inspired by the film currently playing at a theater near you, the idea is to peel away layers of assumptions that go into our collective wisdom about how to make theatre then replace them with processes that incorporate the scientific method and statistical analysis. The goal is to reveal true value as opposed to guestimating and hoping for the best.
October 19, 2011 by Steve

Arts and culture blogger Ellen Berkovitch for the Santa Fe Reporter:

Since 2010... two distinct arts funding initiatives have marched off the federal and private-sector collaborative fields: respectively Our Town and ArtPlaceAmerica. These exemplify the latest linguistic leaps in turning “creative” into a verb: “creative placemaking.”

Just as at the beginning of any new movement, much effort goes to understanding beyond the slogans and into the meaning.