Over the past few decades, arts advocates have toiled diligently to support and sustain the arts in a climate that has not always felt very welcoming. Culture wars, economic recessions, technological disruptions, accusations of elitism, and (most frightening, perhaps) the perceived menace of societal indifference have at times all conspired to create an impression for many of an arts ecology under perpetual threat.
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The GIA Library is an information hub that includes articles, research reports, and other materials covering a wide variety of topics relevant to the arts and arts funding. These resources are made available free to members and non-members of GIA. Users can search by keyword or browse by category for materials to use in research and self-directed learning. Current arts philanthropy news items are available separately in our news feed - News from the Field.
January 2016, 88 pages. Ingenuity, 11 E. Hubbard, Suite 200, Chicago Illinois 60611. (312) 583-7459. www.ingenuity-inc.org.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
— Benjamin Franklin
— Benjamin Franklin
An American lady traveling to Paris in 1913 — the kind of American lady who will still be traveling to Paris in 2013 — asked Ezra Pound what he thought art was for. Pound replied: “Ask me what a rose bush is for.”
Europe was on the edge of war. Do rose bushes matter in a war? What can art do for us now, in the likelihood of another war?
In January I had the privilege to attend the Future Aesthetics 2.0 retreat, co-organized by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, director of Performing Arts of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and James Kass, executive director of Youth Speaks. Participating were twenty-three performance-based artists, Helicon Collaborative partners Holly Sidford and Alexis Frasz, and Cheryl Ikemiya from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which funded the project through its Fund for National Projects.
Bill Ivey. 2012, 192 pages, Counterpoint.
In his new book we learn about many of the things Bill Ivey doesn’t like:
- banner ads
- smart phones
- the $6 billion yoga industry
- politicians who hide behind polling
- cable news
- $4,000 mountain bikes
- TV in general; cooking shows in particular
And we learn about some of the things Bill Ivey does like:
- Leica cameras
Every decade or two, the professions of architecture and city planning are captivated by a movement with a particularly catchy name. Currently, the popular term is placemaking — a fairly loose term that is running neck and neck with “sustainability.” Within the design professions, this movement — really more a philosophy — suggests that people’s lives can be made better by intentionally designing interior and exterior spaces to embrace a wide range of users, provide for safety, and create artful expressions that endure over time.
The following is an excerpt from the introduction to the book Not Here, Not Now, Not That! Protest over Art and Culture in America.
January 2012, 112 pages. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, One Michigan Avenue East, Battle Creek, MI 49017-4012, (269) 968-1611, www.wkkf.org
