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.
From J. Kelly Nestruck, writing for The Globe and Mail:
The Canada Council for the Arts is getting a new funding model in April of 2017 a total rethink of the Ottawa-based granting council that reduces its number of programs from 148 to a streamlined six. As details of this shift have started to emerge in recent weeks, however, the most striking change may be the direct tying of diversity to funding for large arts organizations for the first time since the Canada Council was established in 1957. It’s not just the diversity of art and artists that will come under scrutiny in the future at institutions with revenue of more than $2-million.
January 2016, 88 pages. Ingenuity, 11 E. Hubbard, Suite 200, Chicago Illinois 60611. (312) 583-7459. www.ingenuity-inc.org.
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has appointed Dana Gioia, who served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 to 2009, as California Poet Laureate. From the California Arts Council:
The role of the California Poet Laureate is to spread the art of poetry and creative expression from classrooms to boardrooms across the state, to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists and enthusiasts, and to educate all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced our great state through creative literary expression… Over the course of a two-year term, the California Poet Laureate provides public readings and engagement in urban and rural locations across the state, educates civic and state leaders about the value of poetry and creative expression, and undertakes a significant cultural project.
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy has announced that Tamir Novotny has been selected as its new Executive Director, beginning Monday, November 16, 2015. Novotny has been an active member of EPIP since early 2013 and has served on the EPIP New York Steering Committee, and as Regional Coordinator for the Northeast chapters. He has contributed to EPIP’s national programming, including EPIP’s 2015 national conference and its Wednesday Webinar series. He joins EPIP after nine years at Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative of 22 major foundations and financial institutions focused on improving the lives of low-income urban residents.
The preconference session Investing in Filmmakers: Arts and Media drew primarily funders from across the nation to discuss, as framed by Janet Brown in her opening statement: how can we move forward in a way that advances filmmakers as individual artists? Participants from organizations and foundations where opportunities for filmmakers are minimal to embedded in general artist-funding programs were eager to discuss and find ways to more intentionally invest in these artists. This included ideas for cross-sector work, such as film and community development, and supporting current grantees to engage storytelling thru film making. Those with more established artist funding and development programs in media spoke to the benefits of filmmaking beyond an advocacy and communications focus to one of tangible social impact, followed by comments on artist access to power and decision-making in these processes.
The time has come for the arts to pay overdue attention to teaching artistry.
In 2008, ten performing arts organizations embarked on an experiment in capitalization. As participants in Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Leading for the Future (LFF) Initiative, the first program to introduce change capital on a national scale, they set out to develop new program models and operating structures that would respond to shifts in the artistic environment and serve as instructive examples to the field.
The mission of the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, established in 2002, is to enhance the quality of life of Oregonians through support of the arts and education. In the midst of the 2009 recession, the foundation began a six-year grantmaking initiative that provided general operating support to Portland’s five large arts organizations. The foundation made important shifts in its grantmaking strategy to help shore up the financial strength and stability of the Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Portland Art Museum, and the Oregon Symphony.