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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.
Grantmakers in the Arts mourns the loss of Claudine Brown, who passed away on the night of March 17, 2016. Brown served on the GIA board from 1996 to 2001, including as board chair in 1999-2000, and was instrumental in building GIA into the professional organization it is today. She also created the social justice working group whose efforts led to GIA’s racial equity initiative.
Brown worked most recently as assistant secretary for education and access at the Smithsonian Institution.
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase cultural policy? Given the GIA Reader’s audience, I imagine answers that run the gamut from dry-as-dust studies to brilliant proposals for weaving new cultural fabric.
But in my role as Chief Policy Wonk for the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC), when I set out to write about our new generative cultural policy proposals in An Act of Collective Imagination: The First Two Years of the USDAC’s Action Research, I had a whole different audience in mind: people who may never have heard the phrase before.
Introduction: Georgia Men
“Black people did not come back from Georgia.”
“A man or woman that had learned that they might be taken south might do anything.”
“A man who had to see his son stand naked before buyers might do anything.”
Grantmakers in the Arts is committed to promoting racial equity in arts philanthropy and increasing support for African, Latine, Arab, Asian, and Native American (ALAANA) artists, arts organizations, and communities. Our statement of purpose for this work, published in March 2015, comes after five years of internal discussions, workshops, articles, and forums led by a small learning group consisting of social justice funders and those concerned with social justice.
Request for Proposal
RFP Deadline: April 8, 2016
Project Deadline: September 1, 2016
In October 2013, the board of The Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Community Foundation (affiliates of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners) adopted a racial equity framework to deepen its commitment to racial equity. As part of the framework, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners committed to employing a racially diverse workforce. Pat O’Brien and Sharon DeMark, together with consultant Beth Zemsky who was hired to work with the organization, share the story of how Minnesota Philanthropy Partners interrogated hiring assumptions, lowered barriers to strategic recruitment, and made key changes on hiring decision-making. Our presenters will share initial successes, lessons, and the ongoing process of making the organization a more inclusive workplace for African, Latino/a, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) staff persons.
By Janet Brown, President & CEO, Grantmakers in the Arts and Angelique Power, Program Director, Culture, The Joyce Foundation, and GIA Board Member
Grantmakers in the Arts is committed to promoting racial equity in arts philanthropy and increasing support for African, Latine, Arab, Asian, and Native American (ALAANA) artists, arts organizations, and communities. Our statement of purpose for this work, published in March 2015, comes after five years of internal discussions, workshops, articles, and forums led by a small learning group consisting of social justice funders and those concerned with social justice. Our use of the term racial equity is deliberate and reflects a new shift from using language about “diversity” and “inclusion.”
Reflecting on last week’s conference, I’m still moved by the depth of conversation and reflection from some of my peers in the philanthropic arts sector.
This year’s theme, Experience the Unexpected, situated the arts as a vehicle for transformation. From community development and cultural equity, to tools for public voice and advocacy, funders were called to center their work in supporting artists and organizations as key to these efforts.