New Genres / New Media

Landscape dominates Oregon. Its beaches, mountains, and rivers beckon Oregonians to spend their leisure time hiking, skiing, and fishing. Many Portland residents routinely exit the city on weekends, choosing outdoors over urban culture. It is within this enticing natural environment that Portland's arts and cultural institutions must engage their audiences and make their way as financially viable institutions.

2006, 12 pages. Alliance of Artists Communities, 255 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02905, 401-351-4320, aac@artistscommunities.org

2006, available online. Center for Arts Policy, Columbia College Chicago, 600 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605, 312-344-7985

What do Cirque du Soliel and acid mine drainage have in common? And how do they relate to arts and democracy? You can explore these questions and learn about many other surprising combinations in this mind-expanding new "cyber series" now being distributed free of charge by the Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College Chicago.

2006, 27 pages. Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, 2324 University Avenue West, Suite 114, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114, 651-645-0402, www.mrac.org

Download pdf at The Bush Foundation website

"Harmony is not an arts destination. We seek the arts at the core of everyday lives. We simply want a more solid community, a well-rounded community, beauty in our lives." — Paula Michel, Harmony Arts Council

In the past year, the phrase "net neutrality" has become much more frequent in conversation and in the news. What does it mean and should arts grantmakers be concerned? To help answer the question, short excerpts from several sources are presented below. In addition a session will be presented at GIA's 2006 conference, "Keeping the Internet Open," organized by David Haas (chair, Grantmakers for Film and Electronic Media In the past year, the phrase "net neutrality" has become much more frequent in conversation and in the news. What does it mean and should arts grantmakers be concerned?

Imagine throwing an arts event and the entire community shows up. This is oftentimes what takes place in the towns delightfully portrayed in Bright Stars, a publication from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Neal Cuthbert's foreword to this award-winning piece, it is underscored that rural communities in Minnesota are suffering in several ways due to listless econo-mies and dramatically shifting demographics.

Background
The cultural sector does not exist in a vacuum. It is being challenged by major demographic, economic, technological, and social factors outside its immediate control. While the commercial arts and individual artists are also struggling to adapt to these changes, for a variety of reasons the nonprofit arts sector has been particularly slow to respond effectively.

"I believe that if we can keep our values close, our imaginations open, and our stories fierce, we can and will win." - Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Introduction

These thoughts were sparked by attending the Council on Foundations 57th Annual Conference, "Philanthropy: Investing in the Vision of Progress." I was especially engaged by the plenary remarks of George Soros and Newt Gingrich.

A growing number of scholars and writers have been tracing the multiple connections between the arts and economic vitality during the past decade. A recent book by anthropologist Maribel Alvarez, There's Nothing Informal about It: Participatory Arts within the Cultural Ecology of Silicon Valley (2005) has drawn a new set of connections for me and raised the possibility that informal, or participatory, cultural practices may have greater meaning in an economic context than I previously recognized.