Nadia Elokdah's Blog

Playwright Lynn Nottage, director Kate Whoriskey, and Ford Foundation president Darren Walker gather for a conversation about a new production, "Clyde's," at Second Stage Theater. Supported by the Art for Justice Fund, with the goal of ending mass incarceration and underlying racial bias through art and advocacy, "Clyde's" shines a needed light on the importance of 'fair chance' employment opportunities to empower people to rebuild their lives who are returning home from prison face many challenges and this play.

“Due to historical inequalities, young people of color embarking on an art museum career are less likely to have families that can fund their unpaid internships or volunteer work. Done right, these types of early training opportunities help ensure that candidates of color will join the pipeline of museum professionals,” proposes Lisa M. Strong, director of the Art and Museum Studies MA Program and professor of the Practice, Georgetown University in the newsletter, The Conversation.

As part of their February spotlight on land, wealth, and ownership, Common Future shares a series of pieces drawing reflections on the legacies of land, wealth, and culture theft and cataloging actions by BIPOC communities in response. "The loss of land not only results in stripping financial wealth from families, but cultural wealth as well," Jennie Stephens, executive director of the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation and Common Future network leader emphasizes. “It’s far more than just a parcel of land — it can be a window to the past that tells the story of a family, a community, or a way of life. Knowing about your family’s history and culture creates a sense of place and belonging.”

“To be a Native American art curator today comes with expectations from a tribal community and requires an ability to be engaged with tribal governments, know methods and art practices, and then be academically credentialed in the museum field,” reflects Tahnee Ahtone, a Native American art curator in her biographical essay published in Hyperallergic.

A new playbook from LISC and Next City, Equitable Pathways to Small Business Recovery: An All-Hands Approach, offers a framework for paving equitable pathways to small business success, and lays out concrete strategies for supporting capital access, small business capacity, and commercial real estate with specific emphasis for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) -led or -owned small businesses.

This week’s NEA podcast is featuring NEA Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson. Chair Jackson is no stranger to the Arts Endowment having had a great deal of first-hand experience with the agency as she has served on the National Council on the Arts since 2013. She comes to the position of chair with years of experience in comprehensive community building that focuses on the centrality of the arts. Chair Jackson shares her thoughts about the arts, an artful life, and the Arts Endowment at this time of reopening, rethinking, and reimagining the arts landscape.

Last week, 412 New York City-based arts entities founded, led, and serving Black, Latine, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and all People of Color (POC) called for leaders of NYC’s cultural community to create a $100M fund to support POC-led arts entities and to address gaps in cultural equity across the city. The call comes as the group launches HueArts NYC, the only citywide effort to bring greater cultural equity, visibility, and support to all POC cultural institutions and initiatives across NYC’s five boroughs.

"In a sentence: The dance funding ecosystem is small compared to other performing arts, and the impacts of the pandemic on top of decades of declining public funding mean a growing role for philanthropy," reports Inside Philanthropy in their State of American Philanthropy report.

Black Philanthropy Circle, a fund at the Baltimore Community Foundation, has been launched to focus on charitable giving to nonprofits that directly support Black people and communities in the Baltimore area.

"The Open Society Foundations are proud to announce their Justice Rising Awards, a new investment in leaders working towards racial justice and equality in the Black community in the United States," according to the press release. "The 16 awardees from across the country are being recognized for their long-term contributions to advancing change in their communities, tireless commitment to civil rights, and capacity to inspire, innovate, and mobilize people despite considerable odds."