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GIA in San Francisco
Posted on by Steve

Barry Hessenius from San Francisco:

I had a great time at GIA’s Chicago gathering last year, and I have been waiting in eager anticipation for this conference all year. Having been a major funder at one point in California when I was at the helm of the California Arts Council, and having had the pleasure to know and work with a lot of arts program officers at foundations of all sizes and stripes over a decade or more now – AND as this conference is in my own back yard – it is been on my radar screen as something I have been looking forward to covering.
GIA Posts Report on Arts and Aging Thought Leader Forum
Posted on by Steve

GIA has published a report on the Thought Leader Forum on Arts and Aging, which was held on April 6, 2011 in Washington, D.C. The report was authored by Suzanne Callahan, Callahan Consulting for the Arts, and Diane Mataraza, Mataraza Consulting, and can now be downloaded from the GIA Library.

Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia Now Accepting Applications
Posted on by Steve

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is now accepting applications for the second year of the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia from today through Oct. 31. The three-year, $9 million community-wide contest seeks the most innovative ideas in the arts to engage and enrich Philadelphia’s communities.

How The Arts Ed Field Can Be Its Own Worst Enemy
Posted on by Steve

Richard Kessler, who will be blogging from the 2011 GIA Conference later this week, posts to his own blog, Dewey 21C:

For about as long as I have been in this field, which is longer than I would now like to admit, I have witnessed the unfortunate tendency for us to shoot ourselves in the foot. It could be the arguments of discipline-based versus integration, it could be residencies versus field trips, aesthetic versus creative, blah, blah, blah.
Irvine Foundation Announces Exploring Engagement Fund
Posted on by Steve

The James Irvine Foundation has launched the Exploring Engagement Fund as part of the foundation's new Arts program strategy announced in June. The Exploring Engagement Fund is designed to help nonprofit arts organizations try new ways of engaging audiences and participants.

Minneapolis Mayor wants backup from art community
Posted on by Steve

From Eric Roper at the Star-Tribune:

When it comes to public art, Mayor R.T. Rybak is tired of being a lone wolf. Rybak told an art-centric crowd earlier this month that “I got my head kicked in” for installing 10 water fountains designed by artists—at $50,000 a piece. He said they should have come to his defense.
Souther California Arts Scene the Focus of Pacific Standard Time
Posted on by Steve

Pacific Standard Time is a collaboration of cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. Beginning October 2011, over 60 cultural institutions will make their contributions to this region-wide initiative encompassing every major L.A. art movement from 1945 to 1980.

The arts: a venue for bipartisanship
Posted on by Steve

Opinion from Paul Tetreault at Politico:

Amid today’s rancorous political climate, many of us are searching for a venue of bipartisanship, a place where we can find common ground, where we can search for what unites us, instead of what divides us.

I offer up the arts as an important starting place. Across the country, countless arts venues open their doors each night to offer thought-provoking work, forcing us to wrestle with our pre-conceived notions of other times, other cultures and other beliefs.

Dodge Foundation 2012 Grant Guidelines
Posted on by Steve

The Dodge Foundation’s 2012 guidelines reflect a continuing evolution of grantmaking in the areas of the Arts, Education, Environment and Media. For the Arts:

Pursue and demonstrate the highest standards of artistic excellence in the performing and visual arts; enhance the cultural health and richness of communities; inspire learning and understanding; and contribute to New Jersey’s creative economy.
Authors Explore How to 'Give Smart' to Charities When Every Dollar Counts
Posted on by Steve

PBS Newshour interviews the authors of the book Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results:

Even in a sluggish economy, Americans still give away billions of dollars to charitable causes. With this in mind, Judy Woodruff spoke with the authors of a new book aimed at making charitable giving more effective. Titled Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results, the book is motivated by new thinking about the urgency of getting the most out of every dollar given away.

One author is Tom Tierney, co-founder of the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit focused on helping donors and nonprofit leaders to act in ways that accelerate social change. The other is Joel Fleishman, a Duke University professor of law and public policy, and a long-time expert on philanthropy.