GIA Blog

Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, was named the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, effective June 16.

A version of this essay will be published in the June/July edition of the Grantmakers in Health (GIH) bulletin, aligning with this year’s GIH annual conference on June 12-14, at which GIA will present the work of the Center for Arts in Medicine at University of Florida, The Kresge Foundation, and artist collective Harriet’s Apothecary.

In an audio recording from the Haas Institute for Fair and Inclusive Society’s Blueprint for Belonging project, an interview called “The Battle of the Narratives: Organizing for Transformative Change,” shed light on issues facing 21st century social justice movements.

In a recent blog post, Living Cities -a collaborative of foundations and financial institutions working to close racial gaps- shares the lessons they have learned from Racial Equity Here, an initiative that supports five cities committed to improving racial equity.

When he was 23, photographer and filmmaker Tyler Mitchell became the first black photographer to shoot in 2018 the cover of Vogue magazine. (His subject was Beyoncé.) Mitchell’s first solo exhibition, “I Can Make You Feel Good,” on view at Foam in Amsterdam, is for the artist "an affirmation of certain autobiographical aspects of my blackness," as he told The New York Times.

Five dance companies were selected to participate in Momentum, a new three-year initiative from South Arts, to build their capacity regional and national touring. Over the course of the program, according to South Arts, each company will receive professional development, residency opportunities, and touring grants to fund their work.

As part of Women in Reentry, a project of the People’s Paper Co-op, for months, formerly incarcerated women have learned to make paper from their shredded criminal records, coming up with sayings that reflect their experiences behind bars, and then collaborating with artists across the country to turn their words and images into art.

The guide Rural Prosperity through the Arts and Creative Sector: A rural action guide for governors and states tackles how a growing body of research shows that arts-based economic development can help communities to thrive.

A collaboration between the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA),

Judy Heumann, an internationally recognized disability rights leader, joined in 2017 the Ford Foundation for a yearlong fellowship, working with the foundation’s staff to integrate a disability-inclusive perspective across their work. On her own, as a blog post/interview by the Ford Foundation details, she researched the inclusion of disability in film and television.

With the goal of helping underserved communities, R&B singer Khalid launched The Great Khalid Foundation, a music and fine arts organization in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, Rolling Stone reported.