GIA Blog

The early days of the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress have already begun to impact the education policy landscape. Alex Nock of Penn Hill Group has provided a summary update for Grantmakers in the Arts on current events that impact arts education and arts funding on a federal level. These events include the confirmation of a new education secretary, changes to the regulations of the Every Student Succeeds Act, and possible budget changes.

Americans for the Arts has released a new guide, Arts Deployed: An Action Guide for Community Arts & Military Programming, for local arts organizations and artists interested in bringing creative arts programming to military and Veteran communities, their caregivers, and families. A collaboration between AFTA’s National Initiative for Arts & Health and the Military (NIAHM) and the Local Arts Advancement (LAA) department, Arts Deployed details the expansive benefits the arts have on the health and well-being of these communities and lays the groundwork for arts organizations and artists to build their own creative arts initiative for their local military and/or Veteran communities.

From The New York Times: The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos — a wealthy donor from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational … Continue reading Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary →

The arts-based nonprofit Ka Joog, serving Somali youth in Minnesota, has refused a $500,000 federal grant from the Countering Violent Extremism program of the Department of Homeland Security in response to the Trump administration's recent immigration restrictions. Executive Director Mohamed Farah, who was featured as an IDEA LAB arts leader at the 2016 GIA Conference, stated that the grant was declined on principle and believes that Somali and Muslim communities are being unfairly targeted by government policies.

The California Arts Council has announced that Director Craig Watson will step down from his role with the agency effective April 2017. As director of the California Arts Council since August 2011, Watson has been responsible for the leadership and oversight leading to the substantial growth and renewal of California's state arts agency. Under Watson's leadership, the budget of the California Arts Council increased from just $5 million in 2011 to nearly $25 million in 2017.

Laura Zucker, executive director of Los Angeles County Arts Commission and current GIA board member, was recently interviewed alongside Romina Boccia of The Heritage Foundation about the motivations and potential impacts of eliminating federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The proposal for these cuts was developed by The Heritage Foundation, which is currently advising the Trump administration’s budgetary decisions. The interview discusses The Heritage Foundation's reasoning for proposing these cuts, the role of federal funding in the arts and public media, and how the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors might respond.

Laura Zucker, executive director of Los Angeles County Arts Commission and current GIA board member, was recently interviewed alongside Romina Boccia of The Heritage Foundation about the motivations and potential impacts of eliminating federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The … Continue reading Laura Zucker Interviewed with Heritage Foundation Rep on Possibility of Federal Arts Funding Cuts →

Recent research published by Barry Hessenius provides an overview of state arts advocacy in the US. "This scan sought to identify which states were organizationally active on the advocacy stage, the assets each state had to carry out its advocacy mission, which states were only minimally equipped to be effective advocates, and which states currently had no real operational advocacy organization." The characteristics evaluated included staffing, funding sources, communications, major initiatives launched, local political climate, and more.

On her blog, Better Together, Grantmakers in the Arts President & CEO Janet Brown offers a moment of reflection and encouragement for arts funders in this time of transition: “In times of change and instability, there is also opportunity — opportunity to defend our values and more deeply assess whether those values are being implemented in our practice. A challenge lies in determining how our voices are used and to what end.”

Read the full blog post.