GIA Blog

Merging Art and Business in the College Curriculum
Posted on by Steve

John M. Eger, blogging on Huffington Post:

This week San Diego State University is launching a Music Entrepreneurship and Business Degree Program, which, according to the university, “is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.” Developed as a partnership between SDSU’s College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts and the College of Business Administration, the program embeds 15 units of entrepreneurship classes ranging from the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship to Creativity and Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Finance, in addition to business course electives.
Arts Funding on November Ballot in L.A.
Posted on by Steve

From Mike Boehm at the Los Angeles Times:

Among the decisions voters will face on the Nov. 4 ballot (in L.A. County) is whether to absorb $23 in annual per-parcel property taxes over the next 30 years for improvements to parks and cultural facilities within them as well as recreational facilities, beaches and wildlife areas. If the required two-thirds supermajority says yes, the county would have $53 million each year to spend for all those purposes combined. In L.A. County, most of the key publicly owned or funded arts venues are in county, municipal or state parks, all of which would be eligible for the funding.
What Are Critics For?
Posted on by Steve

From Suzy Evans at Theatre Communications Group:

With the closing of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program earlier this year, the O’Neill is now one of the only professional-development avenues for working critics. Some entities — like the Goodman Theatre, which has a young critics’ program for girls, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, whose winners are given spots at the O’Neill — host education-based initiatives for aspiring journalists.
Philanthropy in a Time of Polarization
Posted on by Steve

From Heather Hurlburt, Mark Schmitt, and Steven Teles, writing for Philanthropy News Digest:

Institutional philanthropy, by law and by tradition, has had an indirect and often awkward connection to the policy process. For the most part, foundations don’t lobby directly for legislation, and they are prohibited from engaging in the kind of political activity — such as campaign spending — that gives other players leverage in policy making. Instead, leaders in philanthropy have pursued a vision of social change that rests on a set of long-held assumptions: that strong ideas and persuasive research, coupled with broad public support and validation by elites, will motivate elected officials; that policy proposals designed to reflect the ideological preferences of both major parties, or the poll-tested preferences of centrist voters, can provide a basis for insider bargaining; and that policy entrepreneurs who operate both inside and outside legislative bodies can act as advocates, sources of ideas and information, and mediators.
Two New Resources on Engaging Diverse Arts Participation
Posted on by SuJ'n

Last month, Helicon Collaborative published Making Meaningful Connections: Characteristics of Arts Groups that Engage New and Diverse Participants with funding from The James Irvine Foundation. This research shares the attributes of organizations that successfully invite, reach, and meet the needs of diverse audiences. On its heels, the Regional Arts & Culture Council based in Portland, Oregon recently published An Introduction to Engaging Diverse Audiences. This toolkit presents six building blocks that build and strengthen community relationships and provides an excellent compilation of other previously released resources, including the Helicon report.

Arts + Prison: Transforming Lives Behind Bars through the Arts
Posted on by Steve

From Craig Watson, Director, California Arts Council, blogging for Art Works Blog:

The California Arts Council received quite the Valentine’s Day surprise from one of its fellow state agencies last February. The head of rehabilitation programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) called with a proposal: help coordinate an 18-month, $2.5 million Arts-in-Corrections pilot program in California state prisons. CDCR would provide the funding, and the Arts Council would provide the know-how and coordination. Like most Valentine’s Day proposals, CDCR’s was happily accepted.
NEA Arts & Human Development Task Force to Hold Webinar
Posted on by Steve

How do in-school arts education programs affect student creativity, academics, or social outcomes? On Wednesday, August 27, join researchers from the Kennedy Center and Johns Hopkins University as they share their investigation of these topics. Ivonne Chand O'Neal is director of research and evaluation at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and she will share her study on the Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program on Washington DC-area public school students. Mariale Hardiman, professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education and former principal of Roland Park Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore, Maryland, will discuss her work at the intersection of cognitive research and effective teaching strategies.

2014 Independent Sector National Conference Coming to Seattle
Posted on by Steve

The Independent Sector National Conference will take place in Seattle November 16-18, 2014. Independent Sector is offering conference discounts of up to $280 for the Grantmakers in the Arts members. To affect the discount rates you only have to apply the discounts code(s) at the end of the registration process.

Turning the August Wilson Center Into Hotel Would Be Grievous Loss
Posted on by Steve

An opinion piece from Grant Oliphant, at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Every time I hear someone describe the proposal to hand the August Wilson Center over to private hotel developers as a “win-win,” I think of that famous line from the Vietnam War: “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”

Just to be clear, there is nothing “win-win” about this proposal, to the extent we know anything about it beyond vague outlines and promises. Here is what I believe we can safely say:

New Cultural Trust leader is Accomplished Artist
Posted on by Steve

From Tom Mayhall Rastrelli, writing for the Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon:

Brian Rogers, the new executive director of the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust, has been on a whirlwind ride since his arrival from Austin, Texas, one month ago. He’s been traveling the I-5 corridor between his Portland and Salem offices. He’s becoming acquainted with state, business, educational and nonprofit leaders in Oregon’s arts and culture community.