GIA Blog

Nathan Cummings Foundation President and CEO Simon Greer will leave his position later this month, according to an announcement from the foundation’s board chair. Greer has held the position since January 2012. Senior Vice Presidents Maurine Knighton and Bill Dempsey will take over day to day responsibilities and interim leadership will follow shortly as a formal search is established.-->

Tommer Peterson, GIA’s deputy director and director of programs for Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), has announced he will retire at the end of 2014. GIA looks forward to celebrating Tommer’s contributions throughout the year and to seeking a replacement who will build on the solid foundation of service to the field that he has created at Grantmakers in the Arts.

In the hopes to have someone to fill this position before this fall, GIA will begin a national search immediately. Please circulate the information about the search process and job description that can be found here.

A post from the Minnesota Council on Foundation Philanthropy Potluck website:

From Colin Moynihan, at The New York Times:

The California Arts Council awarded contracts to seven organizations for Arts-in-Corrections programs in fourteen state correctional facilities. Arts-in-Corrections services will be provided by The Actors' Gang, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Dance Kaiso, Marin Shakespeare Company, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and the William James Association.

A report from the UK, and the initiative behind the report, is working to highlight the flow of money in the art world and especially how little the artists receive. Paying Artists: Securing a future for visual arts in the UK states that their mission “is about transforming opportunities for artists, galleries, funders and policy-makers alike.”

The NonProfit Quarterly has published Part I of an article this morning on the state of black museums in the United States:

From a brief review of self-identified African-American museums, it is clear that there are many more than most people realize. Most of them are relatively small, and several struggle—like many institutions of arts and culture—to find their way to sustainable financial futures. They also often appear to be remarkable community assets with important and widely recognized exhibitions and collections.

Arts Integration as Pathway to Unity in the Community: The (Ongoing) Journey of Pillsbury House + Theatre tells the story of how a nonprofit theater and a social service agency that happened to reside in the same building rediscovered their shared history as a 19th century Settlement House, and unified operations to become a 21st Century Center for Creativity and Community.

Nonprofit Finance Fund has a new publication, authored by Rebecca Thomas and Holly Sidford. Critical Steps Toward Capital Health in the Cultural Sector offers cultural organizations and their supporters a set of action-oriented tips that have been developed by NFF over more than three decades of partnership with both organizations and grantmakers.

The Arts Education Partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers invites you to register for the AEP 2014 National Forum. The event is Preparing Students for the Next America in and through the Arts. It takes place Thursday, September 11 through Friday, September 12, 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA. Early registration rates are effective through June 30.