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GIA Blog
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by Steve
Graydon Royce writes for the StarTribune:
A bitter lockout that silenced one of the country’s top orchestras for more than 15 months ended Tuesday when musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra approved a contract that will bring them back to the stage in early February.
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by Tommer
It isn't over, but this ruling in favor of telecoms could change the internet. Here are some reports:
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by Tommer
In the first weeks of the administration of New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, art and culture observers await the appointment of a new Commissioner for Cultural Affairs. The new commissioner will replace the outgoing Kate Levin, who served from 2002 to 2013 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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by Steve
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies sends notice that with funding for the federal government set to expire tonight (January 14), budget leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate announced late on January 13 that they have reached a compromise on legislation that will fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2014. The bill provides for $1.1 trillion in funding and would reduce the scope of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester, which remains in effect until FY2021.
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by Steve
From Randy Kennedy and Steven Yaccino, writing for The New York Times:
National and local philanthropic foundations have committed $330 million toward a deal that would help preserve the Detroit Institute of Arts’ renowned collection by bolstering the city’s employee pension funds, federal mediators involved in the city’s bankruptcy proceedings announced Monday.
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by Steve
Eileen Cunniffe writes for Nonprofit Quarterly:
In the waning days of 2013, an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer cited examples of performing arts organizations experimenting with curtain times, holding some weeknight performances as early as 6:30 pm instead of the long-accepted standard of 8:00 pm. The reasons given included appealing to younger audiences, who might want to go somewhere else after the show; appealing to older audiences, who might appreciate getting home earlier; and appealing to everyone in between, who might find it easier to hire a babysitter or just to show up for work the next day. One of the early trends from this experimentation is that some midweek performances with earlier curtain times are pulling even with or outpacing once-hot Friday evening ticket sales.
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by Steve
A post from the Policy Analysis for California Education:
Access to education in visual art, music, theatre, and dance is varied and unequal across public schools in the United States. Yet the extent of this inequality is largely undocumented. In a recent report from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the committee concluded that policymakers lack a basic understanding of access to arts education because there is no required data collection of the courses schools offer.
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by Steve
The National Endowment for the Arts has announced that application guidelines are now available for Art Works and Challenge America Fast-Track at the NEA’s website. These guidelines are for projects anticipated to take place in 2015. The Art Works and Challenge America Fast-Track programs constitute 75 percent of the NEA’s annual direct grantmaking. In order to offer potential applicants the highest level of technical assistance, the NEA has scheduled webinars covering the basics of the Art Works funding category, how to apply to the NEA, how to select work samples, and how to prepare a strong application. After each presentation, there will be time for Q and A with NEA staff.
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by Abigail
During the month of January, GIA's photo banner features grantees of GIA member the Sacatar Foundation. Founded in 2000, Sacatar created the first international artist residency program in South America. Under the auspices of Sacatar's sister organization, the Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Sacatar, 250 artists from over fifty countries have enjoyed airfare, studio, room, and board for eight-week residencies at Sacatar's beachside estate in Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil.