This Week! Call for Sessions Submission Deadline

We are living in days in which the urgency of attention is placed on response to COVID-19, not only in our membership but in our field and even here at GIA. Knowing this, we extended the deadline for 2020 GIA Conference session submission to this Friday, April 10. We will continue planning for the 2020 conference in November in the hopes that this global pandemic will end sooner than later. We hope to convene the field during the conference in support of one another, a stronger and more resilient field, and to build a future we want for the arts ecosystem. Details here.

For conference updates please visit the conference website.

Next Week! Reclaiming Narratives: Arts Advocacy and Cultural Policy Webinar

“As 2020 ramps up, please advocate often and enthusiastically!” This is a call to action from GIA President & CEO, Eddie Torres’s recent blog. We are in a federal election year and it is important to clarify what is, and isn’t, within the boundaries of funders when discussing advocacy and lobbying. Join us on April 14 to hear from Abby Levine (Bolder Advocacy at Alliance for Justice) and Favianna Rodriguez (The Center of Cultural Power). They will offer a 101 on advocacy and lobbying practice for funders, and how funders and grantees can become more civically engaged to reclaim truth and proclaim justice. Details and registration here.

The Future of our Field Post-Coronavirus: A letter from our President

In “A Call for Building Deep Resilience in Arts Funding,” GIA President and CEO, Eddie Torres, sends a letter to the arts funding community encouraging us to embrace the best of what we're doing in response to this crisis and use it as the building blocks to create our desire future. Read here.

“Reimagining the Economy with Innovative Support” Webinar

When we consider the economy, and specifically the arts economy, funders have continued to solely practice project-based funding. However, although we see a shift in the philanthropic sector towards granting more GOS funding in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, is that enough for artists to thrive? But if funders are to support artists holistically beyond projects (i.e. provide support towards real estate ownership, furthering education, etc.), how should funders be more strategic and forward thinking? Join us on May 7 to hear from Jeffreen Hayes (ThreeWalls Gallery), Angie Kim (Center for Cultural Innovation), and F. Javier Torres (Surdna Foundation). They will share how grantmakers can be forward-thinking about support for artist and arts organizations via a look at the arts economy and what needs to shift, as well as looking at innovative solutions to supporting artists. Details and registration here.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced recently a new relief program to provide financial assistance to the city’s creative scene and cultural organizations impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Chicago Sun Times reported…

In Denver, a fund at the city’s public funding agency - IMAGINE 2020 Artist Assistance Fund – was modified for a state-wide partnership to offer relief for artists across the state of Colorado, and, in the process, nearly tripled in amount available to individual artists, according to a press release…

The “literally overnight evaporation of gigs, commissions and sales”: that is what the coronavirus crisis, as Next City puts it, has meant for many of America’s nearly 5 million cultural workers…