New to the TED site last week: Neuroeconomist Paul Zak uses his talk on the hormone oxytocin to explore the biological impulse behind empathy, morality, and generosity. Providing an overview of his lab activities, as well as charming evidence gathered in the field (at a wedding, for instance), Zak explains the social benefits of a population flush with oxytocin-rich individuals.
Grantmakers in the Arts
by Steve
Americans for the Arts Action Fund has issued a report on the outcomes of Tuesday's elections:
The 2011 election proved to be a fairly good year for incumbents. Many candidates who are supportive of the arts and creative economies within their state or region were elected into office. There were only two gubernatorial elections this year. In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear won re-election over his republican contender. Earlier this year in May, Beshear announced the creation of a statewide cultural district certification program.
by Abigail
New to the Talk Back blog, a post by Vilcek Foundation's new media & IT coordinator, Brian Cavanaugh, on the online creation and distribution of art. He announces a new Vilcek initiative, a digital art space called dARTboard slated to launch in winter 2012, and presents (with terrific graphics) a group of innovative and inspirational websites that includes Artport, the Whitney Museum of American Art's pioneering portal to net and digital art.
by Steve
Huffington Post is launching The Recessionary Arts: A HuffPost Culture Series, a series of articles that over the next two months “will explore how the recession is reshaping our nation's cultural state, and what this means for artists, consumers and the future of the arts.”
The first article comes from Lucas Kavner, a Huffington Post Culture and Media Reporter, titled Art In The Recession: In Tough Economy, Artists Act Anew:
Despite dim job prospects and ever-dwindling paychecks, more artists are living and working in America today than ever before. If as sociologist Charles Horton Cooley once said, “an artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one,” then success in America is at an all-time high.
At a time when making and distributing art to the masses is easier and more widely consumed than ever, at least 2.2 million people in the United States can be classified as professional artists, up from 1.9 million in 1996. And as artists have proliferated, arts organizations have followed suit; According to a report from Americans for the Arts, there are over 100,000 non-profit arts groups and 550,000 for-profit arts businesses in the U.S today. Between 2003 and 2009, a new nonprofit arts organization was created in the U.S. every three hours.
by Steve
Elizabeth Quaglieri examines some recent endeavor at the intersection of art and technology for her post on Technology in the Arts:
Exhibitions like these generate much discussion in both the academic and professional art world, as the issue of the digitization of art remains a hot topic of debate. What is most inspiring about these remastered pieces is the beauty in the medium. As an art history student and Italian Renaissance aficionado, I am neither offended nor resistant to the digital world’s claim it can reproduce or master painterly qualities and techniques in its own medium.
by Tommer
Artspire.org, New York Foundation for the Arts’ (NYFA) online community for artists and arts organizations, presents The Profitable Artist in paperback, the first complete “how-to” guide to being a professional and profitable working artist. This handbook features techniques in the areas of strategic planning, financial management, marketing, fundraising, and legal issues including contract law and intellectual property.
by Steve
The Council on Foundations today announced that Mark Bolgiano has joined its senior leadership team as vice president and chief information officer. The announcement came at a board meeting of the Technology Affinity Group (TAG), an organization of foundation technology leaders, which is in Charleston for its annual conference.
by Abigail
Please join us tomorrow, November 8, at 2:00 EDT/11:00 PDT for How To: An Overview of GIA's New Web Tools, an online presentation by Steve Cline, GIA's Web & Knowledge Manager, on the simple and effective set of collaborative tools developed by GIA to support both new and ongoing activities of GIA member groups.