The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) announced today the appointment of Mario Garcia Durham as President and CEO. He is the fifth executive director since the organization’s founding in 1957, and follows Sandra Gibson, who stepped down June 30, 2011. Gibson has continued to serve as APAP Special Executive, and will remain in that position through September 30, 2011.
Grantmakers in the Arts
by Steve
A number of U.S. communities have been building citywide systems to make high-quality after-school programs more available to children. Many such efforts have shaped their work around the collection and analysis of current, credible data. This guide looks at the kinds of data cities are gathering, how they collect it and how they put it to use.
by Steve
A pair of reports have come out from Stanford Social Innovation Review dealing with Advocacy. Both are well worth a read.
The Elusive Craft of Evaluating Advocacy, by Steven Teles and Mark Schmitt, looks at the problems of evaluating advocacy given the chaotic nature of the political process in America. The explore various methods to examining advocacy (and advocates).
by Steve
From David Freedlander at The New York Observer:
Forget bronze. The new public art can be sound installations, graffiti-inspired commissions for roll-down gates, and cartoonish painting over public buildings, as in 2009, when a mini-uproar was created over the Public Art Fund’s commissioning of the artist Richard Woods to paint the guardhouses in front of City Hall in Lego-land-looking redbrick design.
by Steve
Also, "How to Make a Meme":
For decades now, people have joined together online to communicate and collaborate around interesting imagery. In recent years, the pace and intensity of this activity has reached a fever pitch. With countless communities engaging in a constant exchange, building on each others' work, and producing a prodigious flow of material, we may be experiencing the early stages of a new type of artistic and cultural collaboration.
by Tommer
The financial picture has grown so bleak at the American Folk Art Museum that its trustees are considering whether to shut it down and donate its collections to another institution, said a person involved in the discussions, who requested anonymity because the talks are confidential.
by Tommer
The rush to build crowdfunding sites is sorting itself out, not surprisingly in ways the for-profit online world evolves. Other takes on this by Lucy Bernholz and in Fast Company.
by Abigail
Thanks to KUOW, one of our local public radio channels, I hear at least one good story on the arts every month. This month's story aired this morning on Weekday, a daily, often locally-focused talk show, and explored themes of art and social change (decidedly not local in focus). It is worth a listen for the thoughtful insights of the artists invited to participate in the conversation: Thao Nguyen and Lenelle Moise. Listen here.